Rugby round-up: Calderdale sides rack up some big wins

Heath welcomed back centre Joe Morrison but had to make positional changes once again when Matt Hallett failed a fitness test - so Eddie Cartwright reverted to full back with Ollie Scrimshaw starting at fly half.

Jack Bruce was drafted in on the bench. After a rain lashed morning conditions were ideal with the sun shining as both teams took to the field in this first ever league meeting between the clubs.

Heath kicked off, but gave away an early penalty, as Cleckheaton looked well prepared for the battle.

Unexpectedly, instead of going for touch, the home side put in a cross field kick to open up the game. With Heath seemingly unprepared for this they were on the back foot for the opening minutes of the game as the hosts piled on the pressure.

But with some resilient tackling and clearance kicking from Eddie Cartwright and Dom Walsh they prevented any score.

The visitors first venture into the Cleckheaton half came on 18 minutes following yet another superb kick from Dom Walsh, as an attempted clearance was charged down by wing Callum Harriett-Brown. Though, his kick through went dead and the chance had gone.

Heath kept the pressure on with forwards Fergus Marsden, Jack Pilcher and Paul Turner prominent in making solid yardage and it was the home sides turn to cling on.

Back came Cleckheaton, as the game flowed from end to end, but they were guilty of some ill discipline, much to the relief of the visitors.

Further pressure saw Jonny Cole sent to the sin bin and from the re-start Cleckheaton thought they had scored but the referee awarded a drop out under the posts.

It was only a matter of time before a home score and with a well worked set play Cleckheaton took a converted try and a lead of 7-0, with 27 minutes on the clock. This was fully justified.

Heath continued to work hard to keep in the game, as Cole returned and Saif Boussadda replaced Matt Beasty.

With half time approaching they were relieved to hear the whistle, so they could have time to re-group.

It was a different Heath who came out of the blocks at the start of the second half.

Paul Turner, who was having a fine game against his former club, went on a surging run supported by Joe Morrison, Saif Boussadda and Chris Moore as Heath bombarded the home side defence in the opening minutes.

Jack Bruce entered the arena as Harriett- Brown had to leave the field and the pressure from Heath continued and, when Cleckheaton had a player in the bin, from the resulting scrum the ball came out to Bruce who could not hold on to the pass and the chance had gone.

Undeterred, Heath continued to surge forwards and two mintues later the referee had no option but to award a penalty try to the visitors and the scores were level, 7-7, with 50 minutes played.

Olly Cook replaced Paul Turner and from the re-start Heath went in search of adding to their tally. Elliott Spiers and Ben Stringer gained important yardage before releasing Ollie Scrimshaw and his inside pass to the supporting Jonny Cole saw him fly over the line for a second try to Heath, converted by Eddie Cartwright and Heath led 14-7 after 54 minutes.

The home side were shell shocked at this point but were prepared to battle to get back into the game. A head injury to Tom Owen saw Calum Harriett- Brown return on the wing with Spiers moving to centre as the game ebbed and flowed, becoming a titanic derby battle which could have gone either way with 15 minutes remaining.

There were injuries aplenty as players put their bodies on the line as the clock wound down but it was Heath who secured a third try when Boussadda barged over in the corner and a lead of 19-7 looked secure.

However, this is a derby and Cleckheaton were not prepared to lie down and came back strongly with a converted try to bring the score to 19-14 and still time on the clock. Despite the frantic efforts of the home side Heath were not prepared to give up the fight and they managed to secure yet another dramatic win.

The result leaves Heath in fourth spot behind Old Brodleians, Ilkley and Driffield as all clubs take a deserved break next week. Then attentions turn to the November fixtures against Moortown, Driffield and Old Brodleians.

Brods edged home in a 40-32 thriller at Woodhead on Saturday pushed all the way by a resilient Malton and Northon side who might have taken the spoils if the game had continued for a further five minutes.

As it was the Woodhead boys maintained their winning run to remain at the top of North One East.

Brods started the game in glorious sunshine and in lively fashion with strong running down centerfield to set up good position for Adam Sutcliffe to cut through the stretched Malton defence and the opening try after just three minutes play.

With towns conversion they held an early 7=0 lead. Brods early scrummaging shunted Malt back However they retained the ball and counter attacked going close themselves.

Malton were pressing in defence and had some strong runners in attack leading to most of the exchanges being in home territory and the Hipperholme boys were penalised under their posts to concede 3 points after 12 minutes play 7-3.

Brods second try after 15 minutes and it was Adam Sutcliffe again showing real pace in attack to cut through the Malt defence after some good work in centre field with Phil town adding the extras 14-3.

