Bradford & Bingley 15 Firwood Waterloo 10

A try in the 75th minute from Richard Tafa saw the Bees home but it was a game which should have been in the bag well before half-time as the hosts failed to capitalise on their dominance.

The poor conditions were no excuse for them not to have been at least 20 points clear by the interval.

Despite the bad weather, the Bees back line played some of their best rugby of the season with ball in hand. In the second minute a fine handling move up the left saw Tafa fend off a tackler and slip the ball to hooker Eddie Peglau, who skipped in for a memorable score out wide.

The Bees continued to press but a succession of penalties saw defenders relieve the siege with kicks to touch.

No score was forthcoming, until the 36th minute when, following a Chris Fisher plunge for the line which the referee disallowed, No 8 Adam Malthouse squeezed over for his fifth try of this campaign.

A ten-point advantage seemed a meagre reward for the home side’s dominance and Waterloo reduced the deficit to 10-3 with a penalty as the sides turned round.

The Bees were now playing up the hill and into the elements and could not establish the same dominance.

The visitors grew in confidence and the nightmare scenario of losing, having dominated the opening half, looked to be happening as Waterloo crashed over in the 68th minute through hooker Alec Croft, with Freeman Payne adding the extras to make it 10-10.

However, with Adam Wellington coming off the bench on to the left wing, the Bees rediscovered their mojo.

Wellington punched a hole in the Waterloo defence large enough to slip a neat pass to Tafa, who flew over the whitewash to see the Bees home.