Ossett v Oaks

Coming off the back of four straight defeats Ossett were hoping to carry over the momentum of last week’s second half against Vandals to beat an Oaks side trying to get clear of the relegation zone.

The match saw the debut of Matt Hemmingway at scrum half and the return of Dan Wray as replacement No. 8.

Ossett started brightly and it wasn’t long before they were on the scoreboard, a break from Ben Jennings was offloaded to Tattersfield who managed to get round two Oaks players before going over for the first score. Converted by Drury.

Ossett carried on with strong pressure, linking together almost ten phases, but a strong Oaks defence kept them from scoring. New scrum half Hemmingway linked up well with Drury and together they controlled the attack, with good recycling of the ball by the forwards and strong running in the backs. Uncharacteristically, the referee had to had a word with Rob Yong due to some tussling on the side of the scrum but only a warning was given as the referee “Couldn’t give a card for punch like that.” It was then Ossett’s turn to be on the back foot as Oaks went onto the attack but again, strong defensive play kept the attackers away from the line. The half finished 7-0 to Ossett.

The second half carried on in the same vein with strong attack from both sides, Burnley and Karadzic running hard and straight and with good passing down the line through the hands saw Lightfoot get over in the corner for Ossett’s second try. Conversion missed.

Play resumed with more strong attack and defence until again, the ball getting out wide for North to offload to Hall who crashed over in the corner. The referee then offered Drury a pint at the bar if he kicked the conversion. Luckily the sodden pitch saw the referee’s money safe in his pocket.

From the kick off Oaks managed to score their only try of the game. This was then answered at the close of play with Andy Webber doing what he does best and forcing his way over for Ossett’s fourth and bonus point earning try. This was converted from in front of the posts by Drury but the referee didn’t make the same offer this time!

Tries: Tattersfield, Lightfoot, Hall, Webber

Conversions: Drury 2

MOM Points: 5 – Drury, 4 – Hemmingway, 3 – Karadzic, 2 – Burnley, 1 - Lightfoot