Ruskin Park 21 Congleton 5

RUSKIN gained their first league points of the season, thanks to a first-half hat-trick of tries by Gary Smith, followed by a fantastic second-half defensive display, which thwarted every effort of their bigger opponents.

On a perfect day for open rugby, both sides spurned the chance of an early penalty in their desire to run the ball, and this was to set the tone of the first half.

From a break close to the line by Wood, Smith rounded the full-back for a try near the posts.

Congleton's reply was immediate as a neat break by Woodman sent in McNulty, only for the conversion to hit the post.

Ruskin gained some ascendancy in the latter stages of the half, and fine work by Unsworth and Birch enabled Smith to score twice more. With Ste Wood in excellent form with the boot, the home side had a comfortable 16-point cushion at half-time.

In the second period, the visitors pack took almost complete control of the game, and Ruskin, denied possession for long periods, were forced onto almost permanent defence. To their credit, however, they tackled everything that moved, and despite considerable effort, Congleton could not score and twice they were held up over the line without grounding the ball.

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