Quick recognition chart for Mrs. Kaye...the one on the left is the laundry basket, the other one is where the dirty clothes go to be cleaned!
And one for the Huddersfield players
Wetherby's stand	Urinals - think on lads!

A bright and sunny morning at Wetherby saw Michelle Kaye poking her head gingerly through the clubhouse door to see if there was anyone around.  Following on behind her was the rather embarrassed Harry Kaye wearing what appeared to be a muddy Wetherby shirt!  No wonder Michelle was being furtive.  It transpired Harry had fulfilled his part of the bargain and had deposited said shirt in the laundry basket, but Michelle had failed to notice it!  Harry and his dad made accusations that standards were slipping!  Poor Harry - you just can't get the staff these days...

So, once recovered from this shock we headed out to the first team pitch and the grandeur of Wetherby's stand which was Christened in style by several over-hydrated Huddersfield players prior to the kick off.  How rude!

As 11 o'clock struck, Huddersfield kicked off with Ed Rouse taking the ball well and driving the ball back to the half way line.  A scrum resulted to Wetherby which was duly won but Huddersfield turned over the ball on the first ruck after the scrum and moved the ball out wide, forcing George Davies at full back to make his first try-saving tackle of the day.

A scrum on 4 minutes 5m out from the Wetherby try line saw the dominant Wetherby pack push Huddersfield off the ball, a scene which was repeated in almost every scrum of the match.  The scrum was reset and despite another massive push from the Wetherby pack, the ball was swiftly hooked out to Huddersfield and moved quickly to the right wing for Huddersfield's first try and conversion of the match to take them into an early seven point lead.

Huddersfield were soon penalised at the next ruck for hands in and Wetherby kicked for touch.  Attempts at the lineout weren't going Wetherby's way as two crooked throw-ins resulted in another scrum for Huddersfield who once again were steamrollered by the Wetherby pack.  Just as well the Huddersfield hooker and scrum half were quick to get the ball away from the scrum as the Wetherby forwards were hungry to compete for possession.  The ball was sent down the blind side but George Davies was present again to take man and ball.  Huddersfield once again had hands all over the place in the ruck and were penalised again.  The tap was passed to Tom Hay who thundered through half a dozen vain attempts by the Huddersfield defenders to stop him, making 50m up the centre of the pitch before being brought to ground.  The ball popped out to Ed Rouse who drove in well for a further 10m.  The ball was killed in the next ruck and the resulting scrum was won by Wetherby, but in a scene which was repeated time and time again the first tackle after the scrum saw the Huddersfield backs  turn over the Wetherby backs in the first ruck as the Wetherby forwards struggled to break from the pack due to much off the ball action from the frustrated Huddersfield forwards in holding back and throwing the occasional punch at Burke and Hare - not the wisest move but worked well in terms of Huddersfield possession.

Visions of West Park, Sandal and Leos came back to mind as Huddersfield moved the ball to Wetherby's customary weak spot on the wing.  Ollie Myers for the umpteenth time this season was left trying to cover a 2 man overlap after the Wetherby backs had bunched up in the middle of the park.  Ollie took his man well but there was little he could do to prevent the try being scored and Huddersfield moved to 14-0 up after it was judged that the Huddersfield player hadn't dropped the ball as he went over...  If Wetherby are to compete on the full-sized pitch, every man needs to make his tackle and to stay in position in defence.  Failure to do so will result in try after try on the wings as the overlaps form and gaps open up, giving our opponents too many options.

Huddersfield took the ball at 17 minutes, and with the Wetherby backs standing back in defence, Huddersfield passed out well to go 10m out form the Wetherby line on the right wing. Wetherby took the ball from the lineout, but a forward pass resulted in a scrum in front of the posts 10m out from the Wetherby line.  The Huddersfield scrum half took ball himself and went past three flat-footed Wetherby backs to score a try on 19 minutes. 0-19 conversion missed.

