Portico Panthers 50 Haresfinch 14 A WEAKENED Finch side was blasted aside by local rivals Portico.

An opening salvo that saw Panthers notch up 22 points without reply in 15 minutes set them up for a comfortable victory.

Powerhouse prop Chris Ashurst led the charge for the home side with loose-forward Craig Peel, scrum-half Keith Tunstall, centre Mike Hobin and hooker Reg Unsworth in top form.

Hobin set the ball rolling and although he touched down wide out he was able to convert. Then Tunstall went in under the posts, allowing Hobin a simple conversion.

The third try came when Ashurst crashed over near the sticks and again Hobin converted. Panthers went further ahead when skipper Peel went over in the corner.

But just before the break Finch hit back when hard-working centre Dave Swift went over.

After the break Portico continued the good work and further tries followed from Ashurst (2), J. Leyland, D. Ward, and Unsworth. Hobin kicked four more goals.

For Finch Billy Platt added a try and conversion and Henry Gearing also touched down.

This was largely a day Finch will want to forget, although forwards Henry Gearing and Neil Lomas, half-backs Shaun Kilgannon and Damian Clitheroe, centre Dave Swift and winger Lee Jones couldn't be faulted for effort.

Top tacklers for Portico were K. Tunstall and C. Peel, while matchball sposnors were K. and A. Household Goods.

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