Sheffield came to the Avenue unbeaten but went back down the M1 to the City of Steel without a point. Wharfedale thoroughly deserved the victory by playing accurate positive rugby. The division champions were guilty of making some bad errors in handling and also giving too many penalties away. This earned them 3 yellow cards, and they were also marched back 10 yards on too many occasions.

One of the main differences on the day was Wharfedale's ability to retain quality possession, build through phases, and cross the gain line on every carry. Dale’s 1st possession after the kick-off saw them go through 9 positive phases, moving the play forward on every phase before the visitors gave away a penalty. In contrast, Sheff’s 1st possession saw them go through 9 phases, making hardly any progress, before the ball was knocked on.

The Green Machine then turned on the style. The scrum, on Dale’s 22, was competently won; Tom Beresford picked up and drew the defence and fed Ollie Riddiough. Good charges followed, especially from George Hedgley, before Sam Dickinson broke through the defence and carried the ball close to the try line. With a penalty advantage, Alfie Weston was put in at the corner for Dale’s first try.

There was a hint of good play from the visitors when Will Smith broke through and ran up to Dale’s 22. A fantastic cover tackle by Sam Dickinson put an end to the foray, and two phases later they gave a penalty away and were also marched back 10 metres for “gobbing off”. Dale still kept moving forward, and their second try came from another solid scrum with Oliver Cicognini crashing through the defence. Jack Greig converted the second try.

Sheffield mounted a serious attack after 25 minutes and went through good phases close to Dale’s line. They then sent the ball wide and Jack Dawson walked over the line for an unconverted try.

Dale responded immediately when Sheffield fielded the restart, only for their clearance kick to be charged down and they gave away a penalty. A tap and go saw the forwards get very close to the line before Riddiough saw the chance to send the ball to the right. Orson Hall crossed the whitewash for his first try in his debut with the 1st team. Grieg had a very difficult conversion from the right touchline into the strong breeze, which just went wide. Then came the first yellow card to a Sheffield player, followed by back chat and the 10-yard march back.

Sheffield seemed to do better without a full complement. The visitors narrowed the gap with a Zakery Poole try, which Callum Posa converted from the touchline.

The weather took over in the second half, with conditions worsening and making it hard to play creative, flowing rugby. The almost horizontal rain and very chilling wind made it hard to watch and play. These conditions did not excuse the lack of discipline shown by Sheffield. Giving penalties away is part of the game, but they started the second half with another 10-metre walk of shame. They did get into Dale’s 22 but only for a brief stay. Jack Grieg’s kicks caused problems. From his own touch-line he sent a long kick downfield which led to a knock-on and a Wharfedale scrum on halfway. This led to a free kick – again, Greig sent up a challenging kick which was touched by a Sheffield player and went dead for a Wharfedale 5-metre scrum. Jake Armstrong muscled over for Dale’s bonus point try, and Greig’s conversion stretched the lead to 12 points.

Dale built again and pressed into Sheffield’s 22. Penalties mounted for the visitors, and eventually Zac Poole was sent to the naughty step. The rest of the match was spent in the visitor’s 22, but Dale could not add to their score. Minutes later, the referee lost his patience with another Sheffield player, who went to the sin bin for "gobbling off." Despite more errors, the Sheffield team now played with more conviction and defended their line effectively and stopped Dale from adding to their score.

A great day for the Green Machine, showing what they can do when they play as a team, play with spirit and conviction, kick out of hand effectively and keep their discipline. More important, compared to the last outing, was the ability to take kick-offs cleanly.

Two games left. Having beaten the team from the top of the league, Dale travels to the bottom of the league, Scunthorpe, next Saturday, and will need to keep this form and consistency to win at Haslem Park.



Wharfedale Haddon (Bell 79); Hall, Viner, Cicognini, Weston; Greig, Riddiough (Morgan 36); Dickinson, Collinson, Armstrong (Ward 79), Heys, Hedgley, Tweedale, Pinder, Beresford. Replacements not used Holden, Brewster.