Excellent effort by Otliensians

OTLIENSIANS took the field for this Aire-Wharfe Sulzer Cup tie with just 14 men and they were punished for a lack of cover when Salem went in for a try. When up to strength Otliensians eased their way into the game and a sustained spell of pressure almost brought a try. A lack of control in the back row saw Arbuckle pick up and although he got to the try line he was held up. Possession was fairly even but Salem, made better use of it often stretching Otliensians' defence to the limit. Otliensians cause was not helped by a referee who seemed to be unsighted every time Salem knocked on, and this was frequent.

Whilst Tim Swann made some great cover tackles Otliensians' tackling in general was not up to standard and Salem forced their way over for a try. Brett Tenniswood jumped with determination i the line taking Salem ball.

Tim Butcher then took over on the left wing and made some good runs while David Smith had an excellent game pinning Salem back time and again with some excellent touch kicking from penalties and out of hand. He gave Otliensians their first points with a penalty to put a spring in their step.

Otliensians forwards grafted hard against a big pack frequently robbing possession in the tight but unfortunately the backs just could not penetrate a strong Salem defence.The forwards made inroads into the heart of the Salem defence and Tony Twist scored a try which reduced the arrears to just two points. Otliensians put everything they had into the last quarter but could not get points on the board, even failing with two kickable penalties towards the end.

It was however an excellent effort and should encourage them for their final league game at home to York RI on Saturday from which they need one point to hold on to their Yorkshire Two status. A similar work rate should help them and all support is welcome.

Otliensians A............46 Dragons..............10

A patched up Aireborough Dragons outfit was comfortably beaten by a well-organised Otliensians' team. In a highly competitive contest Dragons' forwards were well led by flanker James Spencer but a shortage of possession resulted in limited tackling opportunities despite scrum-half Steve Gaunt's probing runs.

Centres Ian Dunn and Dave Mounsey tackled ferociously to keep the opposition at bay, with Dragon's only try coming from stand-off Dave Moyes, who crashed through, brushing off several tackles to score from 20 metres out. Winger Chris Illingworth added the conversion together with a later penalty to complete Dragon's scoring.

In ideal conditions Otliensians started strongly and soon took play deep into the visitors' half. After several unsuccessful attacks failed due to firm defence, fly-half Prepal Bachra dived over from a tap penalty to open the scoring. Shortly after the re-start flanker Tony Hudson had to leave the field with a rib injury. He was replaced by Roy Appleyard who took over at lock, allowing Jason Willacy to move into the back row.

With Otliensians gaining good possession from their line-out through Chris Hayward and Roy Appleyard, half-backs Fraser Ritson and Prepal Bachra were able to launch numerous attacks through strong-running centres Matt Tenniswood and Steve Hammond. From one such attack good work by Tenniswood saw Bachra dive over in the corner and shortly afterwards Bachra completed his hat-trick.

Aireborough gradually came more into the game and their strong tackling coupled with occasional sloppy handing by Otliensians strayed off-side, the visitors got on the scoresheet with a penalty to make the score 15-3 at half-time. At this stage Paul Kerby replaced winger Shane Moore for the home team.

After the break Otliensians once more went into the attack and a good run by centre Steve Hammond put winger Steve Lofthouse away for his first try for the club. The conversion failed but shortly afterwards, good backing up by the back row of Dave Evans, Richard Paley and Jason Willacy allowed the backs to launch another attack with Bachra going over for his fourth try which he converted to give Otliensians a 27-3 lead.

There was every reason for Aireborough to feel despondent at this stage but instead they rallied and produced some spells of first-class rugby. Slick handling by their backs took play into the Otliensian 22 and they scored a well-deserved try near the posts. The conversion took the score to 27-10. Soon afterwards Aireborough lost flanker Helme through injury and he was sportingly replaced by Otliensian's first XV flanker Brett Tenniswood. His presence seemed to revitalise the visitors and they mounted several promising attacks and were unlucky not to score another try.

In the last quarter as Aireborough tired Otliensians launched numerous attacks with full-back Kurt Nutchey coming into the line at pace to score two good tries. Flanker Richard Paley forced his way over to score and one conversion from Bachra and another from Matt Tenniswood produced a final score of 46-10. This was an entertaining game played in an excellent spirit with the scoreline not quite doing justice to the enthusiasm and commitment of the Aireborough side.

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