Wath Upon Dearne RUFC came back down to earth with a bump as they returned to league action this week following victory in the RFU Senior Vase last week. The opposition at Moor Road on Saturday, West Park Leeds, had beaten Wath in the earlier fixture and were enjoying a solid run of form and push into the promotion places. Wath went into the second half with a 3-24 deficit but managed to claw back a bonus point that looked an impossibility at the half time whistle. From the outset West Park Leeds showed the strength of their backs and aided by an error strewn display by the home side raced over early on. Wath began to fight back and wing Anthony Barratt slotted a penalty. Wath continued to press but once again handling errors saw West Park break out, only a solid cover tackle by wing Brett Small halting the threat. The Moor Road men returned to the West Park 22 but a dodgy pass in midfield saw West Park break out and go through a suspect defence. Barratt would just miss a penalty shortly afterwards. The visitors took their turn to apply the pressure on the Wath 22 and with the home side busy appealing for a forward pass the opposition hooker went over for a try. Waths effort was not helped when they lost openside Steve Wesson for 10 minutes and continued to concede some soft penalties. The West Park winger would grab a hat-rick before the half was out missed one on one tackles resulting in another long range effort. Half time score 3-24.
With an apparent mountain to climb in the second half captain Matthew Burrows led the way. From the kick off the visitors were penalised for holding on and from the resulting quick ball outside centre Steve Mason made a good break. The West Park defence however would prove difficult to breach, their one on one tackling particularly impressive. Wath continued to press however as West Park looked to clear their lines the visitors scrum half made a late bid for an Oscar nomination following a clearance kick. As Mason broke the line again his opposite number was sent to the bin for a tip tackle. Wath made the man advantage pay, a solid scrum saw the ball spun down the blindside and Barratt surge over in the corner. Prop Ben Myers and Burrows made telling runs into the heart of the visitor’s midfield but again sloppy handling would halt the potential threat. Scrum half Joe Bartlett made a sniping break and popped to Mason but again the West Park defence was up to the challenge. However Wath remained patient and full back Adam West raced over following some slick handling in the backline. With minutes remaining Wath pressed for the bonus point. West again instrumental with a quickly taken penalty and strength in contact that belies his pepperami-esque frame. From the resulting quick ball Bartlett grabbed a deserved try for his efforts throughout the game and the bonus point with 2 great dummies before racing over. Barratt slotted the conversion to give the Moor Road men a losing bonus point. A poor first half performance let Wath down today but undoubtedly the visitors deserved the win with a fine first half display of pacey rugby, capitalising on an error strewn Wath effort. Burrows men enjoyed the vast majority of territory and possession in the second half and gained some reward for their efforts. The Development XV beat Sheffield 3s 39-7. The Third XV beat Sheffield 4s 36-24 and the Under 14s beat Selby 33-12. Next up for the 1st XV Hullensians at home.