Hare & Hounds 20 Culcheth 35 THIS was a game Hounds could and should have won, but they can still take heart from an encouraging performance against a Culcheth side which moved to the top of the table following this victory.

Hounds started like a house on fire and quickly raced into a 16-5 lead with tries by scrum-half Paul Martin, second-row Karl Grounds and stand-off Lee Johnson who also added two goals.

Their inability to play out their six tackles though proved costly as Culcheth clawed their way back into contention before grabbing the lead with a disputed try right on half-time.

The second half saw Hounds dominate territorially for long periods without really threatening the Culcheth line and the visitors put the game beyond reach with two long-range interception tries.

To their credit Hounds kept plugging away and they were rewarded with a well-taken try by substitute Kirk Benyon who finished off a good handling move to go over at the corner.

In a good team effort, Hounds were particularly well served by half-backs Martin and Johnson, along with forwards Michael Vose, Phil Turner and Rhys Allan.