Pre-season friendly

Another hot day at the Avenue greeted Billingham from the North East. Wharfedale struggled to show any fluency early on and were guilty of some sloppy play and allowed the visitors to score two converted tries in the first 20 minutes to lead by 14 points. Dale then started to improve and a break by Harry Bullough and a kick ahead by James Coulton led to Bullough himself scoring. Ben Blackwell converted.

More shocking play followed by the home side and Billingham touched down again for an unconverted try to leave the score 7 – 19. Dale then …

Rugby returned to the Avenue with a double header. A good crowd enjoyed the sunshine and were entertained by first the Foresters playing Old Rishworthians and then 1^st Team taking on old friends, Macclesfield. The results preseason are not the most important thing but it is important for the coaches to see players on the field against good opposition.

Macclesfield played some good rugby and, despite the score, were strong opponents. The match gave the players the chance to impress Wharfedale’s new Director of Rugby, Simon Verbickas. All players took the chance and played some superb eye-catching rugby.

Dale …

(Thank you to Fred Bullough for kindly providing this!)

To the solid band of Foresters supporters, do not be alarmed. The final score does not truly represent what you have come to expect from the Foresters normal squad of players. The Club itself were very short of players for the two matches that took part on the 6^th of August and consequently it was very difficult to field two teams against the Old Rishworthians and later the first team against Macclesfield. Therefore, to even consider playing both games, several players turned out for both of the Wharfedale sides. Yes, …

Another great game at the Avenue on a warm (for April) day. Wharfedale won this encounter by scoring 4 tries to 3 and also grabbing 20 points from the boot of Tom Davidson. Josh Burridge was awarded the Star Man for his general play but also for his leadership in steering the younger players through a difficult match.

Wharfedale had the best of the opening minutes and showed domination at the scrum by driving Rotherham back and earning a penalty in the 5^th minute. A couple of slightly not straight line-outs hindered progress. But the Rotherham scrum following a …

Wharfedale played outstanding flowing rugby and were far too strong for struggling Harrogate. A bonus point was wrapped up by half-time and Dale doubled their score with another four tries in the second half.

It was difficult to pick Dale’s outstanding player as this was a real team performance. The eight tries were scored by eight different players with everyone contributing to flowing moves that at times left the following faithful breathless. The skill level, the handling and passing reached new heights and stretched Gate at all times.

The pack had the upper hand for nearly the whole game – …

Yorkshire Merit League – Premiership Semi-Final

Be assured that due to the scarcity of matches concerning the Foresters recently, there has been no possibility of writers cramp !! This felt like the start to a new season, not the near end of one and we asked could the team remember and retain their determination, enthusiasm and will to win or would they be “rusty and creaky”. Whilst there were , from time to time, signs of lack of playing time, the Foresters produced a great deal of quality rugby and the required endeavour. Some mistakes were made but overall the …