DONCASTER 43

WEST PARK 0

IN days gone by this Yorkshire Cup semi-final would have been an evenly fought scrap between two of the county's junior sides.

Now, however, times have changed and Doncaster, with the aid of lottery funds, are a professionally-run outfit whereas West Park have stuck with the old ethos of rugby union and run the club on a minimal budget.

It meant that there was only going to be one winner in this game.

Aiming to make club history and reach their first Yorkshire Cup final, West Park showed ample courage and the opening exchanges were hard fought.

West Park flanker Ralph Bennett annoyed the partisan home side with his over-eager play but it meant the home side had to wait 15 minutes before taking the lead.

They edged in front with a try from Richard Senior after good line-out ball had brought them possession.

The big Doncaster pack had West Park creaking in the scrum and they exploited this with a pushover try from hooker David Atkinson, converted by Dave Fairclough.

A third home try came from scrum-half Simon Greenslade, who was put over after a 40 metre run from Mike Bailey, continued by Senior.

At 17-0 at the break, West Park were looking at a damage limitation exercise during the second-half.

Full-back James Mell went through weak tackling to score the next try and Doncaster added three more, the best from winger Conway, one of four Yorkshire players in the home ranks.

West Park showed commendable spirit and Howard Greenwood, Eugene Grimes and Andy Heald all went close to scoring near the end.

However, the difference in class from a side at the top at the top North Division One and a side that has suffered a horrendous dip in form since the start of the year was apparent.

West Park travel to promotion seeking Blackburn on Saturday for their final league fixture and some serious restructuring will have to be carried out during the close season to get the club back on track.

County junior

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