Pocklington 24-17 Penrith

Penrith were bitterly disappointed with their second away defeat of the season in North One East as they went down 24-17 at Pocklington.

But there could be few complaints for, although they were deservedly on equal terms at half time, the home side completely dominated the second half and the Cumbrians had to be satisfied with a losing bonus point.

Not for the first time this season, Penrith came up against a side physically bigger than they were. Pocklington were also aggressive and played the game on the edge.

There was plenty of pushing and shoving off the ball and the occasional bout of fisticuffs and, although Penrith gave as good as they got, it made for a bruising encounter.

Both sides went close to scoring in the first quarter but it was the home side that got the first points on the board from a high diagonal punt.

Winger Ben Littleton is usually very reliable under the high ball, using his cricketing skills, but the ball bounced and bamboozled everyone. It landed in the hands of the kick chaser and resulted in an easy try and conversion.

Penrith then got good field position following a break by Liam Tunstall after he broke into the 22 and tried to find Jon Fell with an inside pass. It went to ground and the defence scrambled the ball into touch.

Penrith won the line-out on the 22 and drove for the line before the home side illegally tried to stop the drive and the referee indicated he had given a penalty.

The driven maul was now a ruck on the line and the free ball was spun left.

Matt Allinson looked as if he was going to be caught but he threw the ball backwards through his legs and the unusual pass found Fell perfectly. He drew the last man and put Littleton in at the corner, with Mike Fearon's touchline conversion levelling the scores.

Penrith then had a period of superiority as Pocklington lost a man to a yellow card.

Ryan Johnson broke from a scrum just outside the 22 and made inroads into home territory. After a couple more forward drives, they were threatening the home line.

The next ball came to Callum Rowlandson and the home defence set themselves up for a charge from the big man but he fed Fearon who picked his way through a flat-footed defence for a good try. He added the conversion.

Pocklington did not take long to level the scores just before the break with a well-executed catch and drive from an attacking line-out. The half-time score of 14-14 was just about a fair reflection of what had gone before.

But the second half was a completely different matter with the home side well in the ascendancy.

They scored a controversial try after only three minutes when the touchdown appeared to have been completed by a double movement.

There was then a bit of an altercation between the two teams and, after it was sorted, it became clear a try had been given.

Penrith then spent long periods defending and were rarely in the opposition half but on one occasion when they did get a penalty, Fearon struck it well to narrow the gap.

The home side then kicked a penalty to restore their seven-point advantage and had a number of chances to extend their lead. They missed another penalty attempt and had a drop goal effort go wide.

Despite their efforts, they could not force a fourth try for a bonus point or another score to deprive Penrith of their losing bonus point.

It is to Penrith's credit they played so well without the ball as they were under severe pressure at times and, at one stage, defended four consecutive five metre scrums without conceding.

There was also disappointment for St. Benedict’s in North One West as their losing run continued with a 36-7 defeat at Wet Park St.Helens.

The result was probably an indication of the way the teams have been playing recently.

A second win in a row has lifted West Park out of the relegation zone while Saints’ losing sequence has seen them slip to mid-table.