Magnificent team effort sees Dalesmen into play-offs…...by a whisker!

This was Ilkley’s biggest match in league rugby, EVER!!

As a man, the team stepped up to the plate and delivered. It was a victory borne out of a supreme team ethos. No individual heroics, no opting out of the confrontation, a victory for the team – all 18 players and the coaching staff and the injured squad members there to give their colleagues encouragement.

The Dalesmen kicked off in front of a packed Sandhill Road ground. Just to give an even greater sense of occasion to an already tension filled afternoon there was a live local radio commentary and a referee from London.

They had the marginal wind advantage and surely had to establish a decent lead in the first half.

They swept upfield with imperious style giving Anthony Cadman a "sighter" for a drop goal attempt which fell wide of the mark. Confidence was established as both scrum and lineout were in good working order.

The set piece domination was critical to the outcome. The Ilkley scrum was never troubled and succeeded in putting severe pressure on the home side’s set piece. Reiner Botha, Dan Wright and Stuart Brewer cleaned up most of the Ilkley lineouts with efficiency and stole a couple of Selby throws too.

Three Ilkley penalties and lineouts followed, demonstrating how difficult Selby were finding even getting hands on the ball.

From the fourth lineout just inside Selby’s 22 Botha secured and the Ilkley rumble got into full operational mode. The drive was executed with precision, big John Cooksey going over for the try. Cadman’s kick hit the bar but failed to creep over. The Dalesmen had that vital 5 – 0 initiative.

Now the visitors clicked into overdrive, playing at the top of their game. Selby had no answer to the Dalesmen in this form and were forced into conceding more penalties. From an Ilkley lineout on the Selby 10 metre line the ball was sent wide out right, then back left. The ball came back to Cadman in midfield. Shaylor took a loop pass coming in off his wing to find Stuart Vincent on one his wonderful lines of running to go in for try number two. Cadman’s kick was good, 12 – 0 and only 17 minutes gone.

The Dalesmen exerted more good pressure before a knock-on on Selby’s 22 gave the home side momentary relief. That was followed by their first penalty, greeted with ironic cheers from the partisan Selby crowd.

As it happened it was probably a turning point. Suddenly, and for the first time Ilkley were on the back foot.

Both captains were lectured about illegal play on the ground.

Selby now had a lineout in their opponents’ 22. It wasn’t straight. Ilkley had the scrum but the pass to Cadman was disrupted by an increasingly effective Selby back row. The clearance kick was charged down and Ilkley forced into illegal play. Selby’s prodigious kicker Dan Porter stepped up and stroked over the goal. 12 – 3.

It was Ilkley who were now conceding the penalties. Two in succession took Selby to within the visitors’ 22. Brewer was penalised for hands in and received a yellow card for his troubles.

This, however, seemed to galvanise the Dalesmen. Nick Heron cleared his lines and put his side back onto the offensive. A penalty took them deep into Selby’s 22 and a repeat performance of the rumble was foiled on the line with a knock-on. Porter scrambled his kick away, but another Ilkley lineout, won by the redoubtable Botha, found Cadman waiting in the box to bag one of his trademark drop goals and restore the lead to 12 points.

The Dalesmen maintained their dominance, snuffing out any Selby ambition with firm defence. Brewer returned to the fray. The half time whistle came with Selby making a rare visit to the Ilkley 22.

With the wind against, would 12 points be a big enough advantage? Coach Kay implemented his pre-match plan bringing on Ollie Coughlan for Nick Heron at scrum half.

Inevitably nerves began to jangle.

Mistakes began to creep into the Dalesmen’s game and Selby, with their back row rampant, seemed to sense their time was approaching. They had a penalty inside Ilkley’s 22 and now began to drive the Dalesmens’ pack backwards. Another penalty gave them a lineout 5 metres out. The drive was stopped but there were men outside. The ball came wide via two phases and somehow, out on the right wing, there was number 8 Rob Taylor waiting to pounce. It looked like Shaylor’s tackle was (as always) good enough but the referee gave a try, although Taylor himself admitted after the match he had dropped the ball. Porter added the two points with a superb conversion. Game on! – 15 -10.

These Dalesmen are a resilient lot too. Immediately they swept back into Selby’s 22 with a wonderful attack, first left to Shaylor’s wing to get within a few metres and then right via Liam Frost. Selby’s back row got themselves outrageously offside, leaving a hole in defence. Dan Wright picked up the loose ball and charged over to score wide out. The wind proved too much for Cadman’s conversion but, vitally, Selby now needed two scores with a 20 – 10 scoreline.

Straight from the kick off they got one of those scores after Brewer had kicked out of defence, chased up and tackled the receiver only to be penalised somewhat unfairly for a high tackle. Porter again slotted a tricky kick with consummate ease. 20 – 13. Half an hour of play was left. Selby were now sensing that victory could be snatched but they hadn’t reckoned with the Dalesmens’ resilience under pressure. That wonderful team ethos came to the fore.

Mistakes, a couple of poor passes, indiscretions on the ground and one or two refereeing decisions that suddenly went against them, put them on the defensive for much of the longest 30 minutes in  Ilkley followers’ memories.

However, in the final analysis, there was really only one major scare after a lineout was won and driven over the Ilkley line. Referee Mr Farmer ruled held up and the Dalesmen escaped.

A penalty after an Ilkley scrum had been disrupted at the back gave Porter another shot at goal and, reliable as ever, he potted the black to make it 20 – 16. A try would do it.

Ilkley’s solid defence was preventing them getting close, so perhaps it was Porter’s goal kicking and Ilkley’s penalty count that would do it for the home side.

They had a penalty on the Ilkley 22 with 6 minutes to go. Mark Hibbs saw yellow cutting short his contribution to proceedings. Porter elected to kick. It was good. The deficit was now a solitary point, but many were asking why they didn’t go for the jugular and the try.

That was effectively it. The kick-off took the Dalesmen back into Selby’s half and there they camped. Shaylor claimed a try after some superb play, but was penalised for double movement. In fact, after the game, Mr Farmer agreed it was perfectly legal. Still rugby players don’t argue. The score stood at 20 – 19.

The final whistle came not a moment too soon for the Ilkley followers. Their team is now guaranteed a play-off place to battle it out with Northumberland and Durham league one runners up, Northern on April 26^th. Whatever happens this was one of the Dalesmens’ finest hours. The town and the club can be justifiably proud of their achievements.

At Stacks Field Ilkley’s young but precocious second fifteen took on old rivals Beverley in their Yorkshire Premier second XV league match. Such is the discord in the visitors' camp, they arrived with only 13 men. Sportingly Ilkley “lent” them Tim Rawlins, making a welcome return to the club, and Andy Cromack. Both helped Beverley make a game of it and they almost snatched victory.

However tries from Rhodri Jones and Tim Barley with goals from Brendan Kelley and Andy Rhodes gave Ilkley a narrow 25 – 22 win to confirm their very creditable fifth place in the league.

This Saturday is the concluding weekend in the regular league programme. Ilkley’s first fifteen take on local rivals and friends Bradford Salem in a match preceded by a lunch at which the RFU Senior vice president Brian Williams will present their award for Fundraising Club of the Year and their year 4 Seal of Approval accreditation certificate. The second fifteen take on Hull in a match kicking off at 1.30 p.m. The big match kicks off as usual at 3 p.m.

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