Wath 35 O. Rishworthians 14

With three consecutive bonus point wins under their belts, Wath hosted the League leaders, O.Rishworthians, with renewed confidence in their game plan to avenge their defeat earlier in the season.
A great break straight from the kick off by second row, Luke Pendlebury, put Wath on the front foot and, despite being unable to complete the move, Wath had made a statement of intent. Being aware of the quick, well organised O. R., the home team set about denying them the possession they needed.
On 15 minutes, Steve West was given a chance to take a 10 minute rest by the referee following a yellow card for careless use of the foot. In this period Wath took the lead with Sean Hopper bursting from a maul on halfway and showing great pace to beat the final defender and score under the posts. Jack Whitlam’s simple kick gave Wath a 7-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Despite glimpses of Rishworthian’s attacking flair, Wath continued to dominate territorial and possessional advantage. 5 minutes from half time, following a series of scrums near the visitors try line, Joe Earp touched down and Jack Whitlam was able to double the home team’s lead to 14-0.
With giant lock, Richard Hill, replacing the injured Adam West just before half time, Wath were able to continue putting pressure on the away team’s tackling. With countless drives both the Wath backs and forwards starved the opposition of the ball. Back to his best following a long period of injury, scrum half, Joe Bartlett, took on three defenders close to the try line and still manged to touch down. Another conversion by Whitlam enhanced Wath’s advantage to 21-0 after 50 minutes.
O.R. immediately gave Wath a reminder of their abilities and created enough space for their winger to score near the touchline. A superb conversion closed the gap to 21-7 and sent a message to the home team of the table topper’s threat.
The whole of the Wath team responded well and kept to their game plan of keeping possession of the ball. Strong carries and good support ensured O.R. were continually defending. Further close range tries by Hopper and then Earp, both converted by Whitlam took Wath’s lead to 35-7 and, despite a last minute converted try by the visitors, Wath were convincing winners 35-14, as the final whistle blew.
Wath’s recent improvement in form has been possible by greater consistency of availability which has allowed the development of far better teamwork. Having produced their best performance of the season to beat O.R., next week’s visit to 3rd placed Ripon will be a test of Wath’s ambition.