Worms v Heath 2nds
Knottingley 2nds 38
Heath 2nds 29
In a game of
two halves Knottingley showed a Jekyl and Hyde character that tried to snatch defeat from the jaws of vic tory against a mature Heath side.
Knottingley scored 6 tries and 4
conversions against 4 tries, 3 conversions and a penalty in a game of two
halves.
The home side ran in 5 tries in
an entertaining first half which saw them reach the break 31-3 ahead. Hooker
Rory Haigh opened the scoring after 8 minutes, finishing off a fine passing
movement across the backs
to run in
at the corner.
Honours were even for the next 20
minutes, before Heath pegged back 3 points from a penalty awarded for offside
against Knottingley. Almost
immediately from the restart, home fullback Danny Fox picked up a loose ball on
half way and broke through the cover, passing to centre Cootes to cross the whitewash, converted by Ward.
This signalled a period of
supremacy for Knottingley. From the restart, the forwards mauled the ball,
slipping it to captain Mark
Sutcliffe, who broke his tackle and passed to centre Jamie Liversedge to run 40 yards before being tackled and releasing
to scrum half Andy Seed who ran in under the posts,
again converted.
Almost immediately Knottingley
scored again from a forward break resulting in interpassing between Fox and Cootes,
with Fox taking the final return pass to run in under the posts. Converted by Ward.
The final score of the half saw
centre Sean Cruise chip over the defence and collect the ball to run over the line.
Heath started the second half
pressurising Knottingley and were rewarded with a try by forward Mick Shaw,
converted by Oliver Cook. Score
31-10.
Knottingley res
tored the difference within 5 minutes when Seed
collected a loose through kick and evaded the defence
to score a 50 yard try under the posts. Converted for
a 38-10 lead. A further almost certain score was denied when a fine break by
Cootes ended with his pass being knocked on.
Heath started
to find
touch deep in their opponents terri
tory, and with Knottingley lineouts malfunctioning,
Heath forwards kept the ball tight, resulting in Mick Hanks crossing from 5
yards out, again converted by Cook. Score 38-17.
Knottingley attacked again, but a
rare moment of indiscipline saw replacement centre Doige red carded leaving them
to face the last 15 minutes a man
short.
Heath made the most of this
situation
to exert pressure and were
rewarded with two further forward driven tries
to Rick Pointer, one converted, against a tiring
defence bringing the score
to 38-29
and signalling the end
to a fine
game, much to the relief of the home crowd.
For Knottingley Seed, Cootes,
Cruise and Fox were the pick of the backs, while Green, Matthew Lunt, Hayter and
Sutcliffe were the best of the forwards. Man of the match was Andy
Seed.
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