Club rugby: Otley up to fourth on ladder after fending off Hinckley

Brett Mitchell was among the try scorers in Otley's win over Hinckley. PIC: Simon Hulme

Otley were 25-14 winners at Hinckley to move up to fourth in the National Two North table.

Scrum-half Harry Skelton scored Otley’s only first half try, while stand-off Ben Smith’s penalty edged them to an 8-7 lead at the break.

They stepped up a gear in the second half – thanks partly to Hinckley being down to 14 men following an earlier red card – and full-back Ben Magee, second row Brett Mitchell and winger Josh Hall all touched down to take a 25-7 lead with five minutes left. Hinckley pulled back a try on 78 minutes, but it was just a consolation.

Huddersfield’s title tilt wilted further as they were beaten 58-22 at Stourbridge.

Tries from winger Lewis Workman and centre Thomas Owen plus a penalty and conversion from Chris Johnson were Huddersfield’s only points of a first half which ended 27-15.

After the break scrum-half Joe Green added another and Johnson converted, but there was no stopping Stourbridge who went on to finish with nine tries to their name.

Wharfedale lost out 24-5 to high-flying visitors Chester.

Winger Ollie Cicognini’s second-half try wasn’t enough to stop second-placed Chester winning and closing in on leaders Hull Ionians. North Premier league leaders Hull ran in eight tries on their way to a 54-5 win over Lymm, while Sandal scored 11 tries in a 69-14 victory at the Vale of Lune.

Harrogate took the maximum five points from a 24-7 win at Alnwick, while Ilkley lost out 21-15 at home against Blaydon.