THE North One West division was denied a heavyweight showdown on Saturday as league leaders Kirkby Lonsdale saw their fixture at Birkenhead Park called off.

Both sides have beaten all they have faced so far this term, with Kirkby pulling out a seven-point lead by virtue of playing a game more and scoring three more bonus points than their rivals.

But with the two set to go head to head on Merseyside on Saturday, a thick fog meant the game was unable to go ahead.

Kirkby skipper Ben Walker said: "It was a frustrating day for everyone involved. Birkenhead rang us up at about 10am and said 'the fog might clear it might not, it's up to you'.

"We travelled down and you couldn't even see five metres in front you let alone play a game of rugby."

The postponement has however given the title hopefuls some extra recuperation time ahead of this weekend's encounter with Wilmslow, with Walker adding his charges will be ready for the battle with the division's third-placed team.

"We will be ready to go and with this week off a few little niggles have cleared up," he said. "We are confident we can get the win and we'll just see what happens on Saturday."