From the restart, Joe Hay took the ball and drove well but was pushed into touch.  At the lineout Tom Hay won the ball with Jimmy taking it 10m, Matty took it well from the ruck and passed out to Alex Bridger, but Huddersfield kicked the ball through the ruck.  Harry Kaye took the ball but Huddersfield were penalised for offside. Tom Hay uncharacteristically dropped the ball from the tap, but Wetherby took ball from the resulting scrum. However, Joe Hay was pulled up with his opposing loose head in the scrum for handbagging.  For some reason the Huddersfield loose head seemed to want to punch Joe in every scrum, but Joe was mature enough to brush him aside.  Indicative of the dominance the Wetherby forwards have and the unnecessary frustration acted out by a couple of the Huddersfield pack in spite of their healthy lead.

The second half saw the Wetherby forwards work well on the back of a slick move by their backs with Wetherby winning an early scrum to see Josh caught in possession around the back of the pack.  The loose ball was picked up by Ed McNicholas who moved it out to George Davies who took the ball into contact.  Tom Hay ran the ball in from the back of the ruck, with Matty on his shoulder to offload to seeing the Pepperami power through 3 more tackles to offload to James Contreras in a forward pass resulting in a scrum to Huddersfield on their 22.  Wetherby took the ball against the head and Joe Hay picked up at the back of the next ruck to push through 3 tackles and open up to cover the 22m faster than the Huddersfield backs to take a well-earned try.

A tap penalty to Huddersfield for offside saw the ball moved quickly from left wing to right for their winger to go over on 10 minutes.  Conversion missed.  Once again, the gaps left by Wetherby out wide were such an invitation to exploit.

From the Wetherby restart the next ruck resulted in a Wetherby turn over, but the ref pulled back for a Wetherby scrum.  Wetherby took the scrum but Josh was caught in possession.  Jimmy mopped up the spilled ball and kicked over to the Huddersfield full back, who moved the ball out down the blind side to the right wing where prop Tom Hay was lurking to make a fine tackle.

However, the ball was moved quickly out to the left wing where Ollie was on his own again,  making a great tackle but the gap was there for Huddersfield to take another try 5-29 on 13 minutes.  Conversion missed.

For a spell, Huddersfield slowed down the ball to the wings and ended up being pushed relentlessly back by the superior Wetherby forwards in the centre of the field.  However, a free kick to Huddersfield saw them run into the Wetherby forwards, drop the ball and give a scrum to Wetherby.

Josh was caught in possession again after Wetherby won the scrum, but Harry Questa picked up well to move the ball to Joe Hay who slipped it out to his brother Tom in the tackle who drove in hard, as Joe followed him to take the ball back again, making 20m before offloading again to his brother Tom who shows quick hands to Matty who smashed through 3 tackles to get the ball to Harry Kaye, back to Tom Hay and out to Joe Hay in a fantastic forward move to make an unstoppable 50m, only to see the ball turned over in the ruck.  George Davies tackled well in defence, and Joe Hay caught Huddersfield in possession on their 22.  Huddersfield needed to kick out to escape the Wetherby forwards.

Wetherby took the ball at the back with Josh Jones who shipped it out out to Jimmy then Harry Questa and out to George Davies on the wing with prop Joe Hay taking the ball from George way out wide to see him pushed into touch.

In the next push forwards from Wetherby, Joe Hay took the lineout, Jimmy took the ball to the half way line with the ball rucked out to Harry Questa who made 5m, presented to Ollie Myers, George Davies and Ollie Mason on the wing presented well to see Joe Hay drive in followed by Tom Hay taking ball to make 5 m getting ball to Harry Kaye on Huddersfield 22 to see Huddersfield win ball quickly and move it out to their winger who makes 50m out side to score again on 22 minutes under the posts, 5-34. Con taken 5-36.  This underlined the difference in play - Wetherby making hard won progress through close and skilful forward play which is undone in the blink of an eye as Huddersfield make the ball do the work out wide to exploit the gaps on the Wetherby wings.

Huddersfield took the ball from the restart until Tom Hay arrived in the tackle and took it straight back.  A further ruck turned over saw Huddersfield kick to their right - Ollie Mason missed the ball which fell straight into the hands of the Huddersfield winger who covered 50m to score under the posts in the last minute. 5-41. Conversion taken 5-43.

