Wharfedale RU
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Wharfedale’s strong finish creates a bright outlook
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| The Wharfedale RUFC first team squad who finished the season on a high with a battling performance in the Yorkshire Cup final against Doncaster. |
Wharfedale had by anyone's standards a quite remarkable season. September 2007 saw them winning against Halifax and Nuneaton and securing a draw with Henley. They also lost narrowly to Manchester.
However, from there things deteriorated and poor form from October to Christmas saw only two more victories.
The New Year brought a home defeat to Manchester and the Greens flirted with relegation as they slipped into the bottom three.
The EDF cup tie with Exeter was to many the turning point.
Exeter second only to Northampton in the highly competitive National One were stretched and tested by a heroic Wharfedale side that lost commendably by 39-24.
Confidence was re-kindled and Wharfedale never looked back from that moment winning eight of their remaining 12 matches.
In that run they only lost by two points to high flying Stourbridge, Cambridge and Westcombe Park all away from home and in injury time.
There followed memorable victories in the run to the end of the season against Blackheath, Westcombe Park, Southend, Blaydon and Halifax which left the club's supporters pleased with the running rugby played producing a plethora of fine tries.
Wharfedale's league position of seventh was similar to last year's and considering the state of affairs at the turn of the year was a remarkable achievement. Or was it? Because Wharfedale have been in the top 40 clubs in England for 12 years now.
This year the side has shown sheer determination and this coupled with team spirit ensured they recovered from a shaky start to cement a place in National Two.
Training attendances have been fantastic all season and the side were obviously a strong co-ordinated unit at the end of the season.
The hard work of the team, coaches and all others involved were rewarded for these excellent efforts.
The phenomenon of this rural rugby club playing at such a high level is very important to the area.
Crowd attendances have been excellent this season and this support has helped captain Andrew Baggett and the team in the key games.
The Wharfedale club character has not waned in the shadow of maintaining national rugby. The community nature of the club is still uppermost with four sides playing every week and all age groups offer strong rugby from U-7s to Colts in the mini and junior section every Sunday.
The future augurs well for the club in other ways. The Foresters had a tremendous campaign winning both the Premier Yorkshire and the Northern National Second Team leagues and the club's own Cath Harrison Trophy with a 79 per cent winning record.
The team with its coaching staff of Craig Ecclestone, John Metcalfe, Brian Proctor and captain Dave Charnley deserve praise indeed.
There were some disappointments with late withdrawals from sides travelling to play the Foresters but these sides have been removed from the leagues so whilst the number of clubs will be lower they will be playing reliable committed clubs in the future.
This coupled with the Foresters joining the first XV on trips to Tynedale and Blaydon sets this team a challenging season ahead.
The Development XV continued to flourish as a base for the club's young players to be introduced to the rigours of senior rugby. The Dev's used over 70 players during the season and finished fifth in their Merit League.
Older players such as Stuart Davis, Ben Whitfield and Simon Walker help set the platform for the younger players who come through the ranks.
Mick Greenwood's fifth team continue to travel all over Yorkshire playing rugby for the right reason and always in the right spirit.
Mick was rewarded for his efforts over the years and awarded the accolade of Life Member at the club at the recent club dinner.
The whole Wharfedale experience was typified in this year's Yorkshire Cup which the Greens graced for the fourth time having never previously won it. They played Doncaster Knights who were in fourth position in the league above Wharfedale.
The Dale squad included three 18 year-old home grown players and started well running up a 17-0 lead. However, the juggernaut Doncaster pack gradually reduced this and then overtook the brave Greens to win 24-17.
Rob Baldwin typified the spirit shown by the team when he performed superbly and played most of the game with a fractured cheekbone.
Peter Hartley and Alex Howarth must have been proud of their charges!
2:42pm Thursday 8th May 2008
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