North Ribblesdale 13

Wharfedale 29

THERE was a time when sheer hard work and tenacity often allowed less-talented teams to win matches against the odds.

Law changes whch allow one side to monopolise the ball supply have tended to do away with that scenario in recent years and more often than not, when David and Goliath meet these days, David invariably gets a bloody nose for his impudence.

All of which made North Ribblesdale's efforts at keeping some sort of grip on Wharfedale in this end of season derby all the more meritorious, especially in the second half, when the Greens had a strong wind in their favour and a huge territorial advantage.

While the form-book points to a landslide in this meeting of the Dalesmen, no-one really expects one and this keenly fought affair followed the traditional pattern.

With the visitors paying Ribblesdale the compliment of fielding a mainly first-team line-up, there was always the risk that they would run away with it and when they turned round leading 24-13 and the Ribblesdale scrummage in all sorts of trouble, home supporters must have feared the worst.

But the Grove Park men refused to buckle, the fact that they did not concede another score until Jonathan Davies slipped through the middle after 72 minutes reflecting the passion and commitment that went into a gallant rearguard.

Wharfedale were never at their fluent best. They obviously had the confidence to think that they had the ability to win and win well, but perhaps the pressure of being expected to do so eroded technique and judgement.

The fixture will always be a 'no win' situation for Wharfedale - bullies if they win by a hat-ful, mugs if they don't - and they played like a side under pressure rather than one enjoying an end-of-term romp and a couple of beers afterwards.

Ribblesdale had no problems identifying the task confronting them. Making a game of it and avoiding any embarrassment was their simple brief and they achieved their objective with something spare.

It was a close call on a few occasions, for Wharfedale did engineer a handful of clear chances which either slipped through their fingers or were denied by outstanding Ribblesdale defence.

Pick of those was a sublime cover tackle by full-back Gareth Evans on Graham Smith after the Wharfedale scrum-half had broken free and outstripped the rest of the defence, while good work by Jonathan Richards to deny wingman Mark Battle and a finger-tip effort by 17-year-old Steve Cowperthwaite to bring down Craig Eccleston were all efforts which helped to sustain the home side's resolve.

Even so, Wharfedale emerged with a five tries to one tally to emphasis their superiority, even with a handful of yonger players being given a run-out.

Andrew Lovatt on the wing collected a brace with some strong finishing and Jonathan Davies also scored twice and added a couple of conversions.

The other try went to No 8 Russ Buckroyd, who had an armchair ride to the Ribblesdale line at the back of the scrum for a text-book push-over score that looked very ominous at the time for the home side.

In reply, Evans scored a gem of a try after 24 minutes for Ribblesdale, running back a Davies clearance kick and then regathering a perfect chip ahead before slipping past the last couple of defenders for a try at the posts.

A conversion and two penalties from Jonathan Richards ensured respectability for the hosts and brought the curtain down on another season in a way that allowed both teams a measure of satisfaction.