by Doug Thorpe

Bradford & Bingley . . . . . . . 90 pts

New Brighton . . . . . . . . . . . 21 pts

NEW Brighton suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Bradford and Bingley, who ran in a total of 14 tries with Tom Rhodes converting 10 of them. The Bees are a powerful side and this win puts them ahead of Nuneaton at the top of the National League Division Three North table.

With the exception of Blaydon, the remainder of New Brighton's season's fixtures are unlikely to contain any quite as demanding as this particular one.

On Saturday, New Brighton entertain Cleckheaton and, with home advantage, the Blues need to grasp the opportunity.

Kick-off at Hartsfield, Reeds Lane, Moreton, is 3pm.

Against Bradford & Bingley, New Brighton's players stuck to the job with tenacity from first to last. But the home side attacked with such pace and power and in such numbers that the Blues defence, dedicated as it was, was swept almost casually aside.

New Brighton's tries came from Kati Tui'pulotu, 2, and Joe Parker. Steve Dean was successful with all three conversions.