Baildon 31 Halifax Vandals 10

YORKSHIRE FOUR: Baildon only drew at Halifax Vandals four weeks previously, also in Yorkshire Division Four, but have had a good run of results recently, including a victory over Keighley Seconds in their previous outing.

The hosts wanted to show their superiority and did so straight from the kick-off.

Vandals lost the ball, Baildon's backs took it on and Steve McHugh chipped over the advancing defence. Dave Hemming, shaking off two would-be tacklers, grounded under the posts for Nick Lister to convert, all within 40 seconds.

If Baildon thought it was going to be easy, however, they had to think again for the only other score in the half was a penalty by Vandals' stand-off.

Turning around 7-3, having had the advantage of slope and weather, Baildon needed a motivating half-time team talk, and it paid dividends 13 minutes later, good moves leading to scrum half James Dawson ferreting his way through to the line, Nick Lister again converting.

Referee Tim Robinson (Yorkshire Society) was making his third appearance in a Baildon match in five weeks and, as as had happened previously, left players and spectators bemused with many decisions - but at least he consistently puzzled both sides.

Richard Parker replaced the evergreen Paul Watson before a

stirring run by Chris Smithies,

who crashed through several attempted tackles to give Nick Lister another conversion, which made it 24-3.

Three minutes later, Phil Wilson made a similar charge before scoring another converted try.

A Vandals winger and Baildon's player-coach Hugh Gumbs were given yellow cards within two minutes of each other, although neither sin-binning was clear cut.

Then home prop Danny Helstrip appeared to score a perfectly good try, as did Vandals' No 8, but both were disallowed, Robinson ruling they were held up over the line.

In the dying seconds, Vandals' open-side prop crashed over for a converted try from a ruck, leaving Baildon worthy 31-10 winners.

Next Saturday Baildon are at Bradford Salem in an annual Christmas derby.

New Cleck date

NORTH ONE: Cleckheaton's postponed match at Driffield has been swiftly rescheduled for next Saturday.

Although there was no compulsion to play the game on December 27, Cleckheaton Sports Club chairman Alan Bentley explained: "Driffield have Intermediate Cup commitments and it may have been some time before we could have played it so a decision was taken to play it next Saturday."

Bentley added: "We were on the coach ready to set off on Saturday at 11.15am when we got a call to say the ground at Driffield was 'rock hard'.

"I then said we don't want to spend £350 on coach travel only for the game to be called off because we will have to play them again at some stage, and their director of rugby was adamant that the ground was too hard so we agreed to call the match off."

Cleckheaton will still go ahead with their Fred Scott Trophy Boxing Day fixture at Old Brodleians (11.00), but will now be sending only a second XV. Bentley said: "We hope Brods will respond in kind."