Wharfedale 7 Hull Ionians 17

After dominating the first 20 minutes Wharfedale started making mistakes and Hull grew in confidence as they belied their lowly position to run out worthy winners.

Their determination showed in a superb second-half display where they denied Dale the ball in what was only their second victory of the season.

After Tom Barrett had missed a kickable penalty, Hull took the lead with a well-worked move that created an overlap on the right and winger Sam Wilson scored in the corner. Isaac Green converted.

Dale had the slope and the wind in the second half but it was Hull that had the lion’s share of possession. They extended their lead to 12-0 when Mark Wigham was accredited with the touch down following a forward drive.

Wharfedale showed some urgency and came back into the game. From a penalty on Hull’s 22, Aaron Myers broke for the line and was just short. Hull had no answer when the ball was recycled quickly and Joe Donkin crossed for a try which Barrett converted.

Some harsh decisions halted the Wharfedale resurgence, which was ended when skipper Rob Baldwin was sin-binned for foul play.

Hull regained their forward momentum and another try by Scott Johnson sealed victory.