On reflection, a better performance by Wetherby, whose forwards produced the goods as they always do.  The backs put in a great deal of effort and were quicker to move up in defence as well as quicker to move the ball in attack.  Improvement needs to be made in tactical awareness on the pitch in not leaving gaps out wide as well as making tackles on every occasion.  From the scrums and rucks, the ball needs to be moved out more quickly to prevent Wetherby being caught in possession and being pushed onto the back foot in attack. 

Credit to Huddersfield who read the game well and spotted Wetherby's weak spot and attacked it to good effect, as have West Park, Sandal and Leos this season.  The score line flattered Huddersfield a little who whilst being strong in the backs need to have a stronger and better-disciplined pack if they are to compete against more rounded teams.  Off the ball tackles, holding back in the scrums and throwing punches behind the ref's back are not the best way to deal with your frustrations.

Wetherby 32 vs Yarnbury 10 - Sunday 9th November

 

Period	Wetherby	Yarnbury	Scorers
H1	5	0	George Davies
	10	0	George Davies
	10	5	Eddy Hardaker (Yarnbury)
	15	5	Matty
H2	20	5	Tom Hay
	20	10	Eddy Hardaker (Yarnbury)
	25	10	James Shaw
	32	10	Tom Hay (t), George Davies (c)

Wetherby welcomed today's visitors from Yarnbury on a bright and breezy, albeit rather chilly Armistice Sunday.  11am saw a very busy Grange Park fall silent as the teams paid their respects to the fallen servicemen and women from battles recent and past.

Yarnbury were something of an unknown quantity with this age group not having faced each other before in my memory and after a rather patchy start to the season, Wetherby could be forgiven for being a little nervous before the kick off.  However, any nerves there may have been were quickly dispelled with Wetherby taking the ball well in blustery conditions and showing quick hands to set free George Davies who hared up the right wing, dodging several tackles on the way to take Wetherby into a 5-0 lead within a minute of the start of play.  Was this the sign of things to come?  Fingers were crossed on the touchline as we were in unusual territory for the 08-09 season.

It wasn't long before there was action at the try line again.  Wetherby once more held on to the ball at the kick off and the forwards recycled well to get the ball to the backs contingent who once again passed out to George Davies who was hungry for points and dodged through several pairs of Yarnbury hands to go over once again to take Wetherby to a very early 10-0 lead.

The smelling salts were passed around the Wetherby parents, several of whom thought they were dreaming, and a whiff of the ammonia must have found its way into the Yarnbury nostrils as they gained possession and quickly moved the ball out to Eddy Hardaker on the right wing where he had a half chance of an overlap.  That was all Eddy needed as he showed great speed and determination to get past Ed McNicholas and David Clarkson (a rare feat) to run 50 yards and go over the line to bring Yarnbury back to 10-5 down.

The restart saw Wetherby changing tactics and holding the ball in the forwards who were in dominant mood, with Alex, Harry Kaye and Rob being very quick to ruck and recycling well to allow Tom and Joe Hay, Ed Rouse and Matty the Micklefield Marauder to pound away at the Yarnbury defence.  The pressure worked well and Matty was on full strength form as he crashed his way through a determined but weakened Yarnbury defence to take Wetherby to a 15-5 lead at half time.  Wetherby had well and truly dominated the first half in terms of possession and it looked like constant defence in the face of a powerful forward onslaught from Wetherby had tired the Yarnbury boys who took a well-earned 5 minute breather.  A fantastic tackle by the Yarnbury right wing saved an almost certain try just on half time as Ed McNicholas thundered down the wing.  The Yarnbury player took a knock in the process but his tackle showed the bravery and determination of all of their players.

The second half started in a similar vein for Wetherby with them quickly turning over ball to let the forwards run amok with the ball again.  The Wetherby steamroller trundled once more towards the Yarnbury line and this time it was Tom Hay who took the ball from the back of the ruck to power through several tackles to take Wetherby into 20-5 lead.

Wetherby slipped up after the restart which allowed Yarnbury to take possession and to threaten the Wetherby line again.  The danger of their backs was shown as the pressure on the Wetherby defensive line saw Eddy Hardaker once again nip over for a cheeky try to bring them back to 20-10 down.

