Crewe and Nantwich 10 Ruskin Park 29

NEEDING to win this match to have any chance of avoiding relegation, Ruskin turned in an impressive display, and completely outplayed the home side.

Playing with the slope in their favour, Ruskin were first on the board, when Wood broke away inside his own half, and Fisher finished in style.

A fine passing movement almost got Unsworth in at the other corner, and from the resulting line out, Swift crashed over for a try, which Fisher converted. Crewe replied with a try by Widdowson, but before half time, Gary Smith, after a delightful, side stepping run, and Fisher, had added further tries, one of which Fisher converted, to give Ruskin a healthy lead.

On the restart, Ruskin were first on the attack, and after five minutes Swift raced 30 yards for his second try. An embarrassing rout for the home side looked highly likely at this stage, but it never materialised, as the home pack closed the game down with a display of possession rugby. Starved of the ball for long periods, Ruskin were forced onto the defensive. However, despite conceding a late try to winger Harrison, they held out with ease to record the win, which may yet see first division rugby at Ruskin Drive next season.

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