The Foresters travelled to the outskirts of Leeds on a fine afternoon in good spirits following on from the previous couple of weeks results but unsure of the quality of the opposition with them being promoted to Yorkshire Premiership at the end of last season.
With a slightly disjointed pre-match preparation taking place the mindset of the lads drifted slightly but this was put away by a try from the returning Sam Gaudie following on from some pressure exerted from the kick off. The forwards shunted the home pack back on their own put in. Gaudie pressurised the home number 10 and forced an error and dotted down. The conversion was missed.
Similar pressure by the pack at scrum time resulted in a simple try for skipper Tom Whyte which this time was converted by Rory MacNab.
A third scrum about 22 yards out resulted in a simple backs move involving Gaudie, Verity and Prell with Gaudie profiting for his second try which was again converted by MacNab.
A period of stalemate passed until some good interplay between backs and forwards resulted in Oliver Snowdon crossing the whitewash. MacNab again converted.
There was just enough time before the break for some simple hands in the backs to make a little room for Owen Bullock to cross in the top corner. The conversion was missed from wide out.
Half Time: – Moortown 0-31 Foresters.
Soon after the restart prop George Altham broke clear and fed lock Simon Borrill who strode in from 20 yards out and close to the posts to assist the extras for MacNab.
Further tries followed at regular intervals throughout the following 35 minutes with Ben Patchett, Max Mountain, Rory MacNab and Josh Prell all crossing the whitewash, Owen Bullock getting a second and a brace from Sam Mason. The latter had the final say by intercepting and having just enough legs to cross from 60 yards out. MacNab converted 6 out of 7.
Full Time: – Moortown 0-85 Foresters.
Moortown played with commitment and could have sneaked a couple of tries themselves if it wasn’t for the defensive efforts of all 19 players on show.
The performance bodes well for this Saturday’s home fixture against last year’s league champions Sheffield Tigers.
Wharfedale: – 1. Ben Patchett, 2. Tom Jackson, 3. George Altham, 4. Joe Myers, 5. Simon Borrill, 6. Joe Fawcett
7. Oliver Snowdon, 8. Tom Whyte (c), 9. Sam Gaudie, 10. Rory MacNab, 11. Owen Bullock, 12. Louis Verity, 13. Josh Prell, 14. Bradley Viner, 15. Sam Mason.
Replacements: – 16. Sam Dickinson, 17. Adam Stubbs, 18. Max Mountain, 19. Madison Hunting.