Wharfedale 25

Luctonians 5

WHARFEDALE dealt with some difficult conditions to beat an in-form Luctonians side at the Avenue on Saturday.

Luctonians travelled to a cold and damp North Yorkshire and struggled to find the form they have shown in recent weeks.

Wharfedale, on the other hand, played strong rugby throughout and deserved to reap the rewards of four points.

Luctonians opened the scoring when their No 8, Aiden Cheshire, crashed over from close range for an unconverted try.

Wharfedale had the lead by half-time with two penalties from the boot of Jack Blakeney-Edwards.

Wharfedale scrum-half Henry MacNab opened up the Luctonians defence with a great break and Blakeney-Edwards was on hand to take the scoring pass. There was no conversion but Dale had extended their lead to six points.

Dale’s second try came when Matt Speres picked up a loose ball and put Oli Cicognini in for a try. Blakeney-Edwards converted from the left touchline.

Wharfedale rounded off the scoring with good handling, which allowed Oscar Canny to score wide to the right. Up stepped Blakeney-Edwards to show he could convert from out wide on either side.

The conditions were not perfect for open, running rugby and there was a fair amount of kicking during the match.

However, both sides did try to move the ball around but it was Dale who handled the conditions better than the visitors.