Chester secured a bonus point win with a strong second half performance pulling away from a Hull side which lacked penetration despite some strong driving play from their pack. Hull managed 3 tries but all from well organised lineout drives. As the match progressed the home side gradually pulled went clear with strong, direct carries from their forwards and midfield. Hull’s defence was gradually worn down, conceding 15 points in the final quarter.

Chester moved quickly into a 10 point lead with a penalty from Andrew McMinimee and a converted try from wing Ben Raubitschek following a strong break from No. 8 Dave Jones. Hull came back into the game, thanks not least to a string of Chester breakdown offences. These culminated in a penalty try after 26 minutes with Harrop binned. The rest of the half was close and scoreless, until injury time when Jones scored, following carries from Hayes and Woods.

It remained close until 55 minutes, when centre James Ivory burst two tackles to score following a dominant home scrum. Thereafter, despite Hull’s 2 fine lineout scores, Chester were on top with tries from McMinimee, following a break from scrumhalf Charlie Craven, and a second for Jones.

Star player – Josh Woods (Chester)