The wind was taken out of the sails of the Wetherby pack as it was decided to go to uncontested scrums as a slightly less-experienced Yarnbury pack were struggling a little against the pairing of Burke and Hare with either Foxy or Alex Bridger at hooker, but it made little difference as the Wetherby forwards continued to be quick to turn over Yarnbury possession.  There was one scare when Jimmy attempted to clear from a scrum on the Wetherby 5 metre line, only to see the ball bravely charged down by a Yarnbury player.  Yarnbury quickly got the ball out wide when in possession to try to extinguish the threat from Wetherby's forwards, but Dom and Ed McNicholas out on the wings looked up to the part, each putting in some textbook tackles to thwart Yarnbury who tested the Wetherby defence out wide.

The forwards took hold of the ball again and ground back towards the Yarnbury try line, which resulted in a Yarnbury scrum 5m out.  Yarnbury attempted to clear with a kick out from their try line which was charged down to see a fine score from James Shaw to take Wetherby to a 25-10 lead. 

A quieter period of play saw Wetherby take control once more and move the ball back towards the Yarnbury 22 with the forwards running off each other's shoulders to draw in defensive players and open up gaps to plug away at.  The tactic worked as Tom Hay took the ball on the left wing on the Yarnbury 22 and decided to head back infield and make a bee line for the Yarnbury posts, ploughing through 3 or 4 tackles on the way to score a further 5 points under the posts.  The try converted by George Davies saw Wetherby deserved winners 32-10 at the final whistle.

A hard game, fought in a very sporting fashion in blustery conditions which was entertaining to watch.  All credit to our visitors today who never let their heads drop and fought to the last, taking a few knocks in the process, hopefully nothing long-lasting.  We look forward to our next fixture against Yarnbury in 2009.

Wetherby kicked off today and soon were putting good, early pressure on the Selby defensive line, with good possession and quick ball taking Selby by surprise and putting them on the back foot.  Quick hands saw Oliver Mason go over on the left wing within the first two minutes for an adjudged double movement and hence disallowed try.  Wetherby hit back quickly and were showing great determination with David Clarkson being downed in attack and bouncing back to his feet to drive in well.  However, he was judged to have been held and play came back for a scrum.  A tight and entertaining match was played by both sides which saw deadlock until just before half time when Selby sneaked over the Wetherby line for a 0-5 lead.  Wetherby had great domination in the scrums and line outs and had the lion's share of possession, but were slow to ruck and it was from a lightning fast ruck that Selby took the ball to score.  The only real difference between the two teams were a few slight cracks in the Wetherby defence which Selby managed to exploit for their first score.

The second half started in the same vein as the first, but this time the advantage was with the visitors as Selby went through for a virtually unchallenged try with Wetherby seemingly caught unawares.  Selby had made a tactical change to put their second row forwards into the backs line in attack to test the Wetherby defence.  The ruse worked well and the superior power and strength of the said players saw them push through the Wetherby backs.

However, deadlock resumed even though once again the Wetherby pack dominated with unbeaten possession and strong attack.  Selby went into defensive mode as they sensed that the Wetherby forwards meant business and scrums were persistently reset, slowing the game down dramatically.  Eventually, scrums were to be uncontested as Selby struggled to deal with the Wetherby front row.  This is no bad reflection on Selby as Wetherby are yet to meet a team this season whose forwards can compete with the Wetherby pack, especially in the scrum.

Matty Taylor made good progress each time he got the ball, sapping the strength of the Selby defenders, who to their credit clung on well.  Joe Hay took the ball on one occasion to punch through the Pepperami-weakened Selby defence to make 50m up the centre of the field with twin brother and partner in crime, Tom close on his shoulder to offload to.  However, Tom was tackled the instant he received the ball which surely saved a try against Selby.

Quick hands and great attack from Wetherby pressured the Selby line, but Selby were extremely quick to move up in defence to thwart Wetherby, showing the benefit of an attacking rather than passive defence.  However, the forwards working together brilliantly for Wetherby, running on each others' shoulders and offloading in contact eventually sent Harry Kaye over with three minutes to go.  Wetherby were unlucky not to go over again to even up the score after throwing everything they had at Selby, who held firm to the last...just.

