For the third week in a row we had to dig deep and find a way to win without hitting anywhere near our top form. It wasn't particularly pretty but it proved enough to take the points from Moor Lane and Pontefract certainly put in a performance worthy of a team sitting much higher in North One East. They fully deserved their losing bonus point, earned with a late penalty from Andy Dean, and can count themselves a little unlucky to slip into the relegation places after wins for Driffield, Morpeth, Old Crocs and Northern locked them deeper into the battle to avoid the drop.

From our point of view the league table doesn't make as happy reading as it did a week ago either. Percy Park have again leap-frogged us into top spot thanks to their bonus point win over Wheatley Hills and a superior points difference. We still have a game in hand against Northern but as the season starts to draw to a close it is clear that pressure is mounting at both ends of the table.

Playing up the slope we started the game well and were on the attack inside the opening minute. Gareth Foreman converted a penalty after just two minutes and we followed that up with Andy Cheslin and Adam Larkin both going close but being stopped just short by good tackles.

Dissent gave Dean the opportunity to level the scores on 12 minutes but he pushed his attempt wide  of the uprights. With the hosts coming back into the game thanks to some strong ball carrying it was only 4 minutes later that they earned Dean another opportunity and this time his kick, from a simpler angle, sailed through.

Pontefract continued to build pressure but solid defence kept them at bay and restricted them to few clear scoring opportunities despite lengthy spells inside the 22. We had fewer moments on the attack but did get the ball down over the line after a series of short lineouts only for Carl Miller's “score” to be ruled out for accidental offside.

A trip on a charging Adam Coates brought a yellow-card for Ponte's Andy Laverick. The incident also saw the prop  become tussle with Liam Bailey on the ground and Jonny Boatman's reaction in also becoming involved  led to him joining him in the bin for 10 minutes  limiting the impact of the advantage.

That advantage was in the scrum where, whilst the players were off the field in a period spanning half-time, we had huge advantage, shunting the home pack backwards at speed.

Foreman's try came just 2 minutes into the second half, in typical fashion forcing his way over through a gap between two defenders after another close lineout. We were straight back on the attack and were somewhat disappointed for the sin-bin period to be over just as we had an attacking scrum in the 22. We failed to capitalise as a knock-on at the base handed the advantage back to Pontefract.

Thankfully what had been a physical but clean game was not spoilt by a incident mid-way through the half that saw Andrew Davies and Ponte replacement Chris Planchant sent-off by referee Richard Whelan - Davies for a stamp and Planchant for kicking out in retaliation. After all the events of last week it was good to see both sets of players getting on with the game and treating this as what it was – a flash point in an otherwise good game of rugby.

Replacements Jon Norris and Andrew Dixon seemed to focus an increasingly frustrated side and a penalty from Gareth Foreman on 66 minutes eased the pressure a little by stretching our lead to two scores.

As time wore on Pontefract had their best moments of the half, but again the defence was solid and  clear opportunities for tries were limited. Already two minutes into injury time when awarded a kickable penalty they rightly opted for the three points to secure the bonus. 



West: C Cheslin, Larkin (Thomas), Watson, G Robinson, A Cheslin, G Foreman, A Foreman, Carr, Bailey, Coates (Norris), T Dixon, Davies, D Boatman, J Boatman, Miller (A Dixon).

Try: A Foreman
Pens: G Foreman 2

Sin-bin: J Boatman
Sent-off: A Davies


Pontefract: Bateman, Spears, Dykes, Dean, Simpson, Boyd, Hargreaves, Laverick, A Smith, Pagett, Fenton, Brady, C Smith, Scott, Burnett.
Reps: Fox, Planchant, Williams.

Pens: Dean 2

Sin-bin: Laverick
Sent-off: Planchant

Referee: Richard Whelan [South Yorkshire]