Cleckheaton visited Paviors RFC for the first time today and came away with a nerve jangling win in spite of being reduced to 14 men for most of the 2nd half.
Captain Richard Piper was unavailable this week so Bradley Marsden moved to No.8 with James Wilson at 6 and Joe Flanagan at 7. The backs were the same, with Chris Piper , Richard Noble and Steve Noble on debut filling the bench.
On a bright sunny day with a well grassed pitch, Paviors kicked off and tried to put Cleckheaton under early pressure but eventually Cleckheaton worked their way downfield and got a scrum 5 metres out, Paviors conceded a free kick, a quick tap by Depledge fed captain Dale Breakwell who passed on to Brambani who floated a long pass out to Marshall who had plenty to do but he got over the whitewash for the opening score 0-5. Breakwell was soon back in the action a deep kick found touch inside Paviors 22, Marsden won line out ball and Dom Flanagan came back on the inside crash ball for the second try, Breakwell converted 0-12. Paviors got on the board with a try from the left wing Tom Davies after Cleckheaton conceded a penalty 5-12. Paviors came into the game more and committed driving by the pack saw the flanker Reeson cross to score,George Billam added the conversion, 12 all. Cleckheaton made a foray into Paviors half and won a penalty which Dale Breakwell slotted to restore a narrow lead 12-15.
On 33 minutes Jack Marshall was deemed to have obstructed the Paviors right wing Alex Rimmington in spite of the ball being loose in general play, the referee awarded a Penalty Try and Marshall was Yellow Carded. Final action of the half saw Mike Hayward burst through the Paviors line , he found Joe Flanagan on his shoulder and he crossed for his 2nd try of the season, Breakwell adding the goal, at half time Cleckheaton leading 22-19.
The start of the 2nd half was shambolic, first Cleckheaton couldn't deal with a routine clearance, they lost the ball on half way and the flanker Josh Flanagan headed for the line, he was held over the line by Marshall but referee deemed it a high tackle and awarded Paviors another penalty try , Jack Marshall got another Yellow Card and he was dismissed, 26-22 to the hosts. Cleckheaton managed to recover their own kick off inside Paviors 22, they infringed and Breakwell attempted a trademark cross kick to Dom Flanagan on the right, Tom Davies was on the spot and took the kick and the 18 year old sprinted 95 metres for the touchdown, his 2nd of the game, Billam converted, 33-22.
Cleckheaton had to dig deep if they were going to add to their winning run. On 50 minutes, Breakwell made a break and Olly Depledge was on hand to cross for the bonus point try, Breakwell added the goal 33-29. On 59 minutes a simple move from the scrum base saw Depledge feed Breakwell and onto Brambani, he broke the line and Dom Flanagan touched down his 9th try of the season, Breakwell again added the goal and the lead was back with Cleckheaton at 33-36. Dom Flanagan was replaced by Richard Noble and Chris Piper replaced brother Andy on the 60 minute mark. Steve Noble also came on for his first team debut.
On 66 minutes , Paviors were digging in trying to stretch 14 man Cleckheaton and eventually the No.8 Eggleshaw broke a tackle and handed on to replacement Josh Alton-Smith who crossed for Paviors 6th try of the afternoon, goal was added by Billam, Paviors back in front 40-36. There was more drama to come , Cleckheaton got into Paviors 22, won the scrum which rumbled forward , expertly controlled by Marsden who crashed over the line only to be denied by the whistle for not driving the scrum straight. Reset the scrum, Cleckheaton feed , this time no mistake, Marsden controlled and with penalty advantage it gave Cleckheaton a free play, Depledge picked up and twisted over the line for his 4th try of the season, Breakwell converted 40-43 with 7 minutes to play. Paviors never gave up and aided by a couple of penalties, the pattern was set, win penalty, kick for corner drive over, Cleckheaton hadn't read that script, from the line out, Marsden who had a great game was launched skywards and took a two handed catch and drove away from danger. Next possession, same pattern, kick for corner , win line out and drive on, this time they won the line out but sloppy handling in setting up the maul denied them and Cleckheaton escaped.6 minutes added time had been played and Paviors had one more chance, the centres combined well and looked to break clear but a stray hand from Cleckheaton got in the way and was deemed a deliberate knock on. The line out after the penalty was lost and Dale Breakwell hoofed the ball deep into Sherwood Forest to give Cleckheaton a 5th win on the trot and 4th place in the table heading into the bye week next week. Next action will be on November 26 when Sandal will make the short trip to Moorend, kick off is 2:15, please come along and give your support as Cleckheaton try to extend the winning Streak to 6!