Match report 11 October

Pack on fire in ‘Dale demolition

The hosts survived an early setback when Harry Bullough raced over for ‘Dale’s opening try, four minutes in; the blip came against the run of play.  

Parity was restored six minutes later when Charlie Hudson produced a magnificent finish on debut to narrowly escape a tackle and cross in the corner; both early tries were unconverted.

The Tykes’ pack answered some ever-present external criticism by producing its most cohesive performance yet. Fans’ favourite Toby Williams scored his third try of the season to continue his very positive start to the campaign, proving yet again why the West Yorkshire faithful were so delighted to see him re-sign for the club. Matt Burke, who was making his 50th Tykes’ appearance, went over on the back of a powerful maul which epitomised the dominance that the forwards had now asserted on proceedings; Seremaia Bai Turagabeci converted both scores.

The pack’s dominance continued into the second half with gaps often appearing out wide as ‘The Green Machine’s’ forwards failed to keep up with their superior counterparts. As a result, they sent more weight of numbers into the ruck leaving gaps on the periphery for the Leeds backline to be expansive. As time went by, Ollie Williams got on the scoresheet before Charlie Venables rounded off the scoring with a now trademark interception try, dotting down under the posts to send the home support into joyful celebration.

Wharfedale’s high point of the second half was a converted consolation try when Bullough got himself on the end of a grubber kick through Leeds’ onrushing defence. Hodgeson added the extras to give the vocal travelling support something to cheer.

The home support had many reasons to be jubilant; not least the fact that their side had finally executed a gameplan for the entire match, something which many onlookers have surmised would stand them in good stead for the challenges that lay ahead.

Players, coaches and supporters were all sent home with a spring in their step after what many could imagine being a pivotal victory in the context of the season.

Speaking after the match, Director of Rugby Pete Seabourne said: “We stood up really well tonight and showed what we’re about. This is pleasing against an always physical Wharfedale side. There was some good attacking play in there with some even better defensive sets. We continue to improve with each game and hope to take that into our trip to Sheffield next weekend.”

Head Coach Pete Lucock was similarly impressed, adding: “That’s our most complete performance so far, both with and without the ball against a notoriously well-drilled Wharfedale team.

“To a man, our forward pack delivered today. We managed to nullify them at the set piece, which shows that we can compete with anyone if we focus on our own game. We’ve overcome our first major test of the season tonight and must take this progression forward to Sheffield next week now.”

General manager and standout performer, Jake Brady concluded: “The performances have been gradually improving over our first five games and today the gameplan clicked, giving us the level of physicality and intensity we showed today.

“It was great to see so many people here tonight, I think there’s a real appetite in the region for these Friday night games. It’s safe to say that they seem to bring some of our best performances out of us. It’s proven to work, especially for the local derbies, where the opposition haven’t got to travel as far. Hopefully we can have more of this type of event in the future to continue to boost the club’s profile and bring in new supporters.”