Brods had the momentum and attacked again from the restart to camp in the Malt 22.

Jimmy Hodkinson set up the position with a dash to the line from close range and Sutcliffe was in support to touch down and register a hat trick of tries after just 17 minutes.

Malton responded well with some strong carries in Brods territory however the home defence was good before conceding a penalty from which they kicked to touch however Brods defended well and relieved the pressure and moved into Malt territory one more.

From a position close to the visitors line Brods scrum edged forward and rob Jennings picked up at the base to drive for the try line which he achieved with defenders hanging on to him, however the bonus point try was scored with a further conversion for town from close range 26-3.

Malton came back from the kick off to camp in Brods territory for a good 10 minutes and were rewarded with a penalty to reduce the deficit slightly 26-6.

Brods were close to scoring again following a quickly taken tap penalty however the ball went to ground from the final pass and the game continued with the visitors dominating possession and the home team looking dangerous when the opportunities arose.

With half time approaching Brods had another chance to scrummage close to the Malt line and as they were clearly dominant drove on their own ball to splinter the Malt pack and for Jennings to touch down once more from close range. Town converted to extend the lead 33-6 at half time.

Malton came out for the second half determined to give Brods a game and it didn’t take long for them to register their first try which followed some good attacking play on the left flank. 33-11.

The Woodhead boys responded with a superb counter attack. Dom Georgiou took the ball in the Brods 22 and broke out beating several defenders as he took the attack into Malt territory.

A great pass in field found was taken by Dodd who in turn fed the supporting Jimmy Hodkinson who still had to make 20 metres to the line.

Hodkinson’s try and Town’s conversion took the score to 40-11 and one might have thought the game was over however Malt had different ideas.

The visitors really took the game to their hosts in the final quarter. Handling errors crept into Brods game and from a Malton scrum their no 8 picked up to make good ground before a kick through was chased down in the right hand corner for a fine try, with a conversion from the touchline Malton were encouraged to continue their recovery when they intercepted on half way and with a further conversion the score-line now stood at 40 points to 25.

Malton were now in search of a bonus point try and with some good positional kicking forced Brods back and put them under pressure on their own line.

Brods now went a man down with Hanson receiving a yellow card and it was an arm wrestle as Brods defended their line against a re-enthused Malton side.

Malton were rewarded after a good period of pressure with a try close to the posts and with the conversion had reduced the gap to 40 -32.

Brods held out for the remaking minutes in the game to register another good bonus point win against a spirited Malton side who perhaps deserved more for their efforts.

Brods twos enjoyed a fine victory at Rishworthians whilst the Beavers registered another great win by 70-0 at home to Bramley.

Old Crossleyans produced an uncompromising performance as they beat Leodensians 72-0.

The game started with the Crocs setting the early tempo and it wasn’t long before their powerful forwards spear headed by Cameron Brannan and Sam Ives created quick ball for the purposeful backs. Nick Rawsthorne and Josh Hunt combined before Matty Beswick was releases into space to score the first try. Joe Gallagher adding the extras to make it 7-0.

The Leos who were struggling to form a stable set piece were soon under pressure again following a powerful Crocs scrummage leading to a crafty blind side dash by scrum half Joe Stott who linked well with Matty Beswick to evade the blind side defence and following a neat return pass by Matty Beswick, Joe Stott raced over unopposed to score the games second try, taking the lead to 12–0.

The Crocs were soon on the score board again following a well taken penalty in the Leos half, stretching their lead to 15-0.

The game then swung Leo’s way who started to dominate possession and territory showing good ball retention, eye catching runs by the Leos No 8, Tom Pigott, was a noticeable threat but the now hall mark resolute defence of the Crocs kept the Leos scoreless during this spell.

The Leos bright spell soon ended though following a driving mall being collapsed over the visitor try line leading to a penalty try and stretching the lead to 22-0.

Any chance of a come back was looking unlikely though as Leo’s struggled to win their own scrum and lineout ball and following a loose clearance kick the game was put beyond their reach when the Crocs in form full back Josh Hunt ran the ball back with purpose beating defenders with ease to score from 40 metres out. This stretched the lead to 27-0 and ended the contest.

Just before half time, up popped Billy Hammond who drove deep into midfield just before releasing the ever-present Rob Oliver in support to race under the post ending the first half, 34-0.

The second half started in the same pattern as the first with the Crocs showing power, intensity and their accurate clinical backs once again showing their dominance.

Another lose clearance kick from the Leos was again fielded by Josh Hunt, who much like his first try raced 50 metres evading defenders at will to score and exceptional individual try, taking the lead to 41-0.

