Moor kept their unbeaten record to remain top of the league after an initially tough contest with Ashton. A bizarre opening saw Moor take a 2^nd minute lead from a missed Martin Shelley penalty. With the ball dropping under the bar the Ashton defenders left the touchdown to one another, only for the alert Paul Stonehouse to nip in for a converted try. Within minutes a dropped pass in the Moor 22 was snapped up by the Ashton flanker for an unconverted try. Both sides settled down for half an hour of fierce attrition. The stalemate was broken when Moor broke blind from a scrum on their own 22. Neat inter-passing put Phil Butcher clear to burst through under the posts, Shelley converting for a 14-5 lead at half-time.

From the restart, play became more broken as stoppages for injuries became more frequent. A Shelley penalty after 5 minutes extended Moor’s lead, but it was in the final quarter that that they cut loose against a tiring Ashton. The visitor’s defence fell apart under a combination of pace and power as Moor ran riot. A powerful run by Petr Stourac took him up to the opposition’s line where he was driven over by his pack in the corner for his first try. Butcher then broke through the middle before feeding Keith Young to touch down under the posts. Ivan Smetana’s pacey and elusive running took him through from half way for an individual try; Shelley converting 2 of these 3 tries. Another powerful forward drive put Ashton on the back foot allowing Stourac to power through for the final try as Moor ran out comfortable winners 41-5.

This Saturday, Moor visit Widnes in the second round of the EDF Energy Senior Vase, k.o. 3:00 pm.

The Women’s XV also maintained their 100% record with a 22-15 victory away at Fleetwood. This keeps them in joint 1^st place of the RFUW National Challenge North 1 League alongside Darlington, who they play this Sunday.