Opening Weekend Victory

Wath see off Vandals

Wath began the new season in Yorkshire 2, with a trip to Halifax Vandals, a club on a roll after two successive promotions. The conditions were perfect and the pitch, perched high on a hillside overlooking the town, was in pristine condition.

Following a slow start by both teams, the game sprung to life when Danny Lord produced a turnover and the ball was moved quickly out to the left for winger, Sam Holt, to outpace the defence and touch down. Jack Whitlam converted from wide out to give Wath a 7-0 lead.

Further good possession by the forwards allowed the ball to be fed wide to the right and debutant, Adam Thompson, powered through the remaining defenders to score near the touch line. Although the conversion just missed, it gave the away team a healthy 12 - 0 advantage.

Wath soon built on more good forward play to allow Jack Whitlam the time to cross the line and then convert his own try to make it 19 – 0 to the away side.

A further sustained period of excellent play allowed captain, Adam West, to extend the lead as he drove through a shattered defence to score under the posts. Whitlam added the kick and after 30 minutes Wath were leading 26 – 0.

At this point we were dealt a blow: Danny Lord, Wath’s outstanding player up to this point, suffered a cut around the eye following an accidental clash of heads, and played no further part in the game.

Vandals took advantage of the break in play to compose themselves and got back into the game with two converted tries to close the gap to 14 – 26 at half time.

The second half was less spectacular than the first. Jack Whitlam reimposed Wath’s supremacy with an easy penalty, but Vandals built some pressure on the Wath defence and eventually scored a converted try from a catch and drive at a line out. With the score closed to 21 – 29 Wath regained their dominance to close out the game. A drop kick by Whitlam and a scything break from full back, Tom Quinn, eventually led to scrum half, Joe Bartlett, completing the scoring and giving Wath an emphatic 37 to 21 win.

After last season’s weak finish in the League this was a confidence boosting victory and Head Coach, Simon Lines, was pleased with his players’ efforts and commitment. Many ex players who have experienced the conditions at Vandals in mid winter would have enjoyed Saturday’s outing.