Cleckheaton 64 – 3 Old Crossleyans

Cleckheaton posted their biggest win of the season with a ten try demolition of Old Crossleyans. The visitors battled hard at times but were ultimately on the end of a rampant Cleckheaton display that saw the promotion chasers score five tries in each half of the match. Both sides were missing influential players with captain, Richard Piper, still side lined for Cleckheaton and fellow No.8, Ryan Hammond, missing for the visitors. Cleckheaton though, still had strength and quality all over the park as the next 80 minutes were to demonstrate, with no less than nine different players getting over the whitewash.

Ironically it was Old Crossleyans who opened the scoring shortly after kick off, when Cleckheaton failed to release the ball in the face of some strong tackling and Chris Vine put the visitors into a 3-0 lead. Cleckheaton responded, when a shimmy up the right hand side of the pitch by Ross Hayden took play close to Crocs’ line and a few seconds later Matt Piper celebrated his 26th birthday by barging his way through a tackle for a try under the sticks. Alex Dawson, who was having a storming game, was the next to cross, finishing off a break that he’d started himself on the halfway line. Two quick pick and go’s following the initial yardage allowed the lock forward to find his feet and get on to the end of a scoring pass from Jack Bickerdike. Ross Hayden converted both tries before adding another 7 points himself, when he linked into the three quarter line for a score in the corner that took Cleckheaton’s lead to 21-3.

With less than 30 minutes played, a try scoring bonus point seemed highly likely to be coming Cleckheaton’s way and that speculation turned to fact following a nicely weighted chip on the half-way line by Michael Piper which was collected by Hayden. The fullback passed back inside to Ollie Depledge who engaged the last defender and placed the ball to allow quick recycling. Crossleyans, as at many points in the game, could not organise their defence quick enough and Ollie Akroyd stepped inside the scrambling back line to score under the sticks. The half was rounded off with Ross Hayden’s second after Matt Piper shrugged off a would-be tackle and carried on a 30 metre run before supplying Hayden with the try scoring pass. The conversion took the half time lead to 33-3.

Cleckheaton started the second period in the fashion they had finished the first. Eventual Man of the Match, Chris Piper, secured Cleckheaton’s next try within a few minutes of the kick-off when one of his characteristic, twisting rumbles in the contact area resulted in him getting to the line for a rare and popular try. Martin Woodhead then showed pace and guile to go in from distance for Cleckheaton’s seventh, before Jack Bickerdike scooted from the base of a ruck and crowned a dominant performance by taking the Moorenders to the 50 point mark.

Crossleyans, despite the score, had not given up the competition and put together a few competent attacking plays themselves. However, Cleckheaton’s defence held firm and the visitors were ultimately left try-less. As Crossleyans tried to barge their way out of their 22, a loose pass was read well by Rob Afoa-Peterson and he scooped it out of the air and ran under the sticks. Instead of placing the ball down he gave it to Michael Piper who confirmed the score with an exuberant dive. Hayden Converted. Ollie Depledge, who had also had a fine game, scored Cleckheaton’s tenth try with the last play of the match. Good hands along the back line, gave the outside centre a one on one with the opposition winger, who he rounded with aplomb before turning towards the uprights for an easy last conversion for Hayden and a final score of 64-3.

This was a masterful team performance by Cleckheaton, who are now closing in on the North 1 East title but next week take a break from league action when they face Wharfedale at Threshfield in the Yorkshire Cup Quarter Final. The Moorenders then have four league games left, all of which are against teams in the bottom five of the current table and just two wins will confirm the title is coming to Cleck in 2014.

As well as posting a 10-try victory, it was a double celebration for Rob Afoa-Peterson and Alex Dawson who were both awarded their Cleckheaton first team ties, which are given to players who have played twenty 1st XV games in the same season.