Warriors joy, Rangers pain

OVER WE GO . . . James Whalley dives in to put Saddleworth Rangers ahead against Kells

RUGBY: 

WATERHEAD Warriors’ renaissance continued with a 34-6 beating of Eastmoor Dragons in Kingstone Press National Conference League Division Three.

The Peach Road side has enjoyed a fruitful middle third of the season and this latest win, founded on a strong defensive platform, lifted them out of the bottom three.

Andy Gorey, with five conversions, produced a fine kicking spectacle as the basement boys were brushed aside.

Ryan Lynch put Waterhead on the board in the fourth minute with the first of the hosts’ half-a-dozen tries. But it wasn’t until around the 30 minute mark that Waterhead added to their tally, with Ciaran Dean providing the finishing touch.

Chris Brown’s try a minute after the interval gave the home side a 16-point lead, quickly turned into 18 when Gorey slotted over the goal.

Darren Nixon got in on the act and when Brown went in again after 52 minutes, Eastmoor still hadn’t troubled the scoreboard.

The visitors broke their duck after the hour: Luke Scott’s touchdown was converted by James Slater — but Waterhead had the last say. Lynch’s 75th-minute try was goaled by Gorey, who teased Eastmoor all day with his pace from full-back.




SADDLEWORTH Rangers pushed title-chasing Kells all the way in Division One of the NCL at Shaw Hall Bank Road, before succumbing 16-8.


Despite the sides being poles apart in the league standings — Rangers started the day second-

bottom and Kells second-top — there was still everything to play for with three minutes left.

The Cumbrian held a slender two-point advantage when Bradley Smith broke Rangers’ hearts with his side’s third try of the afternoon. Ross Gainford added the conversion.

The match was played in rain throughout, and Rangers knew they would need to stay focused to repel a determined Kells riposte in the second period. With time running out, Kells notched a converted try to seal a hard-fought victory.