Wetherby 29 Wath 24

Wath Frustrated by Close Defeat.

Wath arrived late at Wetherby due to a hold up on the A1, but began the game brightly with a good balance of play between forwards and backs. This concerted pressure resulted in a try out wide finished off by winger, Rory Anderson. Although the conversion by Whitlam went just wide, Wath had the advantage of a 0-5 lead.

Unfortunately, despite the majority of possession, Wath were unable to add any further points in the first half. In stark contrast, the opposition made the most of their time with the ball and scored three tries, two of which were converted to give the home team a 19-5 lead at the break.

Wath made changes at half time and both newcomers, Sam Levitt and Ben Myers, made significant impact with their powerful running. Anthony Barratt, from centre, found space to go over for a try as Wetherby were caught napping early in the second half. Fly half, Whitlam, reduced the arrears to 19 -12. The away side moved on to 19-17 as Ben Myers drove over for a try from close range and Whitlam added another conversion.

The Wath crowd were disappointed as a couple of close calls went against them and Wetherby were able to take advantage of rare opportunities in their opponents half to increase their lead to 29-19 through a converted try and a penalty.

Prop, Bob Lazenby, reduced the deficit with his team’s fourth try to gain a bonus point. Whitlam, again, added two more points from the conversion as Wath ran out of time and the game ended with Wetherby running out winners 29-24

An afternoon for Wath beset by usual frustrations.

Wath’s last home game of the season is next Saturday against Halifax Vandals.

Steve Corns