Drama as Metro go down

Metro, docked six points during the regular season, had dropped into Championship One for the second phase of fixtures in the new-look structure. The top five clubs went on to slug it out for the inaugural Super 5 crown while the bottom three had to meet the leading five clubs from the second tier, with the top three going back up for next season.

Metro, struggling with depleted numbers, were confident of bouncing straight back but two defeats in their first three matches left them on the back foot.

It meant they had to claim two victories in their final round at Guildford and they looked well placed after beating Croydon 16-12.

But they then crucially dropped a point in a 13-13 draw with Kent side Invicta, missing a penalty late on after the opposition levelled with two minutes remaining. Even an 11-11 draw with Bristol on day two in an end-to-end thriller seemed likely to ensure safety for the Yorkshire club, who sat in third place and knew they could only be overhauled by Invicta if they defeated Welsh Wanderers by a minimum four goals.

But Invicta won 15-11, scoring the crucial goal with 22 seconds left, leaving them level on points and with an identical goal difference.

Because the teams had drawn their Championship match, the issue could only be settled by their overall goals records into account—the Kent side creeping into third after netting 74 to Rotherham’s 70.