10:01pm Sunday 26th April 2009
By Jack Strother
Wibsey Warriors 34, West Bowling A 20
Full back Michael Derrick scored a spectacular hat-trick as Wibsey Warriors pulled off a scintillating Jack Senior Memorial Bradford Cup final success against West Bowling A at the Grattan Stadium yesterday.
Wibsey, who operate two divisions below Bowling in the Pennine League, shrugged off the underdogs tag when stand-off Andy Robinson put a clever short kick into no man’s land and centre Steve Redman raced through to claim the first touchdown.
Hooker Mike Horrocks then bombed down field to send Derrick on a clear run to the whitewash.
Robinson added the extra two points and was again on target when the classy Derrick raced down the touchline to cut inside and sprint to the posts for his brace.
Wests clawed back the deficit after centre Gavin Buckley was obstructed off the ball and wingman Danny Loxam collected the tap and run to cross in the corner.
And Bowling started the second stanza in style when a Simpson cut-out pass found wingman Ben Creswell on the flanks to touch down, though it was just too far out for stand-off Mark Dunning to convert.
The joy was short-lived as Derrick once more weaved down the touchline to turn on the gas and cross at the flag. Robinson slotted over a penalty and at 22-8 it looked all over bar the shouting.
Prop Steve Pryce then took four defenders with him on a 15-metre plunge to the chalk and Buckley made no mistake when he found himself in acres of space shortly afterwards.
Dunning kicked both conversions but it was the Warriors who had the final say when prop Mark Darragh stormed under the uprights.
That was soon followed by a splendid last hurrah when scrum half Nick Walker scooted under the sticks to settle what was an absorbing encounter.
To cap a memorable day for the club, Wibsey’s A team celebrated a unique Bradford Cups double with a nail-biting 34-32 extra-time win against a resilient Dudley Hill A in the Hudson Foster Supplementary final.
With the scores locked at 28-28 at the end of normal time, it was clearly a case of who had enough left in the tank would go on to get their hands on the trophy.
The Warriors lively scrum half Bryn Worsley looked to have sealed matters when he crossed, especially after hooker Matt Cumberworth added the extras.
But Hill hit back through man of the match John Exley, who put centre Richard Bingley over, only to see the conversion attempt from full back James Banks sail narrowly wide, leaving the Warriors to cheer the loudest.
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