Yarnbury 32, Dinnington 12

YARNBURY have taken a giant step towards ensuring another season in Yorkshire One after a superb 32-12 victory over Dinnington.

Dinnington have been somewhat of a bogey side of late for Yarnbury beating the Horsforth side in a dramatic Yorkshire Shield final last season and then scraping a two point win on the first day of this season.

However, on Saturday Yarnbury were the team in control. Inspired by the tackling of Ben Horner, the kicking of Steve Galbraith, the leadership of Steve Miller and the power of Wayne Butterfield, Yarnbury never looked like losing this match.

Galbraith had already given Yarnbury a 3-0 lead with a penalty when Andy Marshall ran in the first try. The sprightly centre showed all his experience when he intercepted a Dinnington pass and had the turn of pace to race in under the posts from 25 metres out. Galbraith converted, but his side were soon pegged back by two Dean Lax penalties.

Not to be outdone Galbraith added his second penalty to revive Yarnbury's healthy lead. That lead was again cut by another Lax kick but was soon to be extended ten minutes later. An Andy Cowley kick was failed to be dealt with by the Dinnington back three and Yarnbury quickly turned over possession.

Prop Andy Butterfield showed his class whipping out a bullet pass to Galbraith. The fly-half shipped the ball on, via Horner, to Marshall who drew his man and released John Bramham. The winger still had 55 metres to go but he sped past his opposite number with ease and sprinted in for an excellent try. Bramham now has 16 tries to his name this season. Galbraith again converted but Lax added another penalty to reduce Yarnbury's lead to 20-12 at the break.

Despite intense pressure in the second period from the visitors all the scoring came from Yarnbury. Desperate for a score Dinnington dominated possession but Yarnbury's wall-like defence never looked like crumbling. Even when Ian Moule was sin-binned for persistent infringement Yarnbury held strong.

Billy Thompson proved that you can teach old dogs new tricks as he moved from full-back to flanker to fill the void left by Moule.

Galbraith kept the scoreboard ticking over throughout the half with three more excellently struck penalties. He finished his display with a drop kick to put his match total to 22 points and ensure an emphatic win.

With the game won Yarnbury were determined not to concede a try. After 13 minutes of injury time and intense pressure the full-time whistle finally blew, Yarnbury had the win.

Yarnbury were clearly delighted to avenge their Shield final defeat but more importantly the two points gives the Brownberrie Lane side a vital Yorkshire One lifeline. Another victory in their last two matches should ensure their survival.

A special mention should also go to Max Mliswa who celebrated the birth of his daughter by breaking his club jinx and claiming his first league win, 15 matches after his Yarnbury debut.

Up next for Yarnbury are Heath in the second round of the Yorkshire Shield on Saturday. The Hornets and the third team both visit Ripon while the fourth team are to arrange a game. All will kick-off at 3 pm.

Dinnington A 12, Yarnbury Hornets 7

IN a game which saw defence was the name of the game for both sides. Dinnington just had the edge, scoring two tries to Yarnbury's one.

Dinnington, with home advantage, played the pitch well and were able to ward off wave after wave of Yarnbury attacks. All Yarnbury could manage was a try through young No 8 Andy Keegan, who took his touchdown well after some good link play between both forwards and backs. Dave Newby added the conversion.

Dinnington scored two well-worked tries - one converted - to clinch victory. Both sides should take credit for a good, keenly-fought game in which rugby was the winner.

Yarnbury U-10s 0, Moortown U-10s 15

IN these short matches, the team that starts quickest gets the upper hand and Yarnbury started slowly and never really recovered to take control. Barnaby Gill was made Player- of-the-Match for his good tackling and ground-making runs.

Yarnbury U-10s 0, Bradford & Bingley 0

WITH a team missing from the group, this meant Yarnbury needed a result from this game to proceed further in the tournament.

In an entertaining game, with both sides evenly matched it was difficult to score, defending being the priority. Tom Baxter was awarded Player-of-the- Match for his strong running

Yarnbury U-10s 20, Ilkley U-10s 5

PLAYING in the Plate Final Yarnbury showed their true potential. Alex Teasedale opened the scoring with a dart to the line from the base of the scrum. Tom Baxter forced his way over after some excellent handling from James Hallam and Daniel Burnside. Barnaby Gill touched down after a half pitch run and with Liam Hague, Sam Pearson, Ryan Murray and Joe Roche all making their presence felt, Tom Baxter crossed for his second try after good work from Louis Huddleston and Player-of-the-Match Christopher Noble.