VALE of Lune were brought down to earth by bottom of the table Sheffield in a frustrating encounter.

Although the Vale played with authority in the first half and put the home side under pressure, they were unable to recapture their dominance. Once Sheffield had scored and converted a breakaway try in the 48th minute the Vale struggled to compose themselves despite having plenty of possession.

A third Sheffield penalty gave Sheffield a 16-7 before skipper Ian Bird blasted over for an unconverted try in the 62nd minute to bring his side back into contention.

Unfortunately the Vale appeared to run out of ideas, their predictability played into the hands of a home side that was growing in confidence.

An untidy passage of rugby ended with Jimmy Pearson kicking his fourth penalty with five minutes remaining for Sheffield. With time running out Vale mounted a series of frantic attacks in an attempt to salvage a point but Sheffield were in no mood to surrender their lead.

Although the Vale fell behind to a second minute Pearson penalty they put the home side under severe pressure for long periods. Eventually the Sheffield line was breached when Donovan Saunders scored and converted following prolonged driving rugby from the forwards in the 20th minute.

Pearson kicked another penalty but there was nothing to suggest from the Vale's first half performance that they would struggle to break down the home sides resistance.

Terry Adams scored the crucial try in the second half, converted by Pearson for Sheffield who grew in confidence from this point on as the game finished 19-12.