West were dealt a blow before kick off with the news that Aaron Myers was unavailable for this gamee and his place in the starting line up was taken by Carl Miller.

The visitors got off to a flying start with a try just 2 minutes into the game. Martin Todd called for a mark in the 22 but when he tapped the ball play was brought back for a Middlesbrough scrum. From that scrum the ball was moved to the short side where pacey winger Micklewright went in at the corner. The wind was making kicking difficult and even mercurial Simon Moore couldn't make the conversion.

League top scorer Moore had no problem 10 minutes later with a simple penalty to extend the lead to 8 points with West having started the game with little passion and plenty of mistakes. Throwing-in was proving difficult for both hookers and clean line-out ball was at a premium. West did manage to get the rolling maul moving with 26 minutes gone and after being held up over the line the resulting scrum led to Gav Painter's sixth try of the season. Jon Boatman picked up from the base and Davy Tighe fed Painter in stride to dive in from 5 metres.

Moore pushed a penalty wide for Boro on the half hour but Moss levelled the scores with a well struck penalty on the stroke of half time. The half had been a tale of two quarters with the opening twenty belonging to Middlesbrough and the second twenty to West. The hosts would probably have been the happier of the two sides to be level at half time having created very little, with the backs in particular lacking any cutting edge.

Things got worse for West when Boro started the second half just how they had begun the first. They launched an immediate attack but were denied a try when the referee called them back for a penalty despite a certain try looking on. Moore made no mistake from the shadow of the posts and when Micklewright scored his second after scrum-half Peter Wright burst away from half-way West looked to be slipping out of the game at 16-8 down and only 5 minutes gone in the second period.

Moss and Moore traded penalties before that crucial period of the game. West failed to take anything from 15 minutes of attacking on the Boro line and despite the forwards best efforts the maroon and yellow defence proved just too strong and streetwise.

With 32 minutes gone the visitors got the decider. A 13-man maul forced over the line and the signal of try was the final nail in the coffin for West. It had been a disappointing and frustrating afternoon and they had not played anywhere near the potential shown in patches so far this season. Frustration began boiling over after the try with an altercation ending up with a spectator on the field of play, something the officials can most definitely do without.
The final sour note came when more blows were traded after a simple knock on and a mass brawl ensued and Andrew Davies ran in from some distance to shoulder charge Marty Howe knocking him to the ground. It was a silly and sour way to end the game and rightly saw the lock sent from the field immediately before the final whistle. Spectators agreed it was a poor way to end what had been a game lacking any great rugby but played in excellent spirit. Hopefully the return game in a few weeks time will produce a better encounter.

This loss is by no means the end of the road for West and they should not be too discouraged. They are still good enough to be in the running at the end of the season and have shown they have the spirit to bounce back from a disappointment. The perfect opportunity is to front up in a tough test against Liverpool St Helens in next weeks Intermediate Cup tie before a second trip to Sheffield in three weeks to face the Tigers.



West: Todd, Lambert, Edwards, Hodgson, Painter, Moss, Tighe (capt), Carr, Cullinane, Norris (Robinson), Rudd, Davies, Miller, D Boatman, J Boatman

Try: Painter
Pens: Moss 2
Sentoff: Davies


Middlesbrough: Moore, Micklewright, Rust, Richardson, O'Farrell, Lee, Wright, Warsama, Horton, Chapman, Webb, Bradford, Fingland, Howe, Barker.
Reps: Rhatigan, Pattinson, Wrathmall

Tries: Micklewright 2, Maul
Pens: Moore 3
Sinbin: Pattinson