Baildon received the kick off and it wasn’t long before a penalty was awarded in their favour at the breakdown, allowing them to negotiate the opening phases in Stocksbridge territory.

Baildon exerted early pressure at both line out and scrum time, keeping them within range of the opposition 22. Eventually the pressure led to a penalty, and the fly half was able to nudge his side into the lead.

Stocksbridge responded well with dynamic phase play, dragging the Baildon pack from left to right. The Stocksbridge pack were operating in a gear above the opposition, and a penalty was awarded as the tackler was unable to roll away before support arrived to retain possession. The kick was converted to level the score at 3-3.

The points level at half time, Baildon followed their game plan in the second half. Baildon were reluctant to take on Stocksbridge outside the fringes and in the back line, relying on their driving maul and tactical kicking to stay within range of the posts.

With Stocksbridge largely playing out of their own half every penalty conceded provided a scoring opportunity to Baildon. A penalty indeed came to Baildon, and as it came off the post it was moments more before a further chance was afforded to Baildon as Bridge were offside at a resulting ruck, this time the kick was made.

Again, it wasn’t long before the scores were levelled once more from the boot off Scott Bowskill. Impressive line speed from the home side pressured the ball carriers, and as Ben Brown latched onto the ball the whistle blew in Stocksbridge’s favour as Baildon were unable to move him.

As the game moved into the latter stages indiscipline punished Stocksbridge once more, and a penalty goal was converted after a high tackle was penalised by the referee.

Sensing the win was theirs the away side stopped throwing the ball around in attack and relentlessly kicked Bridge back deep into their own territory.

With “last play” called Stocksbridge were pinned five metres from their own line, but they were not prepared to give in. With a heroic effort Stocksbridge extended the game by a further 6 minutes, edging up the field with aggressive running and cohesive play. Dave Potts found Pat O’Leary in the wide channel and the last chance at snatching a win dwindled as a cover tackle bundled the ball into touch.

In an 80 minute territory battle Baildon came out on top, playing the majority of the game within range of the sticks allowed them to take the narrow victory with 9 points to 6.

For the second week running Sam Whitaker (Sponsored by the Business Hair Salon) was awarded Man of the Match with his excellent work nullifying the driving maul of Baildon. Other notable performances highlighted by skipper Pete Newton and the Stocksbridge Rugby staff alike came from the tireless Liam O'Leary and Michael Quinn who had a very assured debut in the front row with particular praise for his outstanding work at the breakdown throughout.

Match report by Michael Quinn