Saturday 6 April - Billingham v Wharfedale (A) KO 2.15pm ------- Billingham 2nd XV v Foresters (A) KO 2.15pm ------

The last time men in green marauded opposition to the extent this side has in the past few weeks, Little John and Friar Tuck were in their pomp ( 2nd row and prop ) !  The Foresters were yet again dominant in all areas and provided terrific entertainment for all who enjoy fast , open adventurous rugby.

Perfect they are not but they are improving so rapidly that there is this sensation of what will happen next and they certainly hold spectators attention for the full eighty minutes. Please do not think that Driffield are a poor side, just …

In the true spirit of the game Wharfedale helped the Pythons make up their numbers to 15.  Fortunately, having the largest turn-out of the season made this possible, so a big thank you to all who turned up.

Initially, the first half saw Wharfedale dominant with three very quickly scored tries by Wake, Booth and Hayton.  The Pythons didn’t capitulate and indeed scored twice.  The Greens were playing a hard but expansive game and further scores came from Booth (2), Gill and Bullock. Skipper Jonathan Davies added two conversions, so the score at the break was 39-14.

After rearranging the …

Following on from a blank weekend and with some late changes to the squad, the Foresters had a different look on Saturday when they travelled across to Leeds to play Moortown 2’s.

The first 25 minutes were played at a good tempo and, before you could blink, the Foresters were 4 tries ahead.  Winger Kaup-Samuels was the beneficiary of some good hands and phases to cross twice, scrum half Max Bell finished off a sweeping blindside move by winger Fred Hewetson to claim the next try and prop forward Jimmy Meehan crashed over after a 5 yard tap penalty, following …

A beautiful sunny afternoon saw Wharfedale take the field at Ripon with not only a full team but also with a couple of finishers.  Early exchanges looked like it was going to be a fast- paced encounter. New scrum half Kitching was the first to open the Dalesmen’s account with JD converting.  The latter then crossed the whitewash himself and again converted. Ripon applied their own pressure and went into the break 7-14 down.

The second half saw the Dale slip in their ways, the set pieces becoming sloppy and not as effective.  Our only points came from a JD …

A pulsating match ended with both sides taking a share of the points. Ionian’s coach, Graham Steadman, summed up the game saying “we lacked composure at important moments. Wharfedale put up a spirited display and on reflection the draw was a fair result”.

Wharfedale spent the first period of the game defending in their own half. Hull could not break the Dale defence which was its usual resolute self. If there was a moment of controversy it was about the new 50-22 rule. Hull gathered a clearance kick and a few phases later were back in their own half and …

A mid week league cancellation saw the Dev XV making a short cross border trip to be hosted by Colne and Nelson.

A squad made up of a healthy  mix of youth and experience saw the Greens take an early lead with Skipper Jonathan Davies converting his own try. Sadly a front row injury saw uncontested scrums be order of the day.

By half time Viner had crossed twice with Kaup-Samuels and Bowers scoring  with Davies adding all three conversions. The try of the match however was a great individual effort by Colne and Nelson which was successfully converted.

Half …

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