SKIPTON
STAY TOP WITH AN 11 TRY ROMP
Those spectators who chose to watch the internationals on
television missed a stunning performance by the Reds.
The afternoon was somewhat surreal in that Skipton’s kickers
had a complete off-day and had they been in form it would have been a real
cricket score with a potential of 77-0. Nevertheless with 11 tries to 0 Skipton
really were in top gear against visitors who are tough opposition and are in
mid-table.
Every one of the eighteen man squad deserves praise.
Although Wath never gave up, the reality was that Skipton dominated in every
aspect of the game with the forwards truly awesome and the backs full of
potency looking for every opportunity.
In the forwards, the mighty front row of Phil Crossman,
Gavin Petterd and James Riches were impregnable and further back Richard
Willsher and Matthew Boatwright both stood out, albeit all the pack were in
fine form.
In the backs the return of Richard Curtin, absent recently
due to work commitments, added an extra dimension to an already strong line up.
In the first half tries came from forwards Gavin Petterd and
Matthew Boatwright and from backs Sean Kennedy and Adam Oldfield to make it
20-0 at half time.
In the second half it was all one way traffic with the main
diversion being a ten minute break when the referee had to leave the field
because of hamstring problems – fortunately a qualified referee of the right
level was readily available to take over, coming off the nearby 2nd XV game.
Skipton’s second half tries came from forwards Richard
Willsher (2) and Matty Wilson whilst for the backs there were tries from winger
Hamish Munro, full back Richard Dillon and a second try for centre Sean
Kennedy. The final try came from prop Phil Crossman who had played like a
Trojan all game but still had enough in reserve to charge over the line from
way out discarding five defenders en-route.
The sole kicking success came from a Darren Howson
conversion and the final score was 57-0.
Skipton remain top of the table and this high score will help the points
tally should their promotion push go to the wire in the remaining six league
games.