THE vital league clash between Ilkley and bottom-of-the-table Yarnbury fell victim to the foul weather as the river Wharfe burst its banks and rendered the Stacks Field pitch unplayable.

The water also flooded out the changing rooms.

It was all hands on deck with buckets and brushes as the muddy waters were swilled out by the intrepid gang of willing helpers.

Ilkley's revival remains stalled but coach Richard Midgeley says his men are in prime condition and raring to go. The fixture has been re-arranged for this Saturday, January 15.

The bottom four clubs in Yorkshire League One were involved in a 'mini-league' weekend with Ilkley hosting Yarnbury and Goole hosting Dinnington.

Both fixtures fell victim to the weather leaving the last four places in the table unchanged.

Interestingly Ilkley's victims in the campaign opener, Wheatley Hills, moved into second slot with a win over Keighley.

Ilkley will try once again to stage the game with Yarnbury at Stacks Field on Saturday, Januiary 15.

Ilkley Second XV were surprised to receive a call from Yarnbury informing them that the ir game was on.

Both sides drafted in a few first teamers and it was the Dalesmen who came out on top 22- 8, Ollie Coughlin bagging three tries in the process.

There was a welcome sight for Ilkley, the return of veteran Andy Hinchliffe following the broken hand he suffered at Yarnbury earlier in the season.

Ilkley RFC are hosting a Yorkshire Under-20 game against Durham University on Sunday, January 16.

This is a big match for Yorkshire and the kick-off is at 2pm with admission by programme.

Old Rishworthians 19

Ilkley U-14s 24

Ilkley Under-14s travelled to Halifax full of confidence after the Christmas break, and this was rewarded with a superb win which reversed the result of the previous encounter.

It was a painfully slow start for Ilkley as Old Rishwothians played within ten metres of their try line, and they inevitably opened the scoring with a well-taken try.

Ilkley followed up a few minutes later with a James Heaton try which began deep within Ilkley's 25 as he took on half the opposition to run the length of the pitch to level the scores.

Poor tackling in the backs allowed Rishworthians to increase the score to 19-7 at half-time and leave Ilkley with a mammoth second-half task.

Immediately, Ilkley's forwards rose to the challenge, and the impact on their opposite forwards was immense as they crushed them with their power and technique. This released good ball for the backs who began to run with more flair and imagination.

A charge down by Lindsay on the Rishwothians' line was quickly picked up by Arundell who crossed the line to reduce Ilkley's deficit.

This was the fillip that Ilkley needed and it was all guns blazing now as they constantly battered the Rishworthians' defence.

All the effort was made worthwhile as Heaton again ran half the field for his second try. Cooper converted to make the score 19-19 with minutes to play.

This was not enough for Ilkley, and only a win would do which was duly provided by Lindsay in the last second of the match as he mirrored the last try to secure Ilkley a victory.

This was Ilkley's best team performance of the season, and the coaches were proud as all the boys gave their utmost to contribute to a hard-fought match against one of the better sides around.