On a Crisp Saturday afternoon Sandal took the short trip to Halifax for the league fixture against a strong and unbeaten Heath side who sit at the top of the league.
With Aaron Dyer moving from full back to scrum half replacing the popular George Hulme, Sandal welcomed back a number of players to face Heath in a side that looked closer to its starting 1XV then it had for a while.
It was very much a game of two half with little between the sides in the first half. On the balance of play Sandal seemed stronger and more composed in the early exchanges and Harry Jukes fended of 5 tacklers to run in from the half way line on the left wing and first blood went to Sandal.
A resurging Heath side didnt panic and matched the score with a try after 32 minutes and went into half time with a narrow lead from Heath 7 points to 5.
Sandal needed to take control in the second half however loose play in the first minute gave Heath a try with a strong run through the centre of the field. Good Sandal play and pressure created a penalty which was dispatched by Tom Hodson and at 14 -8 it was a 1 score game.
Heath peppered the Sandal defence with well organised forward pressure and a drop off in intensity from Sandal created too much damage with several trys from Heath. A late resurgence from Sandal saw Will Henshall go over with the extras converted by Tom Hodson however it was too little too late.
In the main it was a well controlled and organised performance from Sandal which would probably have given them a victory against a lot of the other teams in the league however Heath where too strong and finished deserved winners at 34 -13.
Report by Justin English[b][/b]