Reds ready for leaders

Skipton 43 Stanley Rodillians 8

(Half-time 15-3)

Skipton went into this game hoping for their 10th league win on the trot showing a number of enforced changes from their victory the previous week at fellow p

omotion rivals Barnsley, writes Chris Windle.

And with Moortown not playing a stylish win with George Smithson rattling up four tries saw the Reds move into second place in the league.

Tomorrow (Saturday) current league leaders Leeds Corinthians visit fortress Sandylands. And a win will see Skipton go top with a far superior scoring record over their rivals.

Baden Burns made his seasonal first team debut in place of facial injury victim Bob Birks while Kieran Coe took the place of captain Adam Oldfield who was resting a leg injury.

Billy Boynton stood in for Trevor Brown in the second row with Andy Phillip returning allowing Adam Winthrop to move into the back row for the unavailable Neil King.

With Jon Sharpe and Robbie King both injured "Doc" Chapman's treatment room had an NHS proportion waiting list. The good news however was that Smithson passed a late fitness test.

Skipton kicked off against their Wakefield-based opponents with the benefit of a blustery wind at their backs and immediately used this to push Rodillians back in the early exchanges. Any worries about the scrummage disappeared when at the first scrum Declan Hayes took one of many strikes against the head and shortly after from a scrum on halfway Skipton took the lead.

From an initial break by Coe quick second phase ball was presented. Smithson hit the line at pace and despite the hint of a slip on the greasy surface rounded the fullback to score under the posts after seven minutes and Darren Howson added the conversion.

It took Rodillians until the 13th minute to mount an attack which saw them enter the Skipton '22' for the first time. Led by ex-Morley prop Demaine in the forwards and with veteran stand-off Cooper having more than a hint of ex-rugby league about him the visitors showed why they took Corinthians very close the previous week.

Skipton however punched their way back downfield and seemed certain to score but a knock-on from Andy Porter denied them. This proved to be only a temporary respite for Rodillians however and good ball retention from a number of phases eventually saw right winger Mike Beech step inside his marker to scorer an unconverted try in the corner to make it 12-0 on 23 minutes.

Immediately from the restart Skipton kicked downfield for position and caught the visiting fullback in possession. When he was penalised for not releasing Howson stepped up to stroke the penalty over to increase the lead to 15-0.

The midfield tackling of both centres and the Reds' back row nullified any attacking options that Rodillians might have had and they resorted to high kicks on both wingers and the fullback in a vain attempt to narrow the Skipton lead. Eventually a spell of pressure for the visitors brought a penalty for a high tackle which their fullback Edwards converted to make it 15-3. This was the half-time score although Skipton did have chances to extend their lead - most notably when Cameron Marcroft broke only for the final pass to Hayes to be adjudged forward with the line wide open.

The vociferous home support wondered if a 12-point gap would be sufficient with Rodillians having use of the wind in the second half. And their nerves were frayed even more when Howson left the field after only two minutes of the second half with a hamstring twinge, his place being taken by Oldfield.

Any doubts were however silenced three minutes later when from a two-handed take in the middle of the line by Mark Davidson Smithson again entered the backline at pace, turned the fullback inside out and scored his second try, Porter this time converting to increase the lead to 22-3.

Skipton were now totally in the ascendancy and played some champagne rugby to match that of England at Twickenham. Davdison and Ben Antonio repeatedly made good yardage and the backs simply showed too much pace for the opposition. Those spectators who gave the internationals on TV a miss were rewarded when Antonio stripped the ball from a disbelieving Rodillians' pack and while they tried to take their revenge by illegal methods Smithson burst through from halfway to complete his hat trick of tries. The look on the Rodillians' pack as they broke up their altercation and realised they had a 70-yard walk back to their posts for the successful conversion by Porter said it all. Their misery was complete on 64 minutes when the express pace of Smithson again proved too much as he notched up his fourth try of a productive afternoon, Porter again converting. Burns left the field to be replaced by Stuart Harling with Pete Jenkinson moving to tighthead. This move did nothing to dim the enthusiasm of a dominant home front row and again Hayes took a strike against the head.

There was some reward for the visitors when a scrappy passage of play resulted in their forwards mauling over for a try for No 8 Naylor in the corner. Edwards was unfortunate to see his kick hit the post and stay out.

There was just time for Skipton to set the seal on a good afternoon's work when their forwards again turned over Rodillians' possession to free Beech on the right wing. He showed that Smithson does not have a monopoly on pace in this team by sprinting fully 50 yards to the line, again leaving Porter the formality of a kick under the posts. And his successful kick heralded the final whistle.

So the potential of a banana skin had been avoided and avoided with panache and style. The stand-ins all played a full part, none more so than Boynton who ran hard and true at the opposition all afternoon and retained possession every time.

The club statisticians are now searching the records to see if Smithson can break the try- scoring record - as it seems certain he must.

There is sure to be a large crowd for the Corinthians encounter tomorrow (Saturday) as the supporters return to cheer on this hugely entertaining and successful Skipton team. The kick-off is at 2.30pm so take your place in the stand early, it's sure to be full.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.