Articles by JDriver

Not a game of two halves but a game of one quarter when Dale looked good, played some effective rugby and went into a 12-point lead. Loughborough then clawed their way back into the game and nudged ahead 14-12 with a second try on the stroke of half-time. Injuries took their toll on Dale and two Yellow Cards in the second half further added to their woes.

Madison Hunting set up excellent field position taking possession after a scrappy Loughborough line-out and charging down field. Two phases later a Cicognini grubber forced the defence to scramble the ball into touch …

A feast of rugby served by the two Dales who made the best of the conditions and played attacking rugby from the outset. Jack Blakeney-Edwards for Wharfedale and Robert Parker for Tynedale traded penalties early on to leave the score tied at 6 apiece. Jack Thompson won the 1^st penalty with a good jackal in the first minute and three minutes later Joe Altham burst through the defence with Omari Kaup-Samuels in support forcing the defence to slow the ball down and give a penalty away. The two Wharfedale penalties were unfortunate but one or two mistakes had crept …

On balance this was a good game of rugby played by two teams that wanted to move the ball around.

Dale opened the scoring with a try that followed two odd kicks ahead. Elliot Stockton pounced on the loose ball under Chester’s posts and the ball was sent left to find Tom Davidson who crossed for the try. Chester grabbed a try before half time with James Lloyd rumbling over. Liam Reeve converted. Wharfedale still had time to mount another attack and Rian Hamilton took the clearance kick and ran at the defence. Quick ball was sent left and Jack …

After the Rams’ convincing win by 7-40 at Skipton last week, it was time for the 3rds to exhibit their skills at Ripon.  A beautiful spring day welcomed the Greens to Mallorie Park.  A healthy mix of Colts and more experienced campaigners took to the field against what looked like an abrasive and well-drilled Ripon side.

Early exchanges – fifteen minutes of stalemate rugby – gave no indication of the volume of scoring which was to follow.  Jonathan Davies set the ball rolling with a try which he then converted.  This triggered a speedy response from the hosts who scored …

Harrogate nearly clung on for their fourth win of the season but Tom Davidson landed a last gap penalty to take the spoils. This was a good local derby; if the skill level at times was lacking, the match was high on tension and the result was always in doubt.

The teams ran on to the pitch through a tunnel provided by Wharfedale and Harrogate U13 teams who had provided an entertaining match on the back pitch. Wharfedale started brightly with good carries from the forwards moving play out of Dale’s 22. Bradley Viner followed up Henry Macnab’s kick and …

The Foresters made the journey across to the flatlands to take on a confident Driffield second string in a fixture that would act as the results of both the snow postponed home fixture from three weeks ago and this return fixture.

After playing only three matches so far in 2022, neither commitment nor selection has been easy, but nevertheless the management put out their strongest squad in a very long while.

The start was nip and tuck with both sides testing each other to the maximum.  It wasn’t until Omari Kaup-Samuels broke the deadlock when sniping through from a ruck, …