With other results going for us it was a great result and an excellent day. The team is now gelling, and getting better each week, with superb defence the main feature of the win.
The other big boost was the narrow defeat [anyone know the real score?] for the Stags by York II's. We actually had too many lads wanting to play in this game with a couple disappointed and others, like David Mullen, helping the visitors out.
John Painter once again played and Nick Prest enjoyed his first outing of the season. Big John Dixon even told me last night that he'd heard that Stabs is fancying a run out in the New Year - although you never can tell.
He would have been pleased with the resolve shown by West. Davy put us ahead in the third minute with a 25 minute penalty but we weren't to regain that lead until five minutes from the end.
York are another side with a tall and heavy pack and they made us pay in the 13th minute. We were shoved off our own ball in a scrum 20 metres out and handled on the floor in the resulting maul.
Stand in goalkicker Mike Ford got the points. The visitors had to bring in Craig Ventress at fly half with Ben Quick crying of on Friday night.
York were looking threatening in the first quarter and only a last ditch by Peter Hodgson foiled a three man overlap in the 19th minute. Hodgy broke withy the ball but referee Andy Harland penalised him. Ford missed this one and another far easier chance five minutes later after Carlo had dived on the ball 15 metres out -and almost in front of the posts.
Ford did put his side into the lead on 28 nminutes after we strayed offside and then, on the half hour, York went even further ahead. Winger Jon Kemp jinked inside Hodgy to finish off a move involving all of the backs.
This shook us into action and we finished the half camped on the York line but without a score. We almost got there with a great sweeping move along the right. It was started by Wallis, taken on by Milne and Hodgson and Todd came into the line to almost get his first senior try. Steve Black had a go as well but we were held up.
York eventually managed to relieve the pressure with a clearing kick downfield. Allan Milne's hamstring went as he tried to deal with the ball but all eyes were on a mass brawl involving the back rows which spilled into the crowd on the corner.
Touch judge Stu Bennett was quickly in there to mediate.
Dash replaced Allan Milne at half time with Andrew Hare moving into the centre. Visiting flanker Stu Davis who had been at the heart of the brawl [a rare event in a clean game] was replaced by Chris MacDonald.
We began the second half where we left off. The backs set up a move in the 42nd minute but Hare couldn't collect his pass from Wallis. Fortunately, the Ref's arm was still out for offside and Davy reduced the arrears to 6-11.
The forwards were driving York back with the speed of their attacks and support play, and our line-out was working as well as it has done all season.
We reduced the arrears still further with another Tighe pen on 54 minutes after good work from Gilbraith and Sawyer saw the York forwards dirving over the top to kill the ball just ten metres out.
We were inching closer, but Ford managed a 35 metre penalty which went in off the posts to open up some more daylight.
There was a feeling that this wasn't to be our day when Tim Sawyer was sin-binned for obstruction. He was standing in front of Darren Thomas, as he caught a speculative kick over the top, but stood his ground and held his hands above his head to show he wasn't interfering with play.
Mr Harland thought otherwise and may have been influenced by previous discussions with the West skipper.
York sensed their chance and attacked down the right but the man at outside centre was a big prop. He dropped the ball onto his shin and straight to Dash who seized his chance to gallop right down the left wing with the crowd roaring him on.
He left a good three metres between himself and the touch line and, as Andy Kay came in on the diagonal to tap tackle him, was able to swerve to one side and race over the line.
Davy wasn't able to get the kick so at 14-14 we might have been happy to settle for yet another draw.
But Ford put the visitors ahead again after more handling on the floor and Davy narrowly missed an attempt after a great break by Rudd to set up the penalty.
With young Greg Edwards on for Sawyer we took the game to York. With just five minutes left they made a hash of their scrummage and Davy pounced on the loose ball to sprint through the defence. He evaded two tackles and set himself up for the offload but the ball was knocked to the ground.
Our more mobile forwards were first there and set the ball up again. Davy spotted the gap and raced in from ten metres to go in under the posts to give us that 21-17 lead.
York did have a last ditch go but never got close to the line thanks to superb tackling led by Tones and Robinson.
York thought they should have won but West are a different kettle of fish these days. The last two games have produced full 80-minute performances with the team playing together. Chocky and Bennett would have made a difference against a big pack but there was hardly a bad performance from West.
Northern are next up and we will probably have to travel without Bennett and Tim Sawyer who has an exploratory knee op this week. Chocky, of course, can't play until January.
West Todd, Black, Hodgson, Milne [Thomas 40], Hare, Wallis, Tighe, Carr, Cullinane, Robinson, Miller, Rudd, Tones, Gilbraith [Geritz 60], Sawyer [capt][Edwards 68] Cholmondeley, Thomas, Geritz.
York 15 Mike Ford, 14 Jonathan Kemp, 13 Rob Taylor, 12 Sean Bass, 11 Rob Kama, 10 Ben Quickk, 9 James Arkle, 1 James Nuttal, 2, Jon Sharpe, 3 Simon Humphries, 4 Simon Thonrton, 5 Brad MacDonald, 6 Andy Kay, 7 Stu Davis, 8 Ian Davis. 16 Grant Williams, 17 Andy Smith 18 Chris MacDonald.