Halifax Vandals 13 – 20 Yarnbury
By Connor McKeown
Yarnbury overcome tough opposition to remain second in the Counties 2 Yorkshire league, with Dan Pound having an impressive performance from the tee.
Tom Whitfield and James Falgate crash over to help Yarnbury palm off a resilient Halifax Vandals side, steering their side to a hard-fought victory.
After what was a competitive first five, Yarnbury conceded a penalty in range for the Halifax kicker at the ruck. Despite James Falgate’s best efforts to reach over the ruck, the referee deemed him to be coming in from the side.
If any readers or members of the crowd for the reverse fixture remember the game earlier on in the season, you will know that the Vandals love to take the points from the tee – and today was no different. The Halifax kicker converted the penalty, and it was 3-0 to the home side after five minutes.
But Falgate wouldn’t dwell on his mistake for too long, making up for it just three minutes later with a barnstorming try.
The towering second rower received the ball 10-15 yards away from the Halifax tryline from Josh Bateson, who smartly moved Falgate from first receiver. Bateson received the ball from the ruck and tipped it on for Falgate, with the Yarnburyman bumping off two Vandals in the process.
Ever consistent from the tee, Dan pound had his first two points of the afternoon, converting to give Yarnbury a 3-7 lead after 10 minutes.
Unfortunately for Falgate, it looked like his afternoon was over after scoring the try, with him limping off the pitch shortly after, unable to walk.
A few minutes later, Halifax were back on the tee.
After a scrum was turned around, Halifax had two quick drives at the Yarnbury defence and, trying to swing the momentum of the attack, a Yarnbury defender tried to make an opportunistic steal at the ruck, but the referee didn’t deem it to be, awarding the Vandals another penalty close to the posts.
The Halifax kicker took his time for what looked a routine penalty, and the game was now within a point of the Vandals at 6-7 after 15 minutes.
After 20 minutes, the game was paused due to injury after a Yarnbury player, George Flescher took a shoulder to the head. The game resumed 15 minutes later after brilliant work from both sides medical teams. The whole of the club sends its best wishes and hopes for a speedy recovery.
Due to the stoppage, it was if the game had started all over again, with the two battling it out to regain control.
But when Yarnbury needed someone to step up and take control of the game, it was hooker Tom Whitfield who scored a powerful try.
After Yarnbury received a penalty close to the Halifax line, they opted to drive, with the decision paying off. The tough Yarnbury forwards managed to grind their way to the line and, as a result of their hard work, Whitfield took the ball less than 5 yards from the middle of the posts and crashed over to give his side the lead.
Pound, with there being no chance of him missing from there, gave his side a comfortable eight-point lead, taking the score to 6-14 after half an hour.
Just as the half was due to come to an end, Yarnbury had one last chance of extending their lead as they looked to shift the ball to their dangerous left edge.
Bateson, looking to be involved again, received the ball on the left. The winger dabbed a kick through the Vandals line and chased, grubbering it again across the floor and into the path of Max Kennedy.
I can say this with certainty: Max will not want to see this one again.
The usually sharp full-back would have finished this chance 99.9% of the time, but the bounce (or lack of) was against him, with him tripping over the ball and finding himself on the floor. The Vandals had given up, but lady luck had a say in that.
But it wouldn’t be too long before Yarnbury accumulated more points, this time from the tee. Pound chose to take the three points, after Halifax were penalised for not rolling away at the ruck.
Pound slotted from range and Yarnbury led 6-17 with 35 minutes to go.
After some broken play, Halifax had halved the deficit.
After gaining territory deep into the Yarnbury half, the ball went right and found a Vandal. The Vandal stepped of his right foot and beat the Yarnbury defence, scoring beneath the sticks.
Their ever-reliable kicker converted, and the game was 13-17 heading into the last quarter.
With 15 minutes to go, Halifax had a penalty just past the halfway line after Bateson fumbled an interception and kicked away the ball.
But, fortunately for Yarnbury, his reliability became a liability, with the kicker becoming over-confident with his kicking range, pushing his shot to the right of the sticks.
Five minutes later, Halifax had another chance at pulling level. An infringement at the ruck saw the Vandals get an advantage, but the referee pulled it back for a penalty.
The Vandals kicker, with a second bite of the cherry, missed again. This time, he pushed his kick across the face of the goal and the scores remained the same heading into the final 15.
And after a hectic end to the game, Yarnbury managed to kill off the game completely, getting themselves a penalty just in front of the Halifax uprights.
After a fumble from the Halifax scrum, the Yarnbury defence stepped up and beat the Vandals defence, getting over the ruck faster and winning the ball back.
Pound converted and had himself 10 points for the afternoon, an important performance from the fly-half.
Next week, Yarnbury host sixth placed Ossett, which promises to be an exciting encounter.