A howling wind blowing straight down the pitch played a huge part in the game, but we seemed to handle playing into the wind better than with it! With Paul Moss unavailable player-coach Davy Tighe moved out to fly-half and Paul Williamson came in to partner him behind the scrum.

Tighe and fellow coach Tim Sawyer would have stressed the importance of a solid start but once again on the road this season a disastrous opening was the root cause of the defeat. As Paul Rudd ran the opening kick off back Driffield ripped the ball away and after a couple of phases full back Lee Birch touched down for the score and converted. 7-0 with barely two minutes on the clock.

Tom Dixon pegged back a penalty with 5 minutes gone but Birch added a second try, again Driffield turning ball over in the West 22 after a mix-up between Rob Thorn and Gav Painter and working the phases to complete the try, this time in the corner resulting in an unsuccessful conversion attempt.

We seemed to be staring down the barrel but finally got our act together and with kicking into the wind pointless set about maintaining possession and trying to frustrate the hosts. It was some of the best ball retention shown all season with phase after phase of pick and go making only a couple of metres at a time but given the conditions, proving a shrewd tactic. On the occasion Driffield managed to force the ball carrier into touch their line-out was letting them down, Tom Dixon making some excellent steals.

Ali McClarron made a superb try-saving tackle on Painter to deny West a score and a penalty to the home side eventually allowed them to clear. On the stroke of half-time, in a cruel blow to West who had comeback so well, Birch slotted a long-range penalty, harshly awarded for offside. Despite that, a fifteen point lead didn't look all that much given the advantage the wind was providing.

Gav Painter gave West the perfect start to the second half, crossing for a try just five minutes in after Colin Cheslin broke up the left-wing. Unfortunately that was to be an all too rare visit into the home 22. The mistake-free ball retention of the first half evaporated and Driffield started to show more class with ball in hand as well as some less than subtle time-wasting tactics.

A combination of handling errors and strong defence from both sides left scoring opportunities at a premium for the rest of the game. A Birch missed penalty Driffield's best chance and for West Jon Boatman just stepped into touch when it looked like a try might be on down the right flank following a Rob Thorn burst.

A disappointing result with another poor start proving costly and some good play later in the first half not capitalised on in the second. The loss means the 2-point lead at the top of the table has gone, and re-introduces Driffield into the promotion race. It seems a lot will ride on the outcome of the match with City in a few weeks time but there are a few other teams who could have a say in things at the top including Morpeth, who will pose a tough challenge next week at Brinkburn in a must-win game.

Gav Painter picked up an injury in the second half and will be a big miss if he fails to recover in time for next Saturday. Chocky Davies also left the field with an ankle problem having struggled for much of the game after picking up the injury early on.


West: Painter (A Cheslin), Thorn, Hodgson, Howe, C Cheslin, Tighe, Williamson, Carr, A Dixon, Robinson, T Dixon, Davies (Garside), D Boatman, J Boatman, Rudd.

Try: Painter
Pen: T Dixon

Driffield: Birch, Anderson, Masina, Thompson, McClarron, Jacobs, Harding, Nelist, Mitchell-Williams, Kennedy, Borman, Cooper, Luke, Harrison, Beachell
Reps: Nicholson, Kauter, Wright

Tries: Birch 2
Con: Birch
Pen: Birch


Referee: Nigel Dickinson [Yorkshire Society]