Marple 35 Ruskin Park 10

AFTER matching their bigger opponents for much of the first half, Ruskin were gradually worn down in the second period, and, in the end, went down rather heavily.

A superb try by Ste Wood, and a conversion and a penalty by Stu Fisher were scant reward for some first-half domination.

And two uncharacteristic lapses in defence by Ruskin meant that Marple led 12-10 at the break.

With the wind and slope in their favour in the second half, it was the turn of the big Marple pack to gain the upper hand. Despite a rock-solid performance from the front row of Allen, Smith and Flaherty, in the tight, Ruskin were unable to cope with the pace and skills of the Marple back row, and tries came at regular intervals.

The lack of a couple of good ball winning forwards was never more evident than in this period.

Meanwhile, at home the second XV gained their first win of the season, 32-22, over Marple seconds. An outstanding, two-try, debut performance by Loftus, plus a fine all-round display by full-back Burns being the highlights of a really good open game.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.