Rugby Union: Hooker grabs hat-trick as Birkenhead hit back

Oct 10 2007 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post

BIRKENHEAD PARK continued their good form with a third consecutive North One victory as they came back from a 13-0 deficit at Altrincham Kersal.

Park played into Kersal’s hands with some loose play in the first quarter but once the Birkenhead forwards got into gear the match took on a different complexion as the home defence was steadily eroded.

Hooker Chris Jones bagged a hat-trick of tries and he has already amassed seven touch-downs in league matches this season. While Jones is the leading try-scorer equal credit must go to the rest of the pack for the driving play which was too much for Kersal last Saturday. Flanker Njike Tchakoute produced a fine display in the back-row and has really settled into his new role since joining the club in the summer.

Second-row Paul Hellier returned to the starting line up and won plenty of quality line-out possession which enabled Birkenhead to take the play to the opposition. Scrum-half Steve Lowry made a speedy recovery from last week’s ankle injury and he took over in the second half as Park took control of the game.

Lowry, the John Moores University skipper, also played a full part in the excellent JMU victory over Liverpool University in the annual local varsity contest at Wyncote last Wednesday afternoon. Liverpool kicked an early penalty but John Moores responded with a try by second row Joe Pollard and Tom Ashall kicked a penalty for 8-3 at the break.

In the second half further tries from hooker Jon Feldman and full-back Alex Bearpark sealed a great win for JMU.