Wharfedale put the boot in

Bye bye Barking, well and truly up the creek after being first blitzed by Bedworth and finally eclipsed by Moon as Wharfedale collected seven converted tries, most of then neatly crafted in intermittent patches of lively play in a match of curious overall sloppiness, with almost a schoolboy end of season feel about its yawning periods of desultory fare.

It was a game full of running, often for the mere sake of it, by the relegated Londoners at the cost of a more focused or structured play, but their unthreatening predictable lateral handling was comfortably shepherded to the touchline by the well-practiced Greens' all-engulfing drift defence.

And when the home side's stamina for ponderous recycling gave way, their threadbare colander midfield tackling leaked holes through which the Wharfedale backs pored with increasing glee.

Still, Wharfedale will be more than happy with their half-century haul in collecting only their fourth away success of a long season on their travels.

And this substantial win again paraded the side's familiar virtues: An aggressively challenging lineout where early steals by the predatory Capstick sowed seeds of self-doubt in the Barking pack; resolute contest at the breakdown where Verity and Baldwin were forced to pull out all the stops to nullify the one true Barking threat posed by the impressive driving power of flanker Rob Bartho and No 8 Tim Everitt, who were streets ahead of their colleagues in terms of power and commitment; periods of technically accomplished resilient defence; and the trademark mixture of bullying power running and deft penetration exhibited on a weekly basis by the centre pairing of Bedworth and Malherbe at the heart of Wharfedale's attack.

Equally familiarly on view were the team's less endearing qualities: The lack of consistent scrummaging power; the tendency to play too much hopeful football from deep and force first phase attack; and fallible hands at the finish when excellent exciting approach play was frittered away in a dropped or ill-judged pass. All of which were plentifully in evidence in the scoreless first quarter of an hour But once Wharfedale had established true attacking territory and Bedworth had given them the lead with a simple 16th minute penalty for offside, the points began to flow.

The Greens collected three well-taken tries while fullback Harry Bryan kept the home side decently in touch with a try and two penalties for all his side's points as they trailed 24-11 at half time.

But when winger James Hutchinson fastened on to a long floated overhead pass from Bedworth after a period of concerted forward driving pressure near the line to score his side's bonus point fourth try soon after the break daylight opened between the teams and night descended on the shipwrecked Barking hopes sunk in a sea of defensive indecision.

Six of the seven of the Wharfedale tries were scored from a similar thirty-yard distance in front of the posts and they came with increasing ease.

The opening two were impressive products of well-constructed team play. First yet another Capstick lineout steal was collected by Hindle and a forward drive for the line sucked in the defence for a swift three-quarter run-out across the posts and a slick Malherbe pass put Neil Baggett in for a sweeping pacey finish.

Five minutes later a characteristically powerful half break and short offload from a central scrum by Andy Baggett ushered Malherbe through under the posts. And just before the break a quickly taken alert close tap penalty by the captain fed Bedworth through for a third deflatingly simple try.

Hutchinson's score opened a chasm at 31-11 and a tiring and fatalistic opposition were there for the taking.

With a flurry of substitutions offering renewed power in the scrum, with Fynn and Dickinson, replacing the younger starting pair of Steel and Horner and the addition of resident Londoner Andrew Clements, the totally dominant greens closed out the game in some style.

But the architect of the final demolition was colt Steve Moon, introduced in the final quarter when Bedworth was precautionarily withdrawn to protect a minor hand injury.

He instantly added pace and sparkle to the attack and with virtually his first touch put Malherbe in for his second try with a beautifully timed fast transfer from first phase scrum possession.

His quick feet and fast hands kept an already tiring midfield defence fatally on the back foot and he crowned a talented cameo display with two late individual tries.

His first involved a neatly timed "from you-to-me from-me-to-you" exchange of passes with Baldwin which the Chuckle brothers couldn't have bettered to score unopposed beneath the posts.

And minutes later at the close he collected his own charge-down of a desperate attempt at a home clearance kick to sprint home for his second.

He also added two conversions to add to Bedworth's earlier four, but mysteriously allowed Malherbe to snatch the ball from him for the final attempt. With a raffle prize of a £1,000 hanging on a correct score forecast, any spectator with a 52-12 prediction must have been mightily relieved to see the centre's drop goal conversion sail skew-whiffily through the posts to complete an humiliatingly comprehensive victory for the Greens.

Barking are reliably rumoured to have spent this season a massive three and a half thousand pounds on two coaches and half a dozen players all of whom have already departed.

None of them, it can be safely assumed, will be as fondly remembered as former stalwart chairman Ron Rust whose joyous and raucous pre-match lunch memorial wake dominated affairs off the field - seven years after his death!

Their hopes for their demoted future must surely lie nearer to their east end home encapsulated in the likes of flanker Rob Batho, the captain and inspiration of their promotion year returning after more than a season long injury, whose forthright dedicated play was rewarded with his side's sole consolation second half try.

Wharfedale in contrast can continue to eye a creditable top five finish - if they can maintain their current successful form.