A very even match and Wetherby could have done a little better with some more tactical awareness and stronger defence.  David Clarkson, Harry Kaye and George Davies were all strong in both defence and attack for Wetherby.

Wetherby 46 vs Moortown 22 - Sunday 19th October 2008

The format of the day was to be four quarters of 12 minutes each to let everyone try out new skills and positions and so it was that Moortown kicked off and came under immediate pressure from the irrepressible Wetherby forwards, with the Meat Machine himself Motty the Micklefield Marauder going over for Wetherby's first try to see them take an early 5-0 lead.

It wasn't long before Wetherby were in the driving seat again with George Davies after the Wetherby pack won a scrum on the Wetherby 22 to see George pick up the ball and sprint three quarters the length of the pitch to take Wetherby to a 12 point lead after Jimmy converted well.

Further pressure was applied in the form of Burke and Hare who consistently wore down the 'Town defence with powerful driving runs and strong competition in the front row of the scrums, but there was to be no further score this period of play.

The second quarter saw a much different state of affairs as Motty and Ollie Myers took to the field for Moortown and immediately made a huge difference to the Moortown attack.  George Davies, strong as ever at full back, made a glorious tackle to save a certain Moortown try, followed soon after by Joe Hay doing the same thing whilst covering gaps on the left wing to make a crunching cover tackle to save a certain try.  However, powerful driving from Matty and elusive, jinking runs from Ollie Myers for Moortown saw them push forwards with greater strength and depth, resulting in three tries and one conversion to Moortown, all down the wing where the usual Wetherby gaps occur, unanswered by Wetherby to see Moortown turn the tables for a 12-17 lead at half time.

The third quarter saw the on-form Motty return to the Wetherby side and immediately open the account with a powerfully driven try to level the scores at 17-17 early on as he went over from a 5m scrum on the 'Town line.

James Shaw was next in line for a try as he capitalised well on a Moortown fumble to pick up the ball and jink his way through a couple of tackles to add a further 5 points, with Ollie Myers popping the conversion over to see Wetherby back up front at 24-17.

Next up was the hard-working and determined David Clarkson, who covered three quarters of the pitch after slipping a couple of Moortown tackles to take a thoroughly well-deserved try.  George Davies took 2 from the boot to see Wetherby open up a commanding 31-17 lead at the end of the third quarter.

The final quarter saw Wetherby put the ball into touch on the bounce from a well-delivered kick off, pushing play immediately onto the Moortown 22.  Alex Bridger took the ball from the line out to pop through a surprised Moortown defence to take 5 points for Wetherby and see them 36-17 up.

It wasn't all one way traffic though as Moortown pushed back at Wetherby and in spite of a great cover tackle by Tom Hay out on the wing, the momentum was with the attacking player who stretched over for 5 points to Moortown, seeing them come back to 36-22 down.

However, Matty decided that his day still wasn't over and showed his usual strength in attack to take the ball close up to the Moortown line to poach another try and complete his hat trick for the day.  This was followed up by further domination by the Wetherby forwards who had played much of the game with 14 players after it was alleged that Joe Hay had used an illegal hand off to see him sin-binned for 10 minutes.  Joe was immediately sin-binned again as he returned to the field.  It seemed his style of play was just too strong for Moortown to stomach and he spent the rest of the match on the touch line.  Still, Wetherby's forwards dominated and eventually Harry Kaye went over for the last score of the match to see Wetherby winning out at 46-22.

Wetherby 27 vs Leos 34 - Sunday 12th October 2008
 

Period	Wetherby	Leos	Scorers

Report to follow

Wetherby 0 vs Sandal ∞ - Sunday 5th October 2008

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Less said about this match, the better.  Sandal were extremely well-drilled and were the fastest of any team to spot the defensive holes on the wings at Wetherby.  They exploited these well to run in try after try down the wing, and as with West Park, Wetherby seemed totally unable to adapt to this.  To be fair, all of the Wetherby players played below their best today and deserved the result against a team which they matched evenly last season.  Sandal haven't improved by such a large margin, but Wetherby have slipped both tactically and in terms of fitness.  This is a lesson in how to play with your head as well as your heart in rugby.

