Cleckheaton Kestrels 33 - 17 Selby

The Kestrels continued their winning streak and demonstrated that they can play a brand of rugby, which would not look out of place in a higher Yorkshire Merit League than where they currently lie. Selby’s 2nd team play in the Premier Division and came to Cleckheaton for this friendly fielding a young, well drilled side that expected to come away with a victory.

Selby started well and played the game at pace, ominously cutting Cleckheaton apart in the centre of the field for an early try. The conversion was missed but Cleckheaton found themselves 5 points down in as many minutes.

The Kestrels delivered a committed response and from the re-start put the visitors under pressure with a strong defensive display, which saw James Sergeant and Danny Graham to the fore. The forwards were also clearing rucks well and eventually turn-over ball allowed Ricky Motlib and Adam Stanley to make some valuable yards before Mark Fletcher quickly recovered the ball from the tackle and sent Neil Gillan on a trundle, engaging a couple of defenders and off-loading the ball to Chris Piper. With a solitary defender between him and the try line, Piper brushed aside the would-be tackler for Cleckheaton’s opening score. Jarrad Toulson added the extras and the Kestrel’s took a 7-5 lead.

Cleckheaton’s second try came after a strong run from Sergeant following a tap penalty 40 metres out. Cleckheaton’s forwards followed in support and recycled the ball allowing Fletcher to find Stanley and in turn, Tom Clapham, who slipped past the last defender for a well finished try. Toulson’s dependable boot improved the Kestrel’s lead.

Cleckheaton completed the half with another nicely executed try. A solid line-out catch by Matt Beasty and a couple of Forward drives committed Selby’s defence towards the right hand side of the pitch. Fletcher passed the ball out to Chris Piper who was under pressure from a Selby defender shooting the line. Rather than taking the tackle as expected, Piper showed great skills to flick the ball out to Gareth Lamb (PC) who drew the remainder of Selby’s mid-field before throwing an overhead pass to Aiden Bullen for the Kestrel’s 3rd try of the afternoon. The conversion brought the score to 21-5 with 3 minutes left in the half.

Selby re-grouped at half time, with the game clearly not going the way they had anticipated. A partisan viewer would also say the referee favoured a closer contest, as for the first 15 minutes of the second period Cleckheaton could not seem to do anything without conceding a penalty. The Kestrel’s have matured as this season has progressed and this was evident as they remained disciplined despite Selby scoring in the corner from a scrum which followed yet another penalty. Their composure even remained intact when Selby reduced the arrears to just 4 points, following the award of a penalty try for a high tackle, 15 metres from the line.

With the score standing at 21-17 and 20 minutes left on the clock, the Kestrel’s knew that the best response was to put more points on the board at the other end of the pitch. Daz Terry showed football skills to dribble the ball close to the visitors line and Aiden Bullen made a great break up the centre of the field before Jarrad Toulson went closest, being held up over the whitewash. The game swung back Cleckheaton’s way from the ensuing scrum, as a lovely long pass from Toulson found debutant Andy Edwards on the wing for an unconverted try.

The Kestrels rounded off the victory with another score on 75 minutes when an excellent kick return by Connor Davis from 40 metres out found Bullen in support and he stretched over the line for his second of the afternoon. Toulson completed the scoring with a final conversion and the game was won 33-17.

The Kestrels put on a worthy display for a larger than average crowd, who had not undertaken the long journey to watch the 1st XV play Percy Park. Danny Graham was awarded the Purple Patch for an excellent all round game and the Kestrels will look to carry their form into next week’s league game away at Knottingley.