WHARFEDALE registered their second league double in successive weeks over league newcomers Esher.

This eventual clear-cut but less than fully comfortable win secures fourth spot in the table and closes the gap on the leaders to a single point with a game in hand.

If victory was never truly in doubt, the welcome two points came from a sluggish and rather muted performance.

Despite their 20 point cushion at half time, Wharfedale allowed the visitors to close to within eight points soon after the break and outscore them 22-13 in the second half. Although each time Esher threatened to cut the deficit to a single score, Wharfedale denied them and promptly restretched their lead, they cannot have come away completely happy with their fluctuating performance throughout the match.

The Greens dominated the opening half against visitors rusty from flood-bound inactivity. Esher, with seven changes from the side which contested their home encounter, showed little of the attacking shape or front row abrasion which characterised that torrid match.

Wharfedale opened strongly with a succession of close forward drives and dominant lineout possession, with Tony Capstick as adroit as the previous week in disrupting the opposition throw. However, attempts to translate this into effective passing movements foundered on an all-embracing offside, three quarter defence.

Still, points did come from the one-way pressure. After only five minutes an alert Andy Mounsey intercepted short of halfway and a determined sprint along the touchline produced the opening try.

Ten minutes later he again crossed in the corner, put through by Graham Smith from a five metres scrum. Both conversions were missed but a Mounsey penalty increased the lead to 13 points.

Despite continuous pressure on lacklustre Esher, it was not until the dying moments of the half that Wharfedale added a third try.

Sustained attacking play saw a deft Davies pass put Hodgson away and the centre's speed and eye for the slightest gap did the rest. Mounsey's conversion glanced in off the post.

An unanswered 20 point lead represented quite a reward for not much real effort but, unfortunately for the home supporters, expecting an avalanche of scoring as the Greens now had the slope in their favour, the higher gear in the second half came not from Wharfedale but from the visitors.

From the resumption a revitalised Esher lifted their running game. Passes out of the tackle began to go to hand, confidence soared and the visitors' swift attacking play started to pose real problems.

It wasn't long before Esher were back in the match at 20-12. After good approach work, lock Simon Owen shook off the attentions of Verity to score wide out. Soon after centre Jon Bonney added a second try converted by Jon Gregory. In the space of 10 minutes, Esher were back in a match which, until then, they had barely contested.

The Greens instantly restored some composure when a Hodgson switch of direction produced an opening for Chris Armitage to score and Mounsey to convert.

Wharfedale now sought to stabilise their control of the match but, in contrast to recent games, the tactical kicking of Neil Heseltine, celebrating his 150th league appearance, lacked length and accuracy. Attempted deep kicks failed to find touch and only generated some fine counterattacks from full back Gregory.

An exchange of penalties between Mounsey and Gregory made it 30-15 but Wharfedale never looked comfortable against the ever-threatening enterprise of the visitors. In the final quarter Esher claimed the try the quality of their crisp handling and fine positional running off the ball deserved as winger Paul Flood raced through under the posts.

But Wharfedale responded well to the final pressure and clawed back territory, allowing Mounsey a late penalty to take his personal tally to 23 points and seal the victory.

Many of Wharfedale's virtues were on display: the vigorous and forthright forward play, much of it revolving round the evergreen Paul Evans, the welcome return of skipper Lawn, the increasingly telling lineout expertise of Capstick while in the backs Hodgson's penetrative running and the sharp finishing of Armitage were a constant danger.

But, once again at home, it never quite added up to the sum of its parts. None of these qualities truly gelled and first tackles were missed and tactical kicking was misdirected in a match frustratingly short of the sustained effective play needed for a convincing performance.

Indeed, the way in which the Greens scored to counter Esher's attempts to reduce the deficit only seemed to underline the fitful functioning of the Green Machine on the day.

So, if the match didn't quite re-establish the Fortress Threshfield mentality, it did prove a vital win to keep up the pressure on the leaders and a degree of festive fare for the supporters. A higher gear is going to be needed over the next few weeks.

Wharfedale: J Davies; A Mounsey, A Hodgson, D Whitfield (G Johnson 71), C Armitage; N Heseltine, G Smith; R Lancaster, J Lawn, N Dickinson, D Lister, A Capstick, P Evans, H Verity, T Jackson.

Esher: J Gregory; T Coulston, J Alexander, J Bonney, P Flood; B Stanley, C Mulraine; P Seymour, N Waddington, J Smith, S Owen, S Dixon, M Butterworth, C Kronfield, C Wilkins.

Referee: S Piercy (RFU).