Rosslyn Park 21, Wharfedale 17 A losing bonus point was scant reward for Wharfedale’s most heartening display of the season.

The Greens controlled territory and possession, supplied constant running attack, squeezed the life out of Park’s game and dominated all but the score board. But for abject goal kicking they would surely have recorded their first away victory of the campaign.

Park survived by courtesy of some lethal opportunistic finishing pace wide out, the clinical boot of Ross Laidlaw and the steadying rock-like defensive presence of centre Chris Lewis.

Two well-taken snap opportunities by full-back Miles Mantella and wing Nev Edwards in the opening quarter established a 14-0 Park lead that allowed them to survive a torrid quarter of an hour spent in in desperate defence as the destructively dominant Wharfedale scrum exploited the yellow card to home flanker Rowland by hammering away repeatedly at the their line.

Park were forced into repeated infringement and the Greens perhaps deserved more than merely scrum-half Phil Woodhead’s sole try.

Luke Gray’s four misses with the boot were beginning to look costly.

Edwards’ second powerful overlap finish in the corner immediately after the break, with Laidlaw’s conversion, negated all the good Wharfedale effort to open up a significant 21-5 lead.

But this rare flash of Rosslyn Park attack was the prelude to total Wharfedale domination for the remainder of the game with the play camped immovably within the home 22.

With Park even with front-row reinforcement but still vulnerable at the scrum and pressured on the back foot at the breakdown, Wharfedale, despite passing up kicks in easy range, engineered a flowing move which ended with Aaron Myers scoring in the corner.

Simon Horsfall’s touchline conversion sailed just wide.

Dan Solomi's characteristic blistering short finish from the back of a precisely executed maul and at last a successful kick from third-choice marksman James Druce left Wharfedale needing one more score for victory.

Park survived the final four minutes of nervy pressure until Laidlaw’s fine clearance kick saw then out of harm’s way, leaving Wharfedale to rue a victory that undeservedly escaped them.