Aire-Wharfe Rugby Plate Semi-final

Baildon 2nd XV travelled to the Avenue after a period of decent spring weather and after their 41-15 defeat by Old Rishworthians 2nd XV last Saturday. In late March they had shown much superior form against Skipton 2nd’s, winning to nil. In the previous round of the Aire-Wharfe Plate, Baildon narrowly beat Roundhegians at Moortown.

Baildon kicked off, Wharfedale knocked on and conceded a penalty. Fly half Ollie Williams kicked wide and the Greens conceded another penalty which saw a burst from Josh Strauss and an unconverted try wide out. This was after just 5 minutes. Wharfedale’s restart was knocked on and pressure followed, leading to a well worked try by Henry Ellison, converted by Will Slater (5-7). Another burst by the impressive Ellison led to a Matt Snowden try, converted again by Slater (5-14).

Dale knocked on from the restart, then conceded a penalty and Baildon were bundled into touch by the corner flag. Crucially the Greens won the line out and in resultant play the away side strayed offside. After this a kick ahead was well trapped by Luke Craven, leading to a surge by the home side led by captain Dan Benson aided by Phillip Hall, with the try coming from Rob Baldwin. This was again converted by the immaculate Slater. (21-5).

Despite a home knock on from the restart, Baildon were out scrummaged and strong play by Fin Brewster and Jack Middleton, helped by an unfortunate injury to visiting hooker Austin Dodsley, saw Middleton scoring to the left of the posts for Wharfedale’s only unconverted try. (26-5). Just before half time we saw Baildon’s best play with Strauss, Williams, Dan Fletcher and Craig Alford all putting in good work. After a Baildon penalty Fletcher again, Danny Pollard, Rishi Anand and Bryn Adamson threatened. The half finished with a Middleton interception and more good work by Craven, but with some very loose play by both sides.

A yellow card for Craven, possession for Baildon counteracted by great defensive work by the Greens, despite a fine run from deep by full back Harry Moorhouse and combined play of quality by at least seven other Baildon players. This ended in a great run after a fine catch by the Greens’ winger Spencer Bennett. Two penalties awarded to Wharfedale - the referee did not tolerate crossing by either side - helped towards Middleton releasing Charlie Caygill for a score under the posts and an easy conversion for Slater (31-5). A Matthew Snowden burst and the best combined move of the match saw a Will Slater try, which he converted himself. (38-5).

A fine burst by Anand from the base of the scrum and the ensuing efficient combined play resulted in a try far left for Baildon, just reward for some committed play when up against it. (38-10).

A yellow card for Brewster could not be disputed, nor could our disallowed try for crossing, but the icing on the cake was Caygill’s impressive burst which resulted in a try for Oli Bullock, converted predictably by Slater. 45-10 was the final score and a convincing and well deserved win for Wharfedale.

We look forward to the final with eager anticipation whether home or away. It was good to see such a sizeable crowd after the impressive numbers who attended on Saturday and Sunday. We much enjoyed hosting Baildon and, despite their defeat, we hope they were pleased to come up into the Dales on such a lovely evening. We hope it will not be too long before we see them again.

WHARFEDALE 3rd XV. BAILDON 2nd XV 15. Will Slater. 15. Harry Moorhouse 14. Spencer Bennett. 14. Laurence Green 13. Charlie Caygill. 13. Tom Whitfield 12. Luke Craven. 12. Darryl Wilson 11. Olly Hall. 11. Nathan King 10. Jack Middleton. 10. Ollie Williams 9. Oli Bullock. 9. Rishi Anand 8. Rob Baldwin. 8. Dan Cookson 7. Matthew Snowden. 7. Danny Pollard 6. Fin Brewster. 6. Josh Strauss 5. Dan Benson. 5. Dan Fletcher 4. Zach Phillip. 4. Bryn Adamson 3. Phillip Hall. 3. Will Abbott 2. Harry Lancaster. 2. Austin Dodsley 1. Henry Ellison. 1. Craig Alford

16. N Clayton. 16. Tom Massey 17. Will Hargreaves. 17. Nathan Strauss 18. Archie Brewster. 18. Jack Whitehead 19. Jack Kitching. 19. Jake Duxbury

SCORERS: Wharfedale: Tries: Ellison, Snowden, Baldwin, Middleton, Caygill, Slater, Bullock Conversions: Slater (6). Baildon: 2 Tries.