Aireborough XV...............22

Wharfedale Dev XV........43

A RICH mixture of players from Aireborough's teams played their part in an entertaining game against slick opposition in front of an appreciative crowd at Nunroyd Park.

Scoring an early try through centre Peter Booth, with a conversion from stand-off Paul Mackie, raised Aireborough's expectations but these were quickly dashed when the visitors ' backs rattled in three tries in quick succession aided by some lacklustre tackling.

Stung by these scores Aireborough settled into a forward game where first phase possession was well distributed by scrum-half Robert Leadbeater and debutant centre Richard Marshall impressed with his strong running.

Paul Mackie reduced the arrears with a penalty followed by a try when he received a scoring pass from winger Andrew Martucci after a loop move.

A conversion from Paul Mackie put his team only two points in arrears and his own tally to 12 points.

The opposition's superior speed of thought soon showed, however, when a standard back row move saw them reach half-time with a healthy lead as they scored a simple try with the Aireborough defence mere spectators.

The use of five replacements throughout the second-half introduced much needed fresh legs for Aireborough who were always stretched by the visitors' backs. The tackling and relief kicking skills of full-back Ian Ellis were frequently tested.

Conceding a fifth try spurred Aireborough to greater efforts and the forwards responded with a rush led by lock Andrew Wood, which led to the ball being transferred to the winger James Kinghorn who showed the opposition a clean pair of heels as he hit the line from 30 metres out.

Aireborough's seasoned props Dave Greenwood and Tim Baxter were always in the thick of the action giving a demonstration to younger players of the art of going forward and providing quality second phase possession.

Two further tries from the visitors confirmed their superiority in a game which provided invaluable experience of playing at a higher standard for the junior Aireborough players.

l On Saturday Aireborough visit local rivals Burley with the Dragons at home to Burley 'A'

Hornets beat

Park veterans

West Park Vets...........5

Yarnbury Hornets.....10

YARNBURY travelled to West Park Bramhope and took part in a thrilling encounter. From the outset both sides looked to spread the ball wide and play an entertaining game for the crowd who had braved the cold.

The first score went to Yarnbury whose back row man John Hague touched down on his debut. This was the icing on the cake for John who had an excellent game.

The second try again fell to Yarnbury when good ball was won by their pack and the backs showed pace and good hands to allow Martin Lunn to score in the corner.

The second-half saw Park come more and more into the game and they scored a deserved try after a good break from stand-off Bob Collins had allowed their centre to cross almost unopposed.

The game finished on a low with Alex Blackburn, also making bis debut, being carried from the pitch with a suspected broken ankle.

l On Saturday Yarnbury play local rivals Old Leodiensians.

Otley Tongans

beat West Leeds

West Leeds..................0

Otley Tongans.........20

When it was agreed that Otliensians Seconds would play Otley Viscounts rather than the Tongans the latter arranged a pool fixture with West Leeds Seconds.

Both sides played a physical game from the start and there was a marked lack of Christmas spirit. There was a danger that it would boil over and the referee had to speak to both captains.

Otley eventually realised they had the strength in the backs and Adrian Keeler had a good run before Alistair Campbell joined the line to go over.

Craig Jackson stretched the lead when he picked up a loose ball in his own half to show a clean pair of heels. Andy Edson kicked the conversion and then added a penalty to make it 15-0 at half-time.

When Tim Westlake-Bryant scored early in the second-half from a powerful run it looked as though Tongans might run away with it but they lost the plot with too many players taking the wrong option.

In fact it was West Leeds who came back into the game and Tongans had to produce some strong defence to keep their line intact at the end.

Otliensians A............7

Otley Viscounts......13

This was a closely fought and entertaining game with the result in doubt until the final whistle.

Viscounts opened strongly with their pack drifting forward and they took the lead when Luke Kendall got quick ball to race over.

Otliensians hit back and scored shortly after the conversion giving them a 7-5 half-time lead.

Viscounts pack started to get a grip in the second-half and skipper Jamie Chappell scored from a close in scrum. He missed the conversion but made no mistake with a penalty to clinch the win.