DARLINGTON MOWDEN PARK climbed to second position in the National One table as they brushed aside Rossyln Park 36-7 to claim a sixth successive home victory.

An emphatic first-half performance that featured three tries in the space of seven minutes enabled Mowden to claim a four-try bonus point before half-time, and the hosts maintained their superiority in the second half as they closed the gap on league leaders Coventry to nine points.

Mowden, who had designated Saturday’s game Armed Forces Day, suffered an early blow as scrum-half Matt Dudman was forced off with an injury, but they quickly regrouped to claim the lead in the 12th minute.

A powerful catch-and-drive took the Mowden pack close to the try line, and hooker Chris Wood was able to peel away to score.

That proved the spark for a sustained spell of home pressure, with Grant Connon claiming a quickfire brace. Both tries came from within the Mowden half, with the full-back first racing away from the home defence and then taking a more direct route over the visiting full-back.

The strong start meant Mowden enjoyed a 17-0 lead after just 19 minutes, and the bonus-point try arrived shortly after. A series of phases took the hosts to their opponents’ five-metre line, and Garry Law found Ralph Appleby in space on the wing, enabling the prop to power over for his first try of the season.

Brett Connon, covering at scrum-half, converted to give Mowden a 24-0 lead at the interval, and the hosts rang the changes in the second period, handing a debut to Scotland Under-19s second row Andrew Davidson.

They scored again in the 64th minute, with Law finding a gap in the visiting defence and setting up Callum Mackenzie to cross the whitewash.

Rosslyn Park broke their duck five minutes later as a collapsed scrum resulted in a penalty try, but as the clock ticked towards injury time, Mowden put the seal on their win as Warren Seals broke clear following some good work from replacement hooker Jordan Poole.

Mowden are without a game this weekend, and will return to action when they travel to Bishop’s Stortford on November 25.