Home comforts for Darlington

DARLINGTON Mowden Park maintained their 100 per cent record of bonuspoint home wins with an emphatic victory over Rosslyn Park.

The visitors were blitzed by a four-try salvo in the first 30 minutes and they never looked like getting back into it, only managing a late penalty try.

Both sides lost key players through injury within the first ten minutes, with first visiting hooker Tom Vaughan Edwards, then home scrum half Matt Dudman leaving the field.

Home hooker Chris Wood scored the first try following a powerful catch and drive lineout before Grant Connon scored two blistering tries in three minutes using his pace and power.

The visitors were unable to get into the game at all at this stage and the bonus point for Darlington followed when hard-working prop Ralph Appleby squeezed over.

A shell-shocked Rosslyn Park trudged back into the changing rooms for the break, which came all too soon for the hosts, who faded after the break.

Darlington scored their fifth try late in the second half when wing Callum Mackenzie found a gap.

But Rosslyn Park rallied, forcing a scrum five yards out, and, when the scrum wheeled, the official had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try.