WYKE came out victorious in the Yorkshire Men's League Division Two clash of the titans at home to Ossett Trinity Tigers.
Both sides put their undefeated records on the line at the Recreation Ground with the Bradford side triumphing 22-10 to make it seven wins out of seven.
The weather conditions brought back old memories of winter rugby as the rain lashed down.
However, neither the conditions nor the normal disadvantage of playing up hill were to dampen Wyke's desire for success.
The home side set off at a blistering pace and were first on the scoreboard as a result. Captain Jordan Payton found James Cullen out wide with a lovely ball and he was clinical with the finish to touch down.
Brad Clarkson duly tagged on the extras with a superb touchline goal.
Wyke then had to soak up some sustained pressure as the Tigers went on the offensive. Great defence kept the Wyke line intact with man of the match Charles Grocock leading the way.
The black and whites extended their lead when stand-off Clarkson neatly regathered his chip over the top to crash over under the sticks.
With Clarkson's successful kick, Wyke were two scores to the good at 12-0. The home side were really on the front foot and Clarkson was heavily involved again for their third try.
It was his pin-point kick to the corner that allowed giant winger Cameron Foster to collect and touch down. Clarkson stepped up and slotted over his third conversion and Wyke were in full control at 18-0.
Things got worse for the Tigers when hooker Josh Machin was sent to the sin bin for dissent, allowing Clarkson to extend Wyke's lead further to 20-10 at the break.
The second half was a scrappy affair as the playing conditions deteriorated due to the rain.
The big Tigers pack attacked the Wyke defence but the line held strong due to great work from forwards Ash Hutchinson and Nathan Marchant.
The visitors suffered a further setback with the loss of their coach, who was red-carded for entering the field of play.
The sending off however seemed to galvanise the Tigers team and they camped out on the Wyke line, trying to force the score.
It was no surprise when the home defence finally cracked and Machin burrowed his way over in the corner, the try being converted by Elliott Schofield.
The Tigers then found themselves back down to twelve men when this time Callum Machin was sent from the field, again for dissent.
With time running out, Tigers forward Arron Williams found a hole to slide over the whitewash and narrow the gap to 20-10 but it was Wyke's day as they ran out worthy winners.
Coach Ian Wormald said: "Today proved to me we have a squad of players that work for each other. It wasn't pretty but these are the types of games that show a team's true strength of character.
"I thought the first half we did everything right. However the second half wasn't great as we never got going.
"We're still very young in certain areas and bigger challenges will come but I'm confident these lads can and will embrace them with an attitude and determination that will keep them pushing forward."
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