Greens march on at Saints

Liverpool St Helens 20 Wharfedale 32

Wharfedale continued their revival march when after making an explosive start to this game against Saints they survived one or two second half hiccups to finish strongly and record their first ever victory at Moss Lane, writes Keith Lewis.

Although the game was played in reasonably good spirits throughout bottom club Liverpool St Helens let their frustration show with an indisciplined performance. It was the second week running that they had outscored opponents by three tries to two but ended up losing. After going down 24-17 at Harrogate the previous Saturday the Saints suffered a similar fate at the hands of a resurgent Wharfedale side but even the residents of Brookside Close could have had few complaints about the final outcome of the game.

With the Greens in dominant mood up front the home side committed a series of indiscretions which led to their flankers Tim Wood and Dave Gaskell both being yellow-carded and the Liverpudlians finishing on the wrong end of a 6-1 penalty count.

The Wharfedale forwards looked almost back to their formidable best for much of the game and in Graham Smith and David Pears they had a half-back combination fully equipped to take advantage of quicker first and second-phase ball as well as the numerous penalty chances on offer.

Looking a yard faster than their opponents the Greens raced into a 26-0 lead by the interval but were then shocked as the wind freshened and the Saints used it well to grab two quick tries and eventually a well-worked third.

With captain Charlie Vyvyan setting a fine example in the final quarter the Wharfedale pack finished strongly to dominate once more and Pears put the result beyond doubt with his sixth penalty success of the afternoon -- Green anoraks note: the only other player to score six penalties in a league game for Wharfedale was Mark Toseland in a North Two game versus Lymm on January 14, 1989.

The Greens made several changes as fit again Andy Hodgson came in on the left wing and Glen Harrison was paired with his brother Mick in the centre. Smith made his fourth start of the season at No 9 and in the pack Vyvyan switched to No 8 with Dennis Wood regaining his second-row spot. The Liverpudlians included 15 of the 21 players listed in last season's corresponding fixture, including winger Neil Brooks who scored a hat trick on that occasion. Their most notable absentee was injured North Under 21 three-quarter Paul Brett.

Wharfedale got off to a flier when Smith stole the ball at the base of a Saints' scrum and sent lock David Lister and flanker Hedley Verity driving for the line. In their desperation the home side killed the ball giving Pears a straightforward penalty kick in front of the posts. The Cumbria fly-half was soon involved again, chipping into the corner and earning the attacking lineout from which Vyvyan powered over for his first try of the season. The Pears conversion made it 10-0 after only four minutes.

The Greens extended their lead when hooker John Lawn drove through following a Vyvyan lineout leap and with Pears and Glen Harrison making further headway the Saints were caught offside and Pears obliged from 25 metres. Lister appeared in defence to spiral a relieving kick to touch and remind everyone that if there was a rugby Olympics he would be a candidate for the pentathlon -- jumping, catching, throwing, kicking, tackling -- being a master of all the events and he even turned up at outside centre after 20 minutes to give a delightful scoring pass to Hodgson.

The move started with evergreen Wood pouncing on a loose ball in midfield before Smith and the two Harrisons found the eager Lister tearing up outside them.

Saints' hooker Jon Hitchen and open-side Wood were both penalised for late tackles on Pears as Wharfedale maintained the pressure on the home line and their centre Mike Hitchen was spoken to after a high tackle on Lister. Pears converted two of the chances to make it 26-0 at the interval.

The breeze noticeably stiffened as the Greens turned to face it and the Liverpudlians took advantage by poaching two quick tries through winger Brooks and lock Mike Nugent, the latter score being converted by centre Ian Callaghan.

That made it 26-12 but Pears steadied things with another penalty when Hodgson was obstructed chasing a kick ahead.

Liverpool St Helens refused to lie down though and scored the game's most spectacular try when fly-half Brian Wellans released his three-quarters and fullback Graham Close took Brooks' inside pass to race over.

A Callaghan penalty then made it 29-20 with 20 minutes remaining and Wharfedale responded by shutting up shop, keeping the ball tight and camping in the Saints' half.

To a man the Wharfedale pack earned their post-match pints with a thoroughly determined display in the final quarter. Lister and Verity went close, Pears landed his sixth penalty and the impressive Vyvyan was inches short of his second try as the final whistle blew.

Tomorrow (Saturday), ko 3pm, Wharfedale hit the cup trail again with a visit to Nottingham in the Third Round of the Tetley's Bitter Cup. It will take a third successive away victory to take the Greens into Round Four and a possible tilt at the Premiership Division One "big boys". One person sure to be relishing the prospect is David Pears who was in the Harlequins team which won the cup at Twickenham in 1991.

Nottingham's Ireland Avenue ground is in the Beeston area of the city.

Travelling supporters should leave the M1 at Junction 25 and follow the A52 towards Nottingham. At the first roundabout take the third exit, B6003, and follow for about three miles to a T-junction with traffic lights. There turn left on the A6005 towards Nottingham again, along a dual carriageway, past Chilwell Golf Club on the right and then after a further half a mile the rugby ground can be seen on the right. Turn right down Dovecote Lane and then right into Ireland Avenue.

The Wharfedale team is: N Heseltine; S McManus, J Davies, A Hodgson, C Eccleston; D Pears, G Smith; R Lancaster, J Lawn, N Dickinson, C Vyvyan (capt), D Lister, S Allen, H Verity, R Buckroyd; reps A Driver, M Hayes, C Ingram, R Sugden, D Wood, J Hartley.

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