Old Brodlieans 22 – 22 Cleckheaton Kestrels

This much anticipated return to action for the Kestrels, with a tough fixture against local rivals Old Brodlieans, was thrown into serious doubt on Saturday morning. To the dismay of all concerned, the pitch at Moorend was still gripped by a lingering frost and it was with a heavy heart that fixture secretary Alan Bentley lifted the phone to inform the opposition that our pitch was unplayable. However before the text messages declaring “Game Off’ had made their way through the ether, an offer to reverse the fixture was made and accepted and the game got the green light up at Hipperholme.

With the 1st team league match at Carlisle also falling victim to the weather, there were plenty of offers to bolster the Kestrels’ side, but apart from club caption Paul Turner, making a welcome return after a serious injury, the Ketsrels started the game with the 2nd team squad as selected in the paper.

Early exchanges showed that tackling skills had not lapsed during the enforced winter break, particularly from Daz Terry, as both sides failed to break down solid defences. Set pieces had also gone with the side in possession until an error on 10 minutes from Brods resulted in Cleckheaton’s opening score. An overthrown line-out ball eluded the homeside’s target jumper and was scooped up towards the rear of the line by Nick Holland. The 2nd rower set off on a gravity assisted run and made 30 metres before eventually being pulled down by Brods fullback, James Marshall. Excellent ball placement in the tackle allowed scrum half, Tom Brook, to gather quickly and complete the remaining 20 metres to the line. Jarrad Toulson added the extras to give Cleck a 7-0 lead.

Cleck enjoyed further opportunities in Brods’ danger zone but were unable to convert these before Brods eventually struck back on the 20 minute mark. Cleck had turned over possession a number of times by not convincingly clearing rucks and from one such occasion Brods played the ball through a number of hands before squeezing over in the top corner. The conversion was missed and the Kestrel’s retained the lead at 7-5.

As the half drew to a close Cleckheaton started to tire and allowed Brods to score 2 further tries through a defence that was now firing on pure mince pie. Both of these scores were converted and as the referee blew for half time, the scoreboard showed that Brods had gained a 19-7 lead.

Cleck made a few changes at half time and as the 2nd 40 progressed, with new player Lee Queeley making a solid debut for Cleckheaton on the wing. 5 of the 1st XV, desperate to play following 4 weeks without a game, were also introduced with Andy Piper joining brother Chris in the front row and younger twins Matthew and Richard Piper enjoying the fray at scrum half and number 8 respectively. Grant Turton and Ross Hayden also got stripped for the 2nd row and fullback positions.

Fresh legs paid dividends and Cleckheaton started to dominate the rucks giving the visitors the lion’s share of possession. Cleck favoured attacking the right hand blind side and did so repeatedly until Ross Hayden, continuing his try scoring record, dived over in the corner. Toulson missed the difficult conversion but the game was now back in the melting pot at 19-12.

Brods, conscious of the score line, took an opportunity to kick at goal following a penalty and went into a 22-12 lead. However this would not faze Cleckheaton and much like Brods in the first half, Cleck got 2 tries in the last 10 minutes to level the score. First Simon Quinn touched down when more peppering of the right hand blindside allowed him to break free and score in the corner moments before being bundled into touch and it was left to Richard Piper to grab the game’s equaliser after good work from all the forwards drove the ball within yards of the Brodlieans line and Piper picked up and wrestled his way over for the score.

This friendly game provided a much needed work out for all concerned, as the Kestrels travel to Merit League leaders Leodensians next week and the 1st XV face Durham City at home. A brace of wins would provide an ideal start to the 2011 league campaign.

It was good to see club captain Paul Turner pull on a Cleck shirt again following surgery on his back and his return alone was enough to merit this week's Purple Patch Award for the 'moment of the match'