National Division One

London Welsh 71 Wharfedale 24

With hardly an ageing elk in sight it was a case of "Oh Dear" rather than Old Deer for Wharfedale's supporters in the famous park near Kew Gardens where London Welsh hit a purple patch to overwhelm the Greens by 11 tries to three, writes Keith Lewis.

Few sides have days when everything goes according to plan but after losing three of their last six games and slipping to third place in the table the Exiles produced a near-perfect performance - described after the match as "the best of the season" by their coach Clive Griffiths. Certainly Griffiths has put together a dynamic squad at the London club with a predominantly Celtic blend of union and league players.

On the evidence of this performance they look ready for a move into the Premiership but bearing in mind Wharfedale's generosity on the day they perhaps should not count on all their birthdays coinciding again for quite some time. As you would expect it was Wharfedale's heaviest league defeat and it more than compensated the Welsh for their own record reverse, the 50-12 loss at Threshfield last season.

After the win over Morley the Greens made four changes to their pack, two of those positional as Neil Dickinson moved from the second row to tight head and Ian Peel switched to loose head following the withdrawal of John Metcalfe through illness.

Captain John Lawn was also missing from the starting line-up, choosing to take a well-earned rest on the bench. Hooker James Ogden came in for his first league start of the season and Dennis Wood was drafted into the second row.

London Welsh's plethora of talent included former Widnes RL dual international centre Andy Currier, ex-Workington RL and Wales rugby union back row Rowland Phillips, London Broncos' winger Scott Roskell, former Vale of Lune flanker Dave Muckalt and Canadian international second row pair Cliff Vogl and Chris Whittaker.

The Welsh raced into an early lead when their scrum-half Darren Edwards broke from the game's first scrum to touch down, and in their very next move fullback Adam Jones came into the line at pace to score wide out. Worse was to follow when after some intense forward pressure on their own line the home backs sped away and left wing James Reynolds finished in spectacular style at the other end.

As the Exiles continued to play a 15-man version of sevens on a pitch which was ideal for running rugby the Wharfedale defence was exposed time and time again as the classy Phillips weaved his magic in midfield and yawning spaces opened further out. Right winger Roskell, two, lock Whittaker and No 15 Jones all added tries before the interval as the Dalesmen chased shadows.

The records will show that London Welsh raced in four more tries after the restart through Currier, two, and fly-half Craig Raymond, two, with Raymond landing eight conversions in all, but anyone who was there would agree that the Dalesmen never capitulated, far from it in fact - with possession they did not play at all badly.

The pack brought appreciation from the crowd with some belligerent driving in the loose, particularly after Lawn had joined the action, and the shell-shocked backs had their moments too.

Centre Jonathan Davies scored an excellent try in each half for the Yorkshire branch of the Exiles and Adam Mounsey was unlucky not to be awarded a try in the corner when the touch-judge was also pole-axed by the covering tackle and left in no condition to comment.

Flankers Paul Evans and Hedley Verity were the pick of the pack and a Verity drive from a lineout produced a try for that ever-impressive lock David Lister. Mounsey contributed nine points with three conversions and a penalty to keep up his record of having scored in every one of Wharfedale's last 43 games.

It all ended in a resounding win for the Exiles but it is worth contemplating the relative strengths in depth at each club.

In a morning fixture the London Welsh Under 16 side lost 24-10 to Wharfedale Under 16s and much to the disappointment of Wharfedale Under 17s who had made the long trip to the capital the Welsh cancelled the fixture at that level because they were unable to raise a side.

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