Saturday 29 September 2007

Skipton 2nd XV 0 – 44 Sandal 2nd XV

In a hastily arranged match against opposition from two leagues above, it was always going to be an uphill battle for Skipton which was emphasised by Sandal's speedy backs carving through the Skipton defence virtually from the kick off. This set a pattern which led to a 32-0 lead at half time for Sandal who were too fast and well organised, particularly in the back division for the Skipton defence.

However, having re-grouped at half time, Skipton changed their game plan and took the Sandal pack on with much success repeatedly driving them back from multiple breakdowns with Ryan Binner, Paddy Murray and Ash Greaves to the fore. Eventually Skipton managed to breach the Sandal line only for Paddy Murray's try to be disallowed for a double movement. When Sandal had the ball in the second half, the Skipton defence was much more solid with strong tacking performances from Rick Willsher, Martin Murray, Ben Hall, Shaun Barraclough, John Hughes and Karl Potts.