Bishop Auckland rugby 1sts continued their progress up the table as they registered their second successive victory in Durham and Northumberland third division with a 16-5 victory at Chester le Street.

The visitors started at full pace, and the sheer vigour of the Auckland side's rucking had the home defence in desperate straits. Chester le Street conceded several penalties in quick succession as they tried to contain the Bishops forwards. Bartle kicked two for an early six point lead.

Bishops added further points when a strong run upfield by Steed saw the ball come back to Bartle. He put a perfectly judged kick behind the Chester defence for Bishops centre Hughes to touch down. Bishops scored again within minutes when Steed intercepted a loose Chester pass and ran some eighty metres to touch down in the corner.

Chester responded with an excellent try of their own when they won a scrum on the Bishops 22 and moved the ball across field and through some careless Bishop tackling to touch down. Despite this encouragement, Chester quickly reverted to their policy of kicking downfield for position only to find Fletcher, Ruddick and Rispin running the ball back at them.

The first half finished with Bishops 16-5 ahead.

The second half turned into a war of attrition as both packs enjoyed periods of ascendancy, but both gave away good attacking positions with careless penalties. Bartle put another kick over the home defence and followed up to touch down but was judged to have knocked-on in the process.

Bishops were fortunate not to concede an interception try as the Chester three-quarters were ruled offside.

The Auckland pack worked hard to keep the game in the home side's twenty-two, while Bartle and Ramrattan both threatened to score. Bishops left themselves vulnerable to quick counter attacks, from one of which Chester could well have scored in the closing minutes.

In the end, the Auckland defence held firm but the final whistle came as some relief to the visitors.

Bishop Auckland second XV made a welcome return to action with a comfortable 26-13 victory at home to Chester le Street II at West Mills. The Auckland forwards dominated the play, constantly getting to the rucks and mauls first, and their young three-quarters were keen to run the ball at every opportunity.

The homesters scored four tries with Simon Keay, Ian Campbell, Baz Atkinson and Paul Constantine getting one each, and Campbell kicking three conversions. Chester le Street missed a number of opportunities through poor handling, while Bishops benefited enormously from Atkinson's enthusiasm and experience.

Tomorrow Bishops welcome to West Mills old rivals Consett, last season's undefeated winners of division two, in what should prove a highly entertaining encounter. Kick-off is at 2.15pm.