Pontefract 41 Wath 10

The return of the Beast from the East meant Wath’s rearranged game at League leaders Pontefract was in doubt right up to the kick off. The game went ahead in the sunshine but with a strong, bitterly cold wind blowing into the faces of the hardy spectators attempting to shelter in the stand.

An aimless kicking dual in the opening exchanges was ended when the Pontefract backs handled the ball well to give their winger an easy opportunity to score out wide. The conversion into the wind fell well short but the home side had a 5-0 lead.

Wath learned from their error and the forwards decided to keep the ball in their possession.
This worked well but after 20 minutes the home side gained the ball in space and their pacey backs again outflanked the Wath defence. The difficult conversion was again missed but Pontefract had opened up with 10 -0 advantage. Almost from the kick off Pontefract found space through a fragmented defence and scored under the posts. The simple conversion made the score 17- 0 after 20 minutes and Wath’s spectators feared the worst.

The Wath team without several key, experienced players responded well. As conditions deteriorated and a blizzard developed the forwards dominated the remainder of the half. Led from the front by stand in captain, Ash Rothery, and well supported by fellow back row, Curtis Brownrigg, Wath eventually gained some reward. A great catch and drive from a line out in Pontefract’s 22 resulted in a try to the forwards with Brownrigg emerging from the bottom of the pile to claim the score. Jack Whitlam, filling in ably at scrum half, saw his attempted conversion drift just wide. Despite further Wath possession, with Jonty Morrisey showing great determination on his return from a serious injury, the score remained 19- 5 at half time to the home team.

In the second half territorial advantage was shared but Pontefract were able to use their backs to create chances when in possession. Breaks through the centre resulted in two unconverted tries and gave the home side a 29 -5 lead. An opportunist try by Anthony Barratt, playing out of position at stand off, brought the score back to 29 10 . In the closing stages, as the snow continued to fall, Pontefract score another two tries and one successful conversion to help them run out convincing 41- 10 winners.

In atrocious conditions both teams and the referee deserve credit for their fortitude as do the beleaguered spectators of both teams, who together, enjoyed a game played in great spirit.
Congratulations to Pontefract who are now almost certain to be promoted to the prestigious Yorkshire 1 for next season.

Steve Corns