Wath 39 Yarnbury 10

Wath Display Power and Pace

Wath 39 Yarnbury 10

For their first home game of the season Wath were forced to defend against a lively Yarnbury team. After 15 minutes the away team had made no serious threat to the Wath line and the balance of power changed. Having made their way into the opposition 22, a good break by Joe Bartlett was continued by Jack Whitlam creating space for Ash Rothery to beat the last defender and open Wath’s account. Whitlam’s conversion gave Wath a 7-0 lead.

The home team maintained pressure but, on 30 minutes, Yarnbury scored an unconverted try against the run of play. Wath responded immediately and resumed territorial advantage. Interplay between Rothery, Joe Earp and Adam West gave the winger just enough time and space to squeeze over in the corner. Although the conversion went just wide, Whitlam was able to add a penalty just before the break and Wath led 15-5 at half time.

Wath were able to carry their dominance into the second half. From a scrum 5 metres from the Yarnbury line Matt Burrows, at Number 8, showed great awareness and was able to pirouette to find space and to add another try to the score. The conversion was missed but the score had still built to a healthy 20 -5.

Within ten minutes Wath had extended their lead as the inventive play in the backs drew Wath close to the Yarnbury line. A lineout won by Luke Pendlebury was followed by a powerful drive and Luke Stead was unstoppable from Bartlett’s short, reverse pass. The score moved to 25-5 as another conversion went just wide.

The home team were in complete control but a passage of careless play allowed the opposition centre to make an interception. Carrying well, he found several teammates on hand and Yarnbury were able score their second try.
The kick from the touchline drifted just outside the post but the gap had closed to 25-10. Buoyed by their success, the away team produced a period of pressure on the Wath line. Tackles of note by Andy Bartlett and Anthony Barrett prevented further scores and a thundering run from Stead released the pressure.

Continued rucks near Yarnbury’s try line resulted in a yellow card to the away team for not moving from the ball. Wath took advantage of extra space and Jack Whitlam picked out winger, Sam Holt, with an excellent long pass to run in a try. Whitlam’s conversion made it 32-10.

The match ended on a high for Wath as Earp stole the ball and, after a short break, passed the ball to Tom Quinn, who was up in support. His pace took him clear to score near the posts and allow Whitlam to complete the scoring with the last kick of the game. The final score was an emphatic 39 – 10 home win and a very encouraging performance from both the powerful forwards and the creative backs.

Steve Corns

The Andy Hopkin Paragraph

Back to normal, turned up late. Forgot to mention last week he has “ a big heed”. Thanks to Titch for reminder.