Wetherby Maintain Pressure on Salem as Keighley Falter

12pm at Grange Park and the place was already buzzing in anticipation of the 1st team kick off at 3pm! The bar team were readying the clubhouse for the visiting committee, volunteers and sponsors lunches with 60 plus guests on their way it was going to be a great day.

And we were also delighted to welcome Roger Stocker back to the club, not as referee this time (ahem!) but as Chairman of the Yorkshire RFU. In Rogers speech he was very generous in his praise for the progress our club has made in the past 15 years and shared that Wetherby RUFC are now on the list of flagship clubs for the RFU which is testament to the ambition of the committee and commitment of the players.

Back to on-field matters and Wetherby started the match with the same team as last week's win over Wensleydale. With a number of players frustrated not to be able to break in to the 1st team the team started in a well organised manner and soon had the ball over the line via a Steve Hoather sprint that was duly converted by Charlie Yates.

7-0.

Pythons bounced back quickly with a penalty of their own but Wetherby were quickly back on the front foot from the restart. Wetherby regained possession on the half way line and a kick through into the Pythons half wasn't cleared and Beeson used his natural footballing skills to punt through towards the try line. It was now a foot race, one that Beeson was never going to lose, turning on the afterburners with 20 yards to go and sailing past the Pythons full back.

12-3

Apart from all the excitement of the tries there were some seriously dominant tackles flying in from Briggs and Adair, a theme that was to continue through out the match. Whether it was the already sodden shirts from the downpour prior to the match or the sheer intensity of the contact, the crowds in the stand could hear as well as see every collision.

As in the away game vs Pythons, they are a hard working team and weren't going to let Wetherby have it their own way, with their 2nd penalty making the score 12-6.

For all the rain, hail and incredibly wet conditions under foot, Wetherby were still able to keep the handling errors to a minimum and soon again found themselves in the Pythons 22 with a rolling maul that would usually deliver a try but Pythons worked hard to hold the ball up. But the momentum for the home side was unstoppable and from the restart Wetherby dragged the Pythons defence to the left wing only to set up Blakey with a gaping hole through the defence that he duly accepted and scored under the posts.

19-6

In a change to the normal service, Wetherby weren't as dominant in the scrum with Pythons holding their own however it was from a scrum and the subsequent phases of play that two unlikely souls might find themselves clear through with a 2 on 1 against the full back and surely a certain try. But no. Draper in his trademark red scrum cap makes the initial break. The yards opened up in front of him like Moses and the sea of Galilee (or was it the Red Sea), either way, he was almost walking on water on the waterlogged pitch, and with his trusted 2nd row and team captain, Reid on his right shoulder it looked like a certain try. But those hands were made for carrying, not passing, and the ball never quite made it in to Reidy's breadbasket to enable him to finish off the move.

Half time arrived and the home fans were thinking they should have been further ahead, but as per the away game there was expectation that the home team would come out the stronger.

Early in the second half and Wetherby started strong. From a line out which was working well with Acland, Reid and Draper on top form, on the Pythons 22, Wetherby started a big rolling mall that drove into the 10 meter area set up a backs attack. With faultless passing across the backline the ball arrived at Little on the wing who scored on the flag.

24 -6

Remarkably, despite the incredibly bad weather, Wetherby were playing solid, flowing rugby. With some acrobatic sliding tackles from Gilbert, and some real hard yards ground out by Hoather, Kitching and Coach Woodworth, the home team drew the Pythons defence in and when the ball was nudged through by would-be No 10, Hoather, it was another footrace but this time for Little and Briggs verses the Pythons winger. There was always going to be only one winner though and Little gathered the ball just before the try line and slid over for the try.

29-6

Harry Kaye may have been absent in the match report so far but having orchestrated much of the good stuff so far it was his turn to really show the class that he has. His relationship (on the pitch) with Redman is growing ever stronger and receiving quick ball, sees Little in acres of space on the far wing and a la Johnny Wilkinson in the 2003 Rugby World Cup in his cross field kick to Ballshaw, crafts the perfect kick that Little gathers and sidesteps the last defender to score again.

Converted by the trusty boot of Yates, 36-6
Subs were called to seethe game out with Greenwood and Ward and Goodall taking to the pitch. But Greenwood's tenure was to be remarkably short. From a Wetherby infringement in the Pythons half, Greenwood failed to get back 10 and was penalised with a surprise yellow. 110 seconds was the official time on the pitch, quite remarkable!

Harrogate are a plucky team though and despite the dominance and skills on display from Wetherby, they clawed a try back, much to the dissatisfaction of Coach Woodworth who prides his team on solid defence.

36-11

With the crowd wondering how much time there was left, Wetherby again engineered themselves in to the Pythons half and with relentless
pressure of attack Pythons were in disarray. Kaye was again alert to the opportunity and with vision that surely belongs in North East 2, he kicked over to the opposite wing and almost like a carbon copy of the earlier move to Little, found Beeson who scored Wetherby's penultimate try.

41-13

With the pitch resembling a quagmire and the players wet through, there was still loads of energy in the home team and with Goodall's fresh legs he created an opening in the defence that Adair was wise to and followed into the Pythons half. With the slightly less fresh legs of Adair keeping him on Goodall's shoulder he gratefully accepted the pass and without the gas of the younger lads, who else was there to finish it off but Little, beating the final two Python defenders with footwork, guile and pace to score the final try.

Converted by Yates 48-13

It was a day to be proud of our great club. Both on and off the pitch we showed what grass roots sport is all about. The commitment of volunteers and players alike, working as a wider team to entertain at the highest level in the Yorkshire leagues.

Coach Woodworth commented: "The players have worked really hard over the past 2 weeks in training to bring a high energy style of play and work rate in our defence that showed throughout the game. The pressure we put the Pythons attach under forced them to make errors and kick the ball away which played in to our hands. I can't fault the lads, to build on that full 80 minute performance against Wensleydale a fortnight ago and now to come up with another 80 minutes where we excelled in difficult conditions. The bonus point win, and Keighley losing to Pocklington , maintains our pressure on Bradford Salem who currently sit top of the table. It looks like this season will come down to the wire, but who would have it any other way? #AWAW"