The Crocs, despite mounting a huge lead remained stead fast in defence giving the Leos no dominant platform to threaten and it wasn’t long before the next try came.

Following a flowing move with all the Crocs backs combining, Chris Vine released Josh Hunt who linked up with Matty Beswick who then put George Ackroyd into space to execute a well earned try.

This further stretched the lead to 48-0.

The game, which was excellently officiated, continued with Crocs dominance with skipper Billy Hammond enjoying a rich vein of form grabbing a hattrick of tries over the next several minutes, two from open play and one from a scrum pushover.

This made the score 67-0 to the Crocs.

The Crocs still remained focused and continued their uncompromising efforts in defence and attack, the final try eventually came through Matthew Beswick, who’s illusive footwork and turn of pace was too much for the Leos defence and he rounded off an 11 try bonanza from 30 metres out.

All in all a high quality performance with good flowing rugby from both teams helped by the excellent referee.

Rishworthians defeated Bridlington by 15-9 in what was a very entertaining game despite no tries being scored.

The victory moved the home side up to fifth in the Yorkshire One table.

Both goal kickers, Josh Kelly for the home side and Josh Stanyon for the visitors, converted all their kicks.

The Copley men made several changes from the team which lost to Leodiensians with Lee Atkinson moving to full back, Aaron Nowell starting on the right wing and Kurt and Kian Sutcliffe starting at centre and scrum half respectively.

In sunny conditions both teams tried running the ball and after two minutes Josh Kelly kicked a penalty for offside.

Rishworthians kicked for position but the heavier forwards from Bridlington created problems. The players, three from Fiji, looked dangerous when they started running with the ball.

Stanyon converted a penalty for offside, but Kelly replied with another for a high tackle before Stanyon levelled the score with another kick. Superb tackling by Rishworthian then kept the score to 6–6 at half-time.

The Rishworthian defence started to move through the gears with the back row of Ethan Pollard, Greg Withers and Callum Bell creating breaks and gaining yards around the mauls.

Young scrum half Kian Sutcliffe started to dictate the play and in the 55th and 59th minutes, Kelly converted two penalties. Stanyon kicked another penalty when it might have been better to kick to the corner for the visitors to have attacked the lineout and score.

It was clear that the Rishworthian scrum had gained the upper hand, especially with the bigger Bridlington forwards looking tired and unable to keep up with the pace.

The Copley men were looking dangerous and centre Doug Heseltine almost scored in the right hand corner. Pollard also was almost over and it was all Rishworthians in the last few minutes.

Kelly kicked his fifth penalty in the 75th minute, for a Bridlington player not rolling away before the referee Hugh Sterndale-Smith, who had controlled the game well, blew for time.

Rishworthians coach Richard Brown was delighted with the team’s defensive qualities and Pollard was named man of the match. The clubhouse was full after the game, just like the old days, and Bridlington played their part in a very exciting game.

The Development Team lost 19-14 to a strong Old Brodleians second team.

Travelling to unbeaten Barnsley was always going to be a tough ask for Halifax Vandals with a full team - but with 67 lads in total unavailable it proved to be mission impossible as the home side registered an 80-0 win.

Barnsley have been in formidable form this season as they look to make an immediate return to Yorkshire Two, averaging just under 40 points per game - and are deservedly top of the league.

However due to a catalogue of injuries, work commitments, holidays and a host of other reasons, the Vandals were forced to name a 52-year-old Jon Isherwood at No.8, a 59-year-old Martin Pritchard on the bench and a handful of players in makeshift positions.

With no recognised fly-half, Jordan Bloem stepped in and performed admirably, while scrum-half Ryan Arnold had to cover at 15, Joe Greenwood moved to an unaccustomed position at centre, while Aaron Carrington continued to fill in at flanker.

On top of this hooker Callum Gerrard, who only began playing rugby during lockdown, had a baptism of fire for his 1st XV debut - especially as alongside him Tom West was making his first start and Dan Brown was appearing for just the third time this season.

And Barnsley took full advantage as they ran riot. The pack provided a solid platform for them to play off, while the backs were well drilled and looked dangerous every time they had the ball. They scored 12 tries in total, and 10 conversions, en route to a ruthless victory.

The Vandals did their best despite the odds being stacked against them, with their best chances coming in the second half.

Isherwood and Carrington both went close, however while Barnsley were brutally efficient with their chances, the Vandals just couldn’t get a try their efforts deserved - with the home defence impressing.

Undoubtedly Barnsley will continue their march towards the title, however the Vandals can be proud of everyone of the lads who pulled on the shirt.