RUGBY UNION: Blackburn on the brink of promotion

BLACKBURN took a step closer to promotion last weekend with a solid win over league strugglers Netherhall.

Netherhall, who were propping up North West One prior to Saturday's match, presented a potentially difficult task at home where they had enjoyed some surprising victories over Blackburn's chief rivals.

Blackburn began frustratingly by achieving almost immediate dominance up front and with poor handling squandered three clear scoring opportunities.

With these early aberrations soon forgotten the Blackburn forwards worked their opponents left and right for number eight Adam Smith to find space to score.

Netherhall who had only a mathematical chance of retaining league one status, played like a side that had already been relegated, pedestrian in attack their backline swiftly ran out of ideas in the face of some aggressive resistance from the league leaders.

Netherhall have always played a scavenging game and with no scraps to live on they resorted to tactics better suited to the boxing ring.

Not to be put off, stand in scrum half and man of the match Scott Fraser treated the small posse of away fans to a virtuoso performance mesmerising the opposition with his trademark dummy.

This and the linking between the back row and the midfield proved enough as Adam Smith went over for his second. John Edge converted this and an earlier penalty to make the score 15-0 at the break.

The second half brought more frustration for the home side who alienated the referee with backchat and violent play, they lost their combative openside for his second bookable offence midway through.

When the sending off happened, Edge had already gone over, the result of swift handling and neat countering. With Netherhall falling into greater disarray it became a question of how many, a further penalty from Edge and converted try by Stuart Jarrold answered that.

This result consigned Netherhall to Second Division rugby next season, but with West Park losing at Birkenhead, Blackburn need only a draw next weekend to secure promotion.

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