Sharks show bite against Bears in tight win
DMP Sharks …7
Bristol Bears …5
DARLINGTON Mowden Park Sharks recorded their third win of the Premier 15s season with a battling victory over Bristol Bears at Northern Echo Arena.
The game was a closelyfought affair, which was ultimately decided by just two points, as both sides struggled to deal with the testing conditions despite showing plenty of attacking intent.
A series of handling errors ended many promising offensive moves, and it appeared the game would remain scoreless heading into half time.
But the Sharks scored the decisive try on 38 minutes when Georgina Roberts broke clear from a ruck to race away under the posts.
Hannah Morton added what proved to be a vital conversion to give the Sharks a seven-point lead at the interval after a cagey opening half.
The visitors, who welcome back Welsh duo Caryl Thomas and Elinor Snowsill to their starting line-up, began the second period the brighter of the two sides as they looked to get back into the game and it was not long before they narrowed the deficit.
Following a sustained siege on the Sharks line, Bristol crossed for their only try of after a series of pick-and-go drives.
The conversion fell agonisingly wide, though, leaving the Sharks with a two-point lead. Bristol had the better of the final quarter but were unable to clinch the winning score.
The result means DMP Sharks closed the gap on Firwood Waterloo in eighth to just one point, while Bears remain in sixth position with four wins to their name from the first 12 rounds of action.
