1XV (M)
Matches
Sat 28 Oct 2017  ·  Yorkshire Division Two
Pontefract
36
31
Wetherby RUFC
1XV (M)
Tries: J Kaye, J Day, D WardenConversions: D WardenYellow Carded: C Atkinson
Wetherby nearly cause upset at Ponte

Wetherby nearly cause upset at Ponte

Stephen Hoather31 Oct 2017 - 17:29
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"How old is Den's mum?" - Myles "She's thirty-heaven" - Rob Adair

With a trip to league leaders Pontefract on Saturday, and a high casualty and unavailability list leading to the second team game being called off, there were certainly some nerves in the air as Wetherby travelled to the game on Saturday. Despite the usual stories of Jack Kaye stooping to new lows in his quest for love, even being beaten by Sean Lally this week, the vibe was still uneasy.

Pontefract started the game with all the anticipated intensity but came unstuck off the very first scrum of the game. Thanks to the wind dying down, Mattie Chappel's ears had been allowed out of quarantine this week and he packed down in the second row with Tom Bottomley. The enormous front five ran riot and gave perfect ball for the backs. Myles Oates ran through the line quicker than his girlfriend ran away from his disgusting moustache on Saturday evening, and set Jack Kaye free. Jack sprinted free down the wing despite all of the shame and secrets he was carrying, to open the scoring. 0-5.

Wetherby seemed to have shell-shocked Ponte and continued with their good start as they forced a scrum five metres from the home teams line. With Scotty Wallis and Bradley Mason in ferocious mood, the screw was turned and the referee had no option but to award a penalty try. 0-12.

Wetherby's kick-off receipts have always been a major flaw in their game, and this was exposed well by pontefract. Wetherby looked like they were dressing up as Easter island as the ball was kicked off and allowed Ponte to get onto the front foot. With their winger running out of room, they kicked back in field to keep the ball alive and score the try. 7-12.

A similar move to Pontefract's try was then stopped superbly by a crunching Jack Kaye tackle over the try-line. This much needed tackle could well come in handy with Andrew Trotman back earlier than expected next week. Not even a media mogul like Trotman can get into Bali without a working passport. At least there's a viral video in there somewhere.

In a cracking game for the spectators Wetherby continued to upset the apple cart early in the game. Jonny Day prepared for his velvet-clad party boy evening by chasing a kick ahead and pinning back his flowing locks to reach the ball first and stretch Wetherby's lead. 7-19.

They say in rugby that the worst thing you can do is to concede points as soon as you have scored them, and Wetherby were guilty of that again for Pontefract's second try. Again the kick off receipt was botched, and with pontefract combining their backs and forwards better than any other team in the league, hammered away at the Wetherby line. As usual, George Gilbert threw himself into everything and was assisted by big tackles from Oates and Atkinson. Eventually the line broke however and Ponte closed the gap. 14-19.

In credit to Pontefract, despite us going through their scrum like a hot knife through butter, their attacking play was outstanding. With an experienced ten using his back row carriers around him well, Wetherby struggled to live with their pace when they did get good ball. A further try before half-time left the game evenly poised at the break.

Half-time: Pontefract 21-19 Wetherby

After a rousing team talk at half-time, Wetherby went on the field with the aim of re-taking their lead. Ponte had other ideas however and used their open-side flanker in the wide channels to great effect once more. Despite another strong tackle from Jack Kaye, whose strength had been harnessed by tangling with river monsters in the week, Ponte crossed again. 28-19.

Much like after the spartans were successful at the hot gates, and the Persians released their enormous war monster in the film 300, Wetherby coach Andy Gair went for the same approach. After a year long hiatus, Mattie Harrison marched onto the pitch looking stronger and meaner than ever before and got straight to work. At a measly 17.5 stone Steve Hoather found himself in between a rock and a hard place at hooker but more scrum pressure gave captain Danny Warden an easy dot down at the back of the scrum and secure the four try bonus point. 28-24.

With Sean Lally sidelined with exhaustion from his evening activities, and Bradley Mason still suffering from the heartburn that caused him to miss this week's training (another genuine excuse), Wetherby were starting to tire. What Pontefract gave away in size and strength in the pack was made up for in their fitness. Their back row and ten were again influential as they ran in their fifth try of the afternoon. 35-24.

The Pontefract feathers were certainly ruffled. The Pontefract blindside was sin binned for trying to decapitate Harry Kaye, after the silver tongued fly-half managed to get into his head. This was followed by Chris Atkinson acting like Daniel-San from karate kid as he set to with his opposite number. Both were yellow carded.

The open space left on the field made for a cracking last ten minutes. Wetherby were harshly adjudged to have passed forward during a move which saw Steve Hoather produce an outstanding finish with a one handed catch. The resulting scrum was turned over and the away side earned their second penalty try of the afternoon. 35-31.

Despite some good late tactical kicking play from Billy Cale, who heroically returned from University for a cameo, Wetherby couldn't force their way back into the opposition half. Once upon a time Myles Oates would have run around the opposition and scored four, but those days are over now that his mrs comes down every week.

Full time: Pontefract 35-31 Wetherby

An enormous display from a Wetherby side containing a number of untried combinations. Two losing bonus points is the least the reds deserved from the game. In the words of Clarkson lookalike Danny Warden, "On that bombshell, goodnight!"

MoM: Any one of the front three - a lesson in scrummaging
DoD: Chris Atkinson - Yellow cards must be punished. Stop playing so much Tekken in your free time as well!

Match details

Match date

Sat 28 Oct 2017

Kickoff

15:00

Competition

Yorkshire Division Two

League position

2
Pontefract
10
Wetherby
Team overview
Further reading