Job done. Wharfedale got what they came for, a place in the semi-finals of the Centurion Yorkshire Cup, but they also went home with a few injuries, nothing too serious, but enough to limit their selection choices for the weekend.

It was a low-key, disjointed match, featuring too many handling errors to get the flow going. Luke Gray started proceedings with a 40-yard penalty in the 11th minute, and by the 18th minute winger Dave Hall had twice helped himself to tries coming from charge-downs; in the 22nd minute James Tincknell’s first try of the night (but not his last) wiped out any lingering hopes of a surprise result. But  injuries to Oliver Renton and Simon Horsfall had put a damper on proceedings and there were no more scores before half-time (22-0).

It took until the 53rd minute for the Greens to add to their score, replacement Dan Hart finishing after scrum-half Dan Matthews had tapped and gone. Middlesbrough then enjoyed their only spell of sustained pressure, culminating in a mauled try far out on the right, beautifully converted, after which the only disruption to the visitors’ progress came from an injury to Andy Hodgson and the inevitable wholesale replacements. Tincknell helped himself to two more tries and Hart one, but arguably the most deserved try of the night came when Richard Brown, playing number 8 to great effect, got to a clever cross-kick from Gray.

Other plus points were Gray’s goalkicking (15 points), Joe Altham’s scrummaging and Dan Hart’s appetite on his return, not to mention his achievement in surviving the warm-up.

Wharfedale: Philip Woodhead; Dave Hall, James Tincknell, Andy Hodgson (Alex Black, 74), Simon Horsfall (Dan Hart, 25); Luke Gray, Dan Matthews; Joe Altham, Steve Graham, Ben Fear (Mark Chivers, 67), Oliver Renton (Latu Maka’afi, 18), Jim Mason, Rob Baldwin (c), Tom Wareing, Richard Brown. Replacements: Mark Chivers, Gavin Hindle, Latu Maka’afi, Dan Hart, Nick Taylor, Alex Black.

Wharfedale’s semi-final will be at the Avenue (we don’t get many home ties!) against Hull, and will be played on Wednesday, 21st April.