With man flu causing problems with some players, Craig Robinson dropped out on Saturday morning causing a re shuffle in the team.

Pont kicked off and had a flying start as they scored in the first minute with Searle and Chick putting Walton in from 30 metres 5-0. Pont made life difficult as they lost control of the ball in the lineout for 7 out of 8, gifting Darlington the ball. They were up for the fight and the game plan was to constantly pick and go. As they tired one went to ground as the game stopped for the Physio. The GPS stats showed that the home Physio covered the most metres in the first half!!
With the home team pressing they took the lead on 7 minutes as a driven lineout led to a converted try 5-7. Both sides now went into attritional mode as the pressure to gain the upper hand started to tell. Prior to half time Pont pressure allowed Michael Searle to kick a penalty 8-7 HT
With Jonny LE and Cam Bell on Pont started brightly as Chick made inroads and the forwards started to move the heavier home pack around the field. A further Searle penalty stretched the lead 11-7. On 50 minutes a turn over by Moller saw Pont sweep 70 metres down field as Michael Searle and Freer put Walton in again 16-7. Further strong scrummaging put Probert on a Vulipona type run as Pont looked to stretch their lead. To their credit Darlington again drove forward and only a double movement prevented a try. With the home team tiring a forward break out saw Probert feed Walton for his hat trick, converted by Searle. 23-7 with ten minutes to go. Darlington were not lying down and another foray saw missed tackles for a converted home score 23-14. With 5 minutes left the home side were out on their feet as a scrum on Ponts 22 saw Searle break blind. He screamed past two defenders and passed to Walton who left the covering players for dead as he scored the all important bonus point try with 5 minutes to go. The conversion came back off the post making the final score 28-14