In his address at the pre-match lunch, Chris Taylor, in his welcome to Wharfedale, said that these matches are always entertaining and close-run affairs. He was remarkably accurate in his observation. This was a match that was hotly contested, and the result was in doubt until the final whistle.

Wharfedale won this match by withstanding immense pressure on their try line. There was that Wharfedale spirit again; Ils ne passeront pas. After the match there was the usual banter between the spectators. Both sides thought that the other team deserved to win. There was agreement that Hull had squandered more chances to cross the whitewash than Wharfedale. So it was Dale’s resilience that won the day. In the second half, Hull came out intent on building on their halftime lead and camped at Dale's 22. Dale soaked up 20 minutes of relentless pressure and looked vulnerable when Jake Armstrong was yellow carded at 56 minutes.

It was Dale that triumphed, however, and, with the help of a couple of penalties, broke into Hull’s 22, and after 12 phases Callum Trees broke through. His conversion tied the score at 24 all.

The sun was out, and Wharfedale started brightly to match the conditions. Kicks were exchanged, but when Dale ran the ball, they were soon on the attack. Brad Viner ran around the corner into Ionian’s 22, and his offload set Trees on the path to the try-line. Archie Haddon’s conversion bounced back off the upright.

The contest up front was interesting; there was parity at scrum time, but the home side had the advantage at the lineout. Their catch and drive proved an effective weapon; it was not always perfect, however, and Dale did manage to disrupt the drive on more than one occasion.

Hull’s opening score came from a driving maul with Ben Stephenson touching down for an unconverted try. The visitors took the lead again after more superb ball retention and movement involving forwards and backs. Jack Pinder eventually broke the defence and scored. Haddon again hit the post, but this time the ball went on through the uprights.

If there was any criticism of Dale’s outstanding performance, it could have been the next session. Possession was squandered when the lineout misfired, and then sloppy tackling allowed Hull to get two tries. Sam Pocklington and Westleigh Holden touched down for converted tries, which took Hull into the lead.

Back came Wharfedale, and a promising break by Oliver Cicognini was only foiled by a Hull knock-on. The solid Dale eight won the scrum, and Trees was sent through to score an unconverted try. The score should have remained at 19-17, but a defensive error allowed Hull an easy try on the stroke of halftime, with Cameron Burnhill scoring an unconverted try.

After Trees broke the deadlock in the second half, Hull took the lead again with another forward push and Adam Brankley touching down. No conversion left Dale with a chance of a win. Hull 29, Dale 24. From a lineout in Hull’s 22 Dale did not waste their visit into the 22, and Robbie Collinson was awarded a try after some good strong work by the forwards. Up stepped Man of the Match, Callum Trees, to send the conversion sailing through the upright to take Dale into the lead.

The final minutes showed how decision-making is important. Hull did have possession in the last few minutes but wasted possession by kicking the ball away or getting too close to the touchline. Dale showed great composure in the final 7 minutes by treating the ball as a delicate piece of artwork that was not to be lost or given away at any price. They kept the ball in the opposition half and went through 18 phases of attritional rugby before the final whistle.

Wharfedale Bullough; Viner (Weston 56), Trees, Cicognini, Cherry (Bentley 58, Cherry 68, Viner 77); Haddon (Bell 56), Morgan; Meehan, Stockdale (Collinson 63), Armstrong. Heys (Borrill 72), Hedgley, Pinder, Fawcett, Beresford