Baildon 8, Bradford Salem 62

Dave Luxton bagged a try for the front-row union yesterday.

The prop, who is 39 later this month, was one of seven different try-scorers as Bradford Salem re-emphasised their SSE Yorkshire Divsion Two promotion credentials with a ten-try defeat of derby rivals Baildon, who are entrenched at the bottom.

Luxton, who ordinarily is either on the bench or in the second team, seemingly likes playing against the Jenny Laners.

He recalled: “I have been playing for 23 years and only score about two tries a year but I can remember scoring against them in one of the Boxing Day matches.”

Making what was only his second 80-minute appearance for the first team in two-and-a-half years - his first was three weeks ago against West Leeds - Luxton needed no second invitation to describe his 36th-minute try.

“I took a pass from Sam Savage and threw a dummy and a gap seemed to open up and I went through and elegantly flopped over to score.”

The try was further proof that Baildon’s first-up tackling left something to be desired, and, after their superb 25-25 draw at Barnsley the previous week, they were rather shell-shocked by conceding six tries in the first half up the slope, including four in the opening 17 minutes.

The match went downhill for them after they failed to secure the kick-off, Salem right winger Carl Walker getting the benefit of the doubt in touching down by the flag in the second minute.

Flanker Joe Fawcett, full back Danny Belcher (2), centre Sam Dunn and Luxton also crossed before the break, Belcher adding three conversions, with Baildon’s only opportunity coming when Jarrod Huss was short with a penalty in the 39th minute.

Trailing 36-0 at the interval, Baildon began the second half well, right winger Oliver Waddington scoring a try in the third minute after Salem’s replacement prop Mark Smith had spilled the ball, and Huss landing a penalty three minutes later.

However, after the hosts had been penalised on halfway a minute later and weak tackling had permitted Salem left winger Connor Malarkey to recover and run in their seventh try, the possibility of a tense second half was blown away.

Further tries followed for Dunn, long-striding second row Damien Pearson and the best of the match by Fawcett, after good work by Andy Robinson and Belcher, who converted the last three Salem tries.

Luxton added: “We took a lot from the victory the previous week over Yarnbury and it settled us down a lot.

“We are now in second place behind Sheffield Medicals as Yarnbury lost again.”

Hooker Tom Craven and skipper Jonny Picken were the pick of Baildon’s pack, and centre Nick Lister, who only came on after 43 minutes because of a recurring neck injury, looked the most dangerous back.

Craven said: “We have much the same side as last year when we were promoted but we are missing too many first-up tackles and have lost a bit of experience.”

Lister added: "Our heads haven't gone down and we'll keep battling to stay up."