DUDLEY Hill gained a valuable advantage over Barrow Island in the battle to catch the leading pack in Division Two of the National Conference League with a hard-fought 28-12 victory at Parry Lane.

Hill proved too strong in the end for their Cumbrian visitors and were good value for the two points on a warm afternoon made for summer rugby.

The game wasn't quite as easy as the score might suggest however and remained scoreless for over 25 minutes, with both sides having good spells of possession until Hill hooker Seb Russo broke the deadlock.

Russo found himself in possession out on the left and showed good pace to skirt outside defensive centre Alli McKeown to touch down.

Scrum half Callum Bacon, who was a thorn in the visitors' side throughout, duly added the extras with the help of the post to make it 6-0.

Less than ten minutes later Hill extended their lead when the ball passed through several pairs of hands before ending up with winger Neil Wall, who gleefully touched down.

Bacon was off target with the kick from a tight angle but Hill were demonstrating early on who was in charge as they went in at the break 10-0 to the good.

Despite an unusually high knock-on rate in the first half, both sides looked to play open, expansive rugby as the game ebbed and flowed.

With the second half just minutes old, Hill gained a further stranglehold on the game when danger man Wall crashed over to make it 14-0. Bacon slotted over the extras with the help of the post and the home side were starting to look more than comfortable with a 16-point advantage.

The game was at a crucial stage where Barrow really needed to score the next try but it was Hill who found their way to the line again.

On the hour, centre Aiden Batey broke the defensive line and outpaced the chasing Barrow defenders to dive over. Bacon was once again successful with the conversion, leaving Hill in total command.

Four minutes later Bacon scored a superb try as he danced and jinked his way around several would-be tacklers to touch down. He then added the goal to leave Barrow no way back at 28-0 down.

Barrow did finally break the Hill defence with ten minutes remaining when first substitute forward Rhys Bartlett crashed over and then hooker Sam Jones scooted in, both tries goaled by Sam Jones.

Wall rightly collected the man of the match award, with Bacon also having an impressive afternoon.

Hill's victory saw them leapfrog their opponents as they moved into fifth spot.