With spring in the air and firm ground underfoot, Wharfedale and Hull played out a game that was fast, and occasionally furious. The lead swapped, and it was only with ten minutes to play that the result was beyond doubt.

Playing up the slope, Wharfedale dominated the early exchanges, but it took until the 13th minute for the deadlock to be broken. From a five-metre lineout Dale’s rolling maul took them almost to the try line. After a series of forward drives, it was prop Jake Armstrong who went over. The Hull defence were repeatedly penalised at the breakdown, and on 23 minutes their back row Josh Ratuvou was sent to the bin. From the resulting penalty and attacking lineout, Oli Cicognini darted over to the left of the posts. Both early tries were converted by the impressive Jack Grieg.

Being a man down sparked Hull into life, and from their first visit to Dale’s 22, fullback James Farrar went over on the left. As soon as they were back to full strength Hull scored again, this time from a lineout and driving maul. A missed conversion left the score at 14-12, and when Dale scored from a penalty soon afterwards, it seemed as if the Greens would head into the break ahead. But on the stroke of half-time Hull moved the ball wide off a scrum, breaking tackles for fly-half Reece Dean to score. His conversion left Wharfedale 17-19 down at the turnaround.

Words may have been spoken in the home dressing room, but so too in the visitors’. Hull’s precarious league position gave them plenty of motivation, and they started the second half pressuring the Wharfedale line. The home defence stood firm, though, and after Hull’s replacement hooker Oliver Fretwell had been yellow carded, the shackles were broken. The key moment was a magnificent solo break from Oli Cigognini, which took the ball from within his own half almost to the Hull line. Quickly recycled ball saw Jack Pinder go over.

Just after the hour Wharfedale went further ahead when wing Alfie Weston showed real speed and power to go in under the posts. If a ten point lead seemed to have the result settled, no-one had told Hull. Almost immediately they hit back, with Noah Marshall scoring out on the left wing to secure a four-try bonus point. But again the conversion was missed. In the battle of the fly-halves Wharfedale had the edge. From the tee Jack Grieg was excellent, but so too when kicking from hand. In this period his long clearances often had the visitors back playing from deep.

In the last ten minutes the Greens put the result beyond doubt, first when hooker Robbie Collinson went over in a rolling maul from an attacking lineout, and then from another Cicognini break which he finished himself. With the clock having gone red, Hull had the final say when Josh Ratuvou dotted down.

Although Oli Cicognini was an obvious star man for the Rugby Paper, his brilliance was fuelled by the work of the pack. Although they never gained dominance in the tight, in the loose they were dynamic, making hard yards in attack, and frequently pushing Hull back in defence. To single out names here would be to miss the point. They were a pack.

Wharfedale’s Director of Rugby Simon Verbickas commented after the game that “games against Hull are always tough encounters and today was no different. It wasn’t a perfect display from us, but it was a significant improvement from the loss to Fylde, and a step in the right direction for the group. There’s still plenty for us to work on, but it was encouraging to see the progress and the standards we’re aiming to set. Thanks to everyone who came down to support at home – it makes a real difference.”

The team will be hoping for the same great support when they travel to Macclesfield next Saturday.

Referee: Tom Hurdley

Attendance: 325

Half time Score: Wharfedale 17 – Hull 19

Scorers:

WHARFEDALE

Tries: Armstrong 13, Cicognini 23, Pinder 53, Weston 62, Holden 70, Cicognini 76
Conversions: Grieg 14, 24, 54, 63, 71, 77
Penalties: Grieg 38

HULL

Tries: Farrar 26, Bergmanas 35, Dean 40, Marshall 64, Ratuvou 6

Conversions: Dean 27, 40, 80



Wharfedale:- Haddon; Viner; Trees; Cicognini (Morgan 68); Weston (Cicognini 75); Grieg; Morgan (Riddiough 40); Dickinson (Bentley 69); Collinson (Holden 63); Armstrong; Heys; Borill; Hedgley; Pinder (Tweedale 71); Beresford