Cleckheaton made the short trip to Lockwood Park with a depleted squad. Losing several players through injury, which though common at this time of the year, is being felt particularly acutely by Cleckheaton at present. This meant that Ed Curley made the trip up from Worcester where he is now studying, specifically for the game before returning for an appointment the next day and big Carl Mason was called out of retirement to don his high-ankle rugby boots once again for 1st Team action.

Cleckheaton started brightly and earned territorial advantage in the opening exchanges with Huddersfield. Throughout most of the game Cleckheaton provided a robust and very competitive challenge in the tight areas of play. The table toppers, undefeated since dropping into National 3 from the league above in September, possessed a much greater capability to break out of their own half and turn defence in attack, with quick flowing, well supported rugby. The home side have scored over 1100 points this season and picked up another 7 with a trademark break up field. Cleckheaton’s scrambling defence infringed in a bid to slow play down and from the penalty and set piece, Malthouse went in for the home side. Chris Bell converted.

Cleckheaton showed commitment and tried to front up to their opposition, but fast hands spread Cleckheaton too thinly and Knight went in at the corner for Huddersfield. The home sides advantage was increased further when Malthouse went in for his second and Chris Bell made it 3 out of 3 with the boot to give his team a 21-0 lead. Cleckheaton were not there to roll over however and a period of sustained pressure on Huddersfield’s line saw the league leaders concede a number of penalties in a bid to keep Cleckheaton out. Eventually referee Davies, lost his patience and Joel Hinchcliffe was sin-binned for Huddersfield. Cleckheaton opted for the scrum and a quick lift from Jack Bickerdike and a run around move from Ronan Evans and Matt Piper, found Josh Hall cutting an incisive line all the way to the whitewash. Evans added the conversion. In the dying seconds of the first half Huddersfield went in for their bonus point winning try, which also guaranteed that they would be crowned league champions at end of the match.

In the second half Cleckheaton continued to give Huddersfield a keen contest but despite their efforts, including a stand out tackle from Luke Pearson, Hudderfield went in for 3 more tries through Rhodes, Morrill and Conway. Chris Bell converted two and with less than 10 minutes left to play it would have been easy for Cleckheaton to capitulate. They did nothing of the sort and worked their way up field, getting a reward for their efforts when James Wilson, carrying a broken rib as it would later turn out, dived over for a consolation try for Cleckheaton. Evans converted for a final score of 47-14.

Cleckheaton face Wirral at Moorend this Saturday. This is a vital game, that Cleckheaton need to get something from as the relegation battle continues to the very end of the season. A large home support will bolster the teams chances, with kick off at 3pm at Moorend.