By Paul Brown

The home teams first chance to play the team that had knocked them out of the cup earlier on this season in trying conditions. It was the away teams turn to be short on numbers and meant this was a 14 a side fixture. Wensleydale kicked off immediately putting The home team under pressure. Sandal took a while to get into game. The play was to and fro until Sandal gave the ball away to allow a 60 meter breakaway try. Sandal were making poor decisions and gave away another silly penalty in front of the posts. The away team took the penalty to stretch the lead. Sandal made changes which immediately had an effect. Billy Addy burst through the gain line and was turning Wensleydale 's defence. Faster ball from the half backs saw Sandals play move with greater pace and a definite aim in terms of attack. Mihali Joannou made an initial break in front of the posts, Cam Allen fed Add who could not be stopped from 5 meters. A simple conversion by Joannou put Sandal back in the game. Wensleydale then won another penalty in a kickable position and took the three points. This extended the margin but with so long left in the game it was a lucky outcome for sandal when a try looked on the cards. Sandal managed to get close to the opposition's line From a line out, the maul was uncontested giving Ibrahim Shamchiyev s a chance to score with an almost free run. Sandal had got back in the game and seemed to be gaining the upper hand. Then from inside their own 22' Wensleydale were given another try when a missed tackle allowed a clear run 60 meters to score. A poor way to end the half, but Sandal still looked as if they could win the game.

Early Sandal pressure after a breakaway by Ed Measures saw Sandal win a penalty in a great attacking position. Joannou tapped and went quickly before the opposition could organise. The ball was recycled after the initial break, giving Calvin an easy chance to score under the posts. This was the point the home team felt they would win the contest. The away team was giving away penalties often from ill discipline aimed at the referee. This gave the home team plenty of ball. Another quick tap and go saw Lewis Brown cut through making 30 meters, he should of scored but was dragged down just short. The ball was cleared out by good support and eventually went left to Kobe Poaching, who bounded in to score. Joannou made a great conversion from the touch line giving the home team its first lead in the game. The opposition short on numbers were suffering injuries, Sandal were getting stronger being able to rotate players keeping them ahead of the game. They were struggling to stop Sandals physicality and pace of attack. Sandal were firmly on the front foot. Another high tackle as Wensleydale tired saw Poaching score a fantastic try from near 50 meters, his power with ball in hand is difficult to stop. Poaching then rounded off a fantastic display by scoring a hat-trick in the closing moments of the game. He can thank Jack Cherry for making the original break speeding past the defence running 80 meters with the ball. A final score of 36-20 was a fair reflection of the game with Sandal showing how good they were in the second half. Joannou controlled the game with all the team putting in a real shift. Captain for the day Pat Maher, set the tone with great defence and plenty of chat in the front row. Great performance after some disappointing results in the past weeks.