Wath 3rds vs Rotherham Phoenix 2nds

A bright afternoon at Moor Road welcomed the arrival of Rotherham Phoenix. After a promising start to the 2014 season, Wath were looking to impress further after their significant victory away at Dinnington. Wath started the brighter of the two sides with an early try coming from a planned (2 minutes prior to kick off) lineout only a few yards away from the oppositions tryline. To the disbelief of the mass of spectators, Wayne Boote threw one of only a handful of straight throws to Gaz Platts who leapt above his opposite number to retrieve the ball spectacularly in mid flight. A rolling maul soon developed and Wath were able to comfortably drive over the line and score the opening five points from Aynsley Williams. The opposition offered little in the form of an immediate response but were rewarded later in the first half with their opening try after a heated discussion enraged from within the Wath camp, Rotherham Phoenix finishing underneath the sticks. A later investigation identified that both parties were idiots for their part in the matter.

In what appeared to be a remake of Rocky 4, Alex "Drago" Dunn seemed to offer the finishing punch with a try in the far corner. However, the referee spared Rocky his blushes and declared that Drago had, in fact, been forced into touch... and into a bin.

The onslaught continued as a result of the previous decision and Wath were once again rewarded from a lineout. Appearing unable to count, Rotherham scrambled 3 men into the line and were caught out once again by Gaz Platts who presented the ball to Wayne Boote. The ensuing drive over the oppositions line led to his first try of the season.

The shock of the game came from another unlikely source, however. In what appeared to be a Rugby mirage, JP2 found the cognitive ability to allow his hands to process the movement necessary to allow the ball to leave his hands and gather the required flight in order to reach it's recipient. In this twist of fate, once again, Gaz Platts was on hand to cross the line to finish an excellent Wath move.

Wath found themselves under pressure through the later stages of the first half but defended effectively to restrict their opponent's potential comeback. Moments of brilliance from the backs offered endless opportunities to further the score but Rotherham defended well to minimise the scoreline entering the second half.

Congratulations were in order once again for Paul Mangham, the father of up-and-coming world class superstar, Jacob "Mango" Mangham, who impressed once again with his fleet-footedness and flair whilst tearing holes through the Phoenix defence like Tim Hicks through a starting 15 shirt. Another try for the youngster in the midst of the second half capped off another incredible performance.

The Wath pack pushed on through the later stages and took advantage of the weakening Phoenix forwards, predominately through the scrums. This afforded the Thirds with plenty of possession to enhance their lead further. The Wath backs continued to terrorise the defence with some excellent play from PJ, JP2, Faron Firth, Ryan Harrison and Martyn Bragg, with Tim Webb crushing his opposite number with a demoralising tackle.

An excellent all-round performance from the Thirds, once again, provided them with a comfortable win against tricky opposition.

Wath 3rds 42-17 Rotherham Phoenix.