The visitors appear to be improving and were still in the game, just 8 points adrift, going into the last quarter. But in the 61st minute having been under pressure in the tight throughout the game, the pack conceded a penalty try and Hoppers then ran in three more tries in the space of 5 minutes. Two were created by dynamic scrum half Darren Wilson, comfortably the outstanding player on the park. Hoppers again started well and scored within 2 minutes, when Wilson broke from the base of the scrum and fed Olly Viney who outpaced the defence to put in supporting flanker Michael Jones, Paul Bailey converting. Orrell responded and spent some time in enemy territory but, in the 13th minute, Viney again used his pace to sprint in from halfway for an unconverted try. The visitors refused to roll over, however, and had Hoppers in some difficulty when spinning the ball wide and, after some telling runs, in the 20th minute created a huge overlap and No.8 Naulago strolled over, Brand converting. Two minutes later, Bailey was wide with a penalty and Hoppers lost skipper Toby Foster with an ankle injury, the ever reliable Dave Chadwick taking over at prop. Bailey was on target in the 26th minute to extend the lead to 15-7 and Orrell’s pack increasingly offended in the tight so it was no surprise when referee Sheard lost patience and sent prop Salisbury to the sin bin. After Juan Crous had lost possession over the line from a 5-metre scrum, it was that man Wilson again who spotted a gap and scampered over for Bailey to convert. Hoppers frustration grew and it was Viney’s turn to drop the ball over the goal line while Bailey was wide with a drop goal attempt so that the break came with the score standing at 22-7. Hoppers had displayed enough dominance for the spectators to be confident that the second period would produce a harvest of points but Orrell had other ideas and had much the better of the third quarter. In the 47th minute, Viney was lucky to escape a yellow card when tackling an opponent without the ball but Brand kicked the penalty and repeated the exercise 3 minutes later to reduce the deficit to just 8 points. Hoppers were very much on the back foot and Orrell’s spoiling tactics at the breakdown and strong running out wide often stretched the defence. The home pack at last made some ground and after Crous had been held up over the line, an attempted pushover try was prevented illegally and the referee had no hesitation in going under the posts, Bailey converting after 61 minutes. This proved to be the turning point and the next 5 minutes were the Darren Wilson show. First, the dynamic scrum half broke on the blind side to put in Russell Flynn and then carved a gap down the middle, this time Mark Robey being the beneficiary. Bailey converted the second try to make the score 41-13. Young fly half Michael Waywell made his first team debut from the bench and in the 70th minute, Viney’s guile and pace was again too much for the visiting defence when he coasted in from halfway, Bailey again converting. Commendably, Orrell had the last word when fast hands put in busy fly half Gambles but Brand’s kick failed. They were certainly a better side than their record suggested and, with more signings in the offing, may well start to turn the corner. As for Hoppers, although perhaps not firing on all cylinders, they can still reflect on 7 tries, a bonus point and a 30-point margin. Morley’s loss at Mowden Park gives them a
6-point margin at the top. The views expressed on this page are those of the contributor and the opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the BBC. | 
