Northern 13 – 26 Cleckheaton

Cleckheaton moved onto the cusp of being crowned champions of North 1 East with their first victory at Northern in over a decade. The excellent hospitality of the Gosforth club is usually extended only to the pre and post match victuals, whilst the spoils on the pitch have been reserved strictly for the home team on each of the 4 occasions Cleckheaton have travelled to McCracken Park in the last ten years. The Moorenders were finally back to full strength with skipper, Richard Piper, making his return to the fold after serving out a ban following a red card at West Hartlepool and knew that victory here would make them almost uncatchable at the top of the league table. Northern on the other hand needed the points to fend off any possibility of them falling into an end of season relegation battle.

It was a very nervous start for the sizeable travelling contingent from West Yorkshire as Northern slipped into gear from the whistle, whilst Cleckheaton struggled to get any traction. Donal Collins opened the scoring for the home side with a penalty on 10 minutes and then added a conversion 5 minutes later, following a long-range try from the Newcastle men. At 10-0 down, with their line-out under pressure, their kicking game below par and a mounting negative penalty count, it seemed that Cleckheaton’s 3rd defeat of the season could be on the cards. However just before the half hour mark, the visitors seemed to have finally got their engine running when their first really strong catch and drive of the afternoon took play from the half way line to just outside the 22. A quick pick and go from Man of the Match Rob Afoa-Peterson stretched Northern’s defence and Jack Bickerdike scooted from the back of a ruck and side stepped round two would-be tacklers for a try at the side of the sticks. Ross Hayden adding the extras.

Northern resumed on a positive note and replied with a penalty goal minutes later to reassert their lead but Cleckheaton were now taking the ball to the home side with vigour. Teenager James Crowther had a fine game at hooker and found Ollie Akroyd in a line out on the half way. The maul rolled up field 20 metres before being spun out to the backs, where an inside pass to Martin Woodhead, put him through a gap in the middle of the park. Despite the attention of the Northern fullback and a collision with one of the post protectors, the Cleck wing man managed to force his way over. Hayden’s conversion gave Cleckheaton the lead for the first time.

With only seconds remaining in the half, Richard Piper marked his return to the team with a trademark try, directing a catch and drive towards the line before breaking free and diving over. On this occasion the conversion drifted wide and at the break Cleckheaton had a not insurmountable 19-13 lead.

The second half of the game was an evenly contested, largely dour affair. Cleckheaton made a number of errors that did not help their cause but the defence remained solid with Ryan Piercy working tirelessly and Matthew Piper, Ollie Depledge and James Wilson in no mood to let anyone through the three quarters. After 30 minutes of midfield mediocrity, Cleckheaton managed to get themselves into Northern’s 22 with a penalty kick to the corner. The initial catch and drive was held short but a pop pass to Matt Piper from the back of the ensuing ruck propelled the Centre into a group of Northern defenders close to the line. As the mixture of bodies came to rest the ball landed directly on the whitewash for Cleckheaton’s bonus point try, which Ross Hayden improved. Northern battled hard in the remaining 5 minutes and would have been good value for a consolation try and a much needed losing bonus point but the visitors would not be breached, giving a final final score of 26-13.

Cleckheaton are now 14 points clear at the top of the table, with only 3 games and a maximum of 15 points left available. At the conclusion of Saturday’s game at home to Morpeth the league championship should be confirmed for Ian Armitage’s men. A pre-match lunch, catering for over 160 guests has long been in the diary for the Morpeth game. This guarantees a large crowd should be on hand to cheer the team on to its first title in 12 years and, of course, to celebrate that success long into the evening at Cleckheaton Sports Club. Entry to the game is just £5 with concessions available for students and pensioners.

It was quadruple joy for Cleckheaton RUFC as for the first time this season all four senior sides won on the same weekend. Cleckheaton is one of a disappearing number of clubs that are still able to field four teams each Saturday and the Kestrels’ crushing, 78-0, defeat of Selby, the 3rds win against Heath, which keeps them on course to finish as runners up in their merit league and the 4th team’s win at Halifax Vandals has put icing on the cake. Couple this with the fact that the club’s cricket team won the Bradford league first division title last season and that the British Crown Green Bowling finals will be played at Moorend this summer, it is a success story to be matched by few and to be celebrated by the town and all those who work so hard to make it happen.