Wharfedale 16

Esher 13

WINNING with style and flair is said to be the ambition of every coach and every player. But the real inner glow which players feel more often comes when character and commitment are tested to breaking point and are found equal to the challenge.

When that triumph of spirit comes on the back of a humiliating experience in a previous game, the sense of fulfilment is all the more rewarding. That was the case at The Avenue on Saturday when Wharfedale produced a second-half display of great resolve and tenacity to claim a deserved National Division Two win over Esher.

After defeats by Harrogate and Nuneaton, the Dalesmen desperately needed a win. It is far too early in the season to speak of crisis, but the nature of the defeat at Nuneaton seven days earlier had fuelled a gloomy mood in a normally buoyant camp.

While a win over Nottingham three weeks earlier had brought the first league points of the season with a minimum of fuss, the challenge of second-placed Esher was expected to be serious.

And so it proved. But in confirming this season's form-line and the good impression they left last season after a second-half display of great enterprise and skill, the Surrey side merely added greater depth to Wharfedale's satisfaction.

However rewarding the demonstration of superior skill may be, wins chiselled from serious adversity, as this was, are still the ones that players remember with greatest clarity when their playing days are over.

It did not take long for the adversity to surface. Andrew Baggett's kick-off unforgivably sailed directly into touch, from the first lineout Wharfedale were bundled back into their own 22 and after three minutes, centre Harvey Thorneycroft was bowling through the middle of the Wharfedale defence.

Centre Andy Hodgson and flanker Ryan Kirkbride made honest attempts to arrest his progress, but stouter men than them have failed to deal with his full-frontal style in the past during his days at Northampton and he duly scored at the posts for Jon Gregory to convert.

Perhaps the prospect of a repeat of the previous week's disastrous start at Nuneaton spurred the Dalesmen into more concerted action. Critically, the following passages of play went in favour of the home side, two penalty goals from Jonathan Davies getting the game back onto an even keel.

That Wharfedale went ahead after 22 minutes was largely due to No 8 Paul Evans, who stood out as the strong man of the side in a role reminiscent of his predecessors Charlie Vyvyan and Stuart Hird.

Esher were no better equipped than the home side in the timber department - with the notable exception of Thorneycroft and his centre partner Alan Cook - and Evans was the corner-stone on which many of Wharfedale's best forward efforts, especially in the second-half, were built.

He gathered an Esher clearance kick under extreme pressure to provide his side with the ammunition and when the ball was moved right and then brought back for full-back Jonathan Davies to cut through on the Esher 22, Evans was in support for the scoring pass.

Davies's conversion and a third penalty left the Dalesmen leading 16-7 at half-time, a modest buttress against the wind, the slope and an Esher team with a back division which always looked more threatening.

When Gregory brought his side into striking distance with a penalty in the first minute of the second-half, it seemed that Esher needed only to be patient and disciplined to claim the points.

On another day, even the partial application of those simple requirements would have been sufficient, but this was a day when Wharfedale were at their defiant, unflinching, resolute, never-say-die best.

Esher's insistence on pressing the self-destruct button by bitching and whining at an admirable referee merely made their task more difficult and when they did seem likely to score, Wharfedale showed a resilience under pressure that deserved its reward.

It wasn't pretty by any means and often involved running down the clock with close-knit driving mauls, but by then the coaching notes marked 'fluent football' had been consigned to the back pocket and stubborn, unwavering attrition was the only game in town.

Another penalty from Gregory merely reminded the Dalesmen that fancy handling was no longer in the script, but that was to be the only disciplinary blemish. The onus was squarely placed on Esher to win with a try, but though Thorneycroft went close, the Dalesmen survived a powerful Esher scrum with the aid of the post and a couple of kicks to the line required hurried attention, Wharfedale were equal to the task.

Their moment of elation at the close reflected how much mental and physical effort had gone into the victory. On the basis that what comes out of any enterprise usually corresponds to what is put in, the Greens had every reason to be cheerful.

Wharfedale: J Davies; C Burnett, A Hodgson (N Heseltine, 60), D Whitfield, G Smithson; A Baggett, G Smith; P Peel (R Lancaster, 68), J Lawn, C Ingram (N Dickinson, 71), D Lister, A Capstick, R Kirkbride, H Verity, P Evans.

Esher: J Gregory; S Burns, H Thorneycroft, A Cook, K Fisher; J Bonney, G Barr; D Cormack, M Hill, J Smith, P Mole, C Short (S Owen, 38), G Allison, C Bird, C Wilkins.

Referee: D Rose (RFU)