Birkenhead Park 35-24 Bowden

It was the proverbial game of two halves at the Upper Park on Saturday as Birkenhead Park built up a substantial first half lead.

The hosts had a great start to the contest, with tries from Ollie Jacques, Adam Roscoe, Will Titherington, Sam Tryer and Martin O’Keefe.

Full back Dave Hall was in brilliant all round form and he also converted all five tries as the hosts romped to a 35-5 lead at the interval.

The second half turned out to be a completely different scenario as Bowdon composed themselves and came out fighting. Park were never in danger of being caught but they rarely threatened the Bowdon line again after the first half demolition job.

Park Director of Rugby Martin O’Keefe said: “We played some great rugby in the first half but never reached that level after the break.”