WIBSEY only officially folded in August, but their legacy lives on down the road in Halifax.

The BD6 side sadly withdrew from the Yorkshire rugby leagues due to chronic player unavailability after the 2021-22 season.

There were hopes of a resurrection, but they sadly did not come to fruition, and any hopes of a comeback were finally extinguished this summer, when the Rugby Football Union deregistered them as a club.

But amid sadness comes some light, as Halifax, a former powerhouse of Northern rugby union are on the comeback trail, thanks to eight former Wibsey players, including Kyle Carter, Michael Kite and Luke Wilson.

Winners of a record 13 Yorkshire Cup titles, as well as a Powergen Intermediate Cup triumph at Twickenham, and peaking at third-tier status once league rugby came into being, Halifax have also had four international players since forming in 1919 - three for England and one for Scotland.

However, it has been a long road back after funding issues meant that they pulled out of National League rugby and had to start at the bottom of the pyramid - Yorkshire Division Six, which is as far away from the Gallagher Premiership as possible.

Now, under director of rugby Carl Paterson, who was formerly head coach at Bradford & Bingley, they are climbing their way back up from the foothills.

They currently sit second in Counties Three Yorkshire, one point behind Leeds Corinthians, after a well-attended 30-15 home victory over Skipton on Saturday.

Skipton are 10th in the table but did not play like such a lowly team, having the better of the opening exchanges and should really have been ahead at half-time, rather than trailing 10-8.

However, they were finished off by Halifax scrum half Carter, who bagged a hat-trick, while full back Callum Bacon saw the visitors off once and for all with a late try, which he also converted, and a last-ditch drop goal to add to his earlier penalty and conversion.

Carter was at Bradford Salem last season, but did not appreciate being played in the centres.

He said after this win at Ovenden Park: “My position is nine.

“I don’t feel as comfortable at outside centre, which is where I was played last year after I had been out for a few weeks with a niggling injury.

“I ended up leaving Salem in the middle of last season to come straight here.

“Salem were really good about it and because I knew a few of the lads here from my Wibsey days, it’s made it a lot easier playing with my mates.”

Wibsey score a try during their final season in the Yorkshire leagues, the 2021-22 campaign.Wibsey score a try during their final season in the Yorkshire leagues, the 2021-22 campaign. (Image: Alex Daniel.)

As for how the season is going at Halifax, Carter said: “It is going really well, apart from a lack of concentration, which we can fix.

“We seem to be playing a game of two halves, with the first going really well and the second where we could be better, but we have a winning mentality, and we are nicking games.”

As for Skipton as opponents, Carter said: “I knew that Spenner (former Salem head coach Neil Spence) would have them well drilled and they came out of the blocks well and they are not a team to be slack against.

“We just have to be more composed and not think that we have to score a try every minute.

“We have to build territory and let the tries find themselves instead of trying to score every play.”

On his hat-trick, Carter said: “It was easy following the forwards who make breaks and I ran some cheap lines.

“The first try pleased me the most as I was following Dion Groombridge.

“Normally he doesn’t pass but this time he did and it was nice to go under the posts.”

Laughing, he added: “The only negative is that I am 30 years old and my legs are 40.”