Delighted Wharfedale complete hat-trick of wins (From Craven Herald)

Delighted Wharfedale complete hat-trick of wins

4:41pm Sunday 4th December 2011 in Wharfedale By Gordon Thomas

Wharfedale 39, Tynedale 5

A powerfully destructive performance gave Wharfedale a third successive SSE National League One victory in a raw, wind-tossed encounter at The Avenue yesterday, where they demolished a doughty but outclassed Tynedale.

Though slow at first to capitalise on a strong wind advantage, as last week at Cambridge, three tries in rapid succession at the end of the half, together with a penalty and two conversions by Tom Davidson, gave the Greens a commanding 22-0 half-time lead.

All three scores resulted from expert close-quarter finishes by the pack, first by James Holland squirming beneath a ruck, then both No 8 Rob Baldwin and the outstanding Steve Graham timing short finishing runs to perfection.

A further early bonus-point try after the break by Dan Solomi, exploiting the sin-binned absence of lock Graeme Dunn, halted any thoughts of a visitors’ revival.

Although they did claim a rucked try by No 8 Scott Myles after a brief period of attacking pressure, they were unable to escape the stranglehold of an excellent all-encompassing home defence or meet the challenge of the destructive combination of powerful mauling and pick-and-drive play by the Greens pack.

Wharfedale completed an increasingly confident performance with two clear-cut scores in the final minutes when first Holland was at hand to race clear and finally replacement Tom Barrett added a sixth try with an equally pacy finish.