Morpeth took on the leaders Sandal hoping to continue their recent run of good form and to pull away from any relegation worries. They were basically at full strength for the game with Barry Hills taking a seat on the bench with Manley & Richie Stephenson on the wings. The pitch was very heavy and it was obviously not going to be a day for the ball to be going wide at every opportunity.

With the league as competitive as ever with 3 points seperating 6 sides every point is going to be vital.

Morpeth started the match playing away from the changing rooms but it was Sandal who took an early lead when fly half Wood slotted over a penalty after 5 minutes. Whilst Morpeth defended with some tenacity with Mooney in the centre particularly impressive it was Sandal who had the most possession. However ,the next scoring opportunity fell to the home side with a Jinks penalty which he pushed wide ,but the disappointment was shortlived when an excellant counter attack created pressure on the Wakefield outfit who conceded a 5 metre scrum which allowed number 8 Morrison to pick up & crash over for a try converted by Jinks.

Half time 7-3 to the home side.

The second half was a mirror image of the first with the heavy going making it difficult for both sides but Sandal's ability to win the ball & keep it caused Morpeth problems as they rolled over from a close range line out which was followed by a touchline conversion.

Try as they might Morpeth couldn't bridge that gap and although Barry Hills gave the side some impetus in the end it was just not enough to secure a result.

Final score Morpeth 7-10 Sandal