Wetherby trekked out to the car boot sale at Willowbridge Lane in sunny Cas Vegas, only to be redirected out to Methley for their second match of the season.  We suspect that they had a spy at Grange Park last week as it wasn't long before Cas had spotted the weaknesses on Wetherby's wing and shipped the ball out wide to go 5-0 up with a try down the wing.  The move was to be repeated a couple of minutes later to see Cas take an early 10-0 lead.

Wetherby decided enough was enough and the powerful Matty Taylor soon drove his way through the Cas defence to bring the scores to 10-5.  Wetherby then played Cas at their own game and sent Harry Questa a full 50m down the wing to level the scores at 10-10 on half time.  It was obvious that Wetherby were beginning to take control of the game.

The control continued as Ed McNicholas showed his strength in possession to go down the wing at the restart for the second half to take Wetherby to a 15-10 lead.

It was at this point that the game began to descend into farce as the Cas referee made what can only be described as bizarre decisions in a misguided attempt to even things up for the Cas side.  Cas repeatedly refused to bind in the scrums, used hands extensively in the scrums and rucks, were repeatedly offside at the breakdown and their no12 started to swing his fists around.  It was soon apparent that these transgressions were not to be punished and the Cas players soon realised they could get away with anything.  In the face of this, Cas clawed and punched their way back to a 27-15 victory which left a sour taste in the mouth.  James Contreras was punched on the floor in front of the Cas ref who seemed not to notice and Wetherby were repeatedly penalised for not binding in the scrums, when in fact it was the Cas players whose hands were swinging around all over the place in the scrums.

The farce was topped off when in an incident some 30m from the ball, the Cas no12 held Joe Hay down on the floor.  As Joe stood up he pushed the clawing no12 away and was sent off!  The quote of the day from the ref, "He wouldn't do owt wrong, he's my grandson".  Says it all.  In this case, the better team lost sadly due to some terrible refereeing.

A bright and sunny day saw old adversaries West Park visit Grange Park for our first match of the season.  This was to be a good indicator of how well the Wetherby team had adapted to playing on a full pitch...  West Park as usual turned up with a large squad as can be seen by their new team transport as it moored on the River Wharfe just next to Grange Park.  Apparently this was bought with the cash left over from their unfeasibly large clubhouse redevelopment at The Sycamores.

Matches against West Park are normally evenly-matched, but today was to prove the exception as the Wetherby boys looked like they still had their U12s heads on and left enormous gaps down the wing, which is absolutely fatal against West Park.

The first third opened up closely enough, but George Davies was tested in defence at the back as West Park found gaps out wide early on and tested the Wetherby full back.  George held firm though and Wetherby looked strong in attack with Tom Hay making some powerful runs, spinning out of tackles and pushing the ball back at West Park.

However, gaps started to open up on Ollie Myers' wing and he was left alone to take on West Park overlaps time and time again.  The right wing for Park was just too quick and Ollie was drawn in each time to tackle the ball holder to see the Park right wing take the ball out wide and score.  It wasn't long before Wetherby were 21 points down, seemingly unable to push defenders across to plug the gaps.

The second third started with Wetherby 21-0 down, but looking determined to do something about it.  It wasn't long before the ball fell to Tom Hay who used his strength to push through the West Park defenders and then his speed to cover 50m and score under the posts for Wetherby.   Nice turn of speed for a prop!  George Davies added two from the boot to take Wetherby back to 21-7 down.  Dom Clarke on the wing made some brave and well-judged tackles to prevent West Park going over and the end of the second third saw them not adding to their lead.

The final third was business as usual for both teams as West Park sought to exploit Ollie's wing again, scoring 4 more tries and one conversion to take the final score to 43-7 in favour of the visitors.  It's more than obvious that Wetherby need to look at plugging the gaps out wide before they become a serious problem and more punishment follows on.  The forwards are strong and the centre of the park is no place for visitors to Wetherby to be looking to play their game, as was shown all to well today.  All teams will be looking to take advantage of the wider pitches this season and make the ball do the work and go out wide to take their chances.  This will be the tactic in particular when facing such a strong forwards contingent as Wetherby have, as to play in the forwards division against Wetherby will result in defeat.