Otley welcomed Wensleydale for the first ever Zebra fixture between the 2 Clubs, marking the occasion by gracing the famous Cross Green turf. A very wet night softened the pitch up somewhat, and ‘Dale’s large pack looked a real test for Otley.

A soggy pitch and slippy ball made handling tricky, and Otley had to change up from their usual running game to a bit more game management mode. Tight early exchanges ensued, before Dylan Duckmanton broke the line to open the scoring. This was followed by a brace for Harry Cropp, and a fine solo score from Charlie Medley. Wensleydale’s hard work was rewarded with a try just on the stroke of halftime to trail 20-5.

A very strong opening 10 minutes of the 2nd half, the excellent George Gilson, Zak Smith and Joe Rock very prominent, saw Otley stretch the lead out with a lovely team try finished in spectacular fashion by AJ Toyne in the corner. Some handling errors saw Otley spurn 3 more try scoring opportunities before Sam Davy slipped down the blindside for the cheekiest of tries. Will Reavey was having by far his best game of the year and completed the Otley scoring before Wensleydale, to their absolute credit, got over twice in the last couple of minutes to round off the morning.

An excellent game in testing conditions between 2 very competitive teams, Otley’s superior handling being the difference on the day. Already looking forward to the return fixture which will be another great away trip!