Wibsey buoyed by Skipton rout ahead of Phoenix trip

The Bradford side blew Skipton away in the opening half-hour last week on the way to a 47-0 home victory.

The Villagers scored six tries in 28 minutes - from Bruce Mpofu (3rd and 26th), Aiden Batey (5th), Kyle Carter (19th and 28th) and Joe Ratcliffe (first try for club in 23rd minute), with Robson Moore adding five conversions.

"The forwards were dominant and the backs didn't drop a ball," said Wibsey secretary Steve Brooke, "and then Skipton turned up, so we only got one try in the second half from Danny Conroy in the 62nd minute that Robson Moore converted.

"We also managed to get two players sin-binned in the last 10 minutes - Kyle Carter after 70 minutes for a high tackle and Jimmy Rogers in the last minute for a deliberate knock-on."

Tomorrow's clash could be a much closer contest, with Wibsey 10th and Phoenix 11th.

Wibsey hand a debut to versatile former Salem player Conor Wood.

Wibsey (at Rotherham Phoenix) from: A Rose, J Brown, J Bradbury, A Cerson, R Greenwood, S Foulds, M Kite, S Grant, S Smith, K Carter, H Hall, C Wood, R Smith, B Mpofu, R Moore, J Ratcliffe, S Birkbeck.

Meanwhile, Bradford & Bingley, winners of the Powergen Intermediate Cup at Twickenham in 2004 when they saw off Gloucester Old Boys 46-18, have had a walkover in their Yorkshire Shield quarter-final.

They should have been home to Heath tomorrow but the Halifax visitors cannot raise a side, seemingly putting all their eggs in the promotion basket of Yorkshire Division One, which they are leading by two points from neighbours Old Brodleians.

"It is exciting for us to be in the semi-finals," admitted Bees coach Hugh Gumbs, with the Shield offering a shot at Twickenham for the final winners the following season.

"It is a long while since we won anything and it is a more realistic target when you are in the semi-finals rather than the quarter-finals but the difficulty is getting out of the Yorkshire stages as the clubs are so strong."