Pilkington Recs 10 Haydock 50

RECS, who are low on luck and form, needed some good fortune to have a chance in this contest, but a well-drilled visiting side were in no mood to give them any crumbs of comfort.

Basic early errors and a lack of confidence saw Haydock romp into a 16-0 lead after just 12 minutes -- each score coming as a result of home mistakes -- with tries from Ian Speed, Neil Wade and flying wingman Simon Tickle, the first of his four for the afternoon.

Midway through the first half though Recs gained some respite when centre Darren Haigh intercepted and raced 80 metres to score. Scrum-half Andy Fairhurst tagged on the goal.

At this stage Recs probably enjoyed their spell of the game with stand-off Andy Kilmurray prompting, but they could not find a way through a resolute defence.

A 50-metre break by centre Gareth Hill five minutes from half-time saw him cross for a Haydock try and two goals by Paul Ireland gave them a comfortable 20-6 interval lead.

The second half turned into little more than a training run for the visitors who regularly broke through flimsy defence. Craig Haughey scored two tries and Neil Wade one, while the impressive Tickle ran in three more. Paul Ireland took his goal tally for the afternoon to seven.

Recs' solitary second-half score came courtesy of a break by John Rees, who put wingman Andy Burns in for a deserved try.

On this form Recs will be a short-odds bet to return to Division One rugby next season.

The St Helens Roofing man of the match for Recs was Kilmurray, with Dave Houghton, Ian Connolly and John Rees working hard.

Outstanding for Haydock were Bloor, Tickle, Tiffer, Hill and Carroll.