Rugby Union: Bradford and Bingley 16, Morpeth 26; by Bill Marshall.

Having played for 15 successive weeks, Bradford and Bingley will doubtless be grateful for their first rest of the season next Saturday.

It is the fourth round of the NPI Cup, and the Bees - beaten in the third round by Northern - have made the sensible decision to have a free day.

With Andy Murphy out for the rest of the season with cruciate ligament problems, prop Tom Garnett's future uncertain because of an identical injury and scrum half Richard Kelt missing with a rib injury, it would have been silly to have risked further setbacks.

With several players turning out at the weekend carrying injuries - notably lock Matt Hague (shoulder) and flanker Mark Thomas (thigh strain) - and the next league match a week on Saturday at new Thwaites North two leaders Driffield, the recuperation decision becomes even more clear-cut.

The only consolation for Bradford and Bingley, who conceded three pushover tries and a penalty try in their first defeat of the league season, was that the gap between the two promotion berths and third place is still six points, Black-burn having won at West park Bramhope.

Despite having a depleted pack, Bradford and Bingley went 8-0 ahead against the best eight in the division, but lost any chance of victory when they failed to turn that into an 18-0 lead midway through the first half.

Inexplicably, right winger Asa Firth threw the ball forward in trying to ground it for a try, and Jeremy Marr, who would have had a reasonable chance of landing that conversion, missed a kickable penalty the following minute.

Marr, who scored all his team's points, had put the Bees in front with a fine fifth-minute try, and also added a penalty.

But by half-time the Northumbrians had narrowed the gap to 8-7 through a penalty try and a conversion by full back Neil Dodds.

Although Marr landed another penalty in the second half, and the best try of the match in the closing minutes, Morpeth's pack were the dominant factor.

Scrum half Paul Jackson got on the end of all three push-over tries, Dodds adding two more conversions.

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