IT was a red letter day for Bradford & Bingley’s Jamie Martin, as he was instrumental in downing his old rivals Scarborough, helping the Bees to a brilliant 47-21 away win in North One East.
His years as a Bridlington resident and player clearly gave him an extra edge on Saturday, as he scored two tries and picked up the man of the match award.
It was an impressive win for the Bees, over a side who were many people’s favourites for promotion after they lost out in the play-offs last time round.
The bonus point win gives Hugh Gumbs’ men 35 points at the halfway point of the season and secure place in mid-table.
On a pristine playing surface, conditions looked ideal for open running rugby and that was proven within five minutes.
Kati Tuipulotu pinched a wayward Scarborough lineout and hared away from the home pack for the opening score. Lance Taylor slotted the conversion, the first of six on the day.
Taylor was next over the whitewash for the Bees, as the visitors suddenly found themselves 14 points up with only six minutes played.
Thomas Harrison then steadied the ship for Scarborough with a score on 10 minutes, improved by Angus Frend, but any thoughts of a swift home comeback were quickly dispelled as Martin burst through for the first of his scores.
There may have been some poor tackling which ushered the big man to the line, but he was clearly a man on a mission as soon as he had the try line in sight.
As the clock ticked on to barely 25 minutes, Martin was there again, with the bonus point score, as Taylor got conversion number four.
Scarborough held out the rampant Bees for the rest of the half, but it didn’t take the visitors long to be back over the whitewash, as Heimuli Taufa and Adam Sutcliffe scored to bring up 40 points with just 47 minutes played.
The next two scores belonged to the hosts, with Stuart Smyth’s score in the 66th minute adding an air of respectability to the scoreboard at 21-40.
Both sides had late half chances, but Scarborough never looked likely to haul in their visitors.
Having conceded late scores in losing recent games, The Bees did the the opposite here, as skipper Tom Booth crashed over in the 79th minute to complete the scoring.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here