Tim's studs appear to have caught in the turf, and it was immediately apparent that the injury was serious. The game was stopped for half an hour while an ambulance was called onto the pitch to take the luckless hooker to hospital.

Fortunately, the doctors at Rochdale Infirmary were able to put the knee back into some sort of shape and a heavily strapped Sawyer made the team bus back home. He will inevitably be out for some months.

There will be games coming up where his talents and experience will be missed - but this proved not to be one of them. We took the game to the much fancied Dale from the start, forcing a series of mistakes from the home defence which eventually led to the superb Aaron Myers breaking into the 22 in the tenth minute. He fed Jonny Boatman who sent Peter Hodgson into space and he timed his pass to send Gavin Painter in for yet another try.

Not even the long lay-off for Tim's injury slowed our momentum, but we had to wait until 24th minute for our next score. Paul Moss sent in a diagonal kick for winger Andrew Hare but home winger Tilley got there first only to knock on as he went for a mark.

The West pack seized the initiative and Anth Carr took the opportunity to drive over from the resulting maul. Paul Moss was again narrowly wide with the conversion.

It took the home side until the half hour mark to make their first foray into the West 22 but Mair knocked on. Such was West's confidence that they ran the ball from their own line only for Gavin Painter to give away possession in the tackle. Only a try saving tackle by Anth Carr stopped Rochdale from reducing the arrears.

West swept back up the pitch and extended the lead with a Paul Moss penalty on the stroke of half time after Peter Hodgson had chased down a high kick forcing the home defence to kill the ball.

Any thoughts Rochdale had of starting the second half strongly were dashed from the kick off. Phil Henderson superbly took the restart ball at full pace and made 25 metres to put the home defence on the backfoot. They again conceded a penalty and Paul Moss put West 16-0 and two scores ahead.

On 47 minutes the home side should have got on the scoresheet but full back Blackburn missed a penalty ffrom almost in front of the posts.

Former Westie Allan Milne had come on at inside centre for the second half. He made a try saving tackle on 53 minutes when Davy Tighe burst through the home defence to set up a neat interpassing move between Painter and Myers. The blonde haired England Under 18 looked to be over until Milne intervened.

Dan Boatman then found himself in a similar position, but was penalised and sin-binned for not releasing when he was just one metre form the home line. Rochdale did their best to take advantage but the West defence held and it was Moss who added the final points on 75 minutes with another penalty. By this time home centre Harper had been sin-binned for striking Myers while the flanker was held up in a tackle.

Rochdale@ R Blackburn, A Tilley, J Mair [A Milne 40], A Harper, M Thomas, G Wellins, D James, N Sunderland, D Greenhough, A Redmond, J Bamford, T Helliwell, R Hartley, L Riddle , M Bramwell.

West: Todd, Hare, Edwards, Hodgson, Painter, Moss, Tighe [capt], Carr, Sawyer[Norris 15], Cullinane, Henderson, Davies, D Boatman, Myers, J. Boatman. Reps: Norris, Garside, Wallis.