Queensbury 14 Wibsey Warriors 38

A masterly performance from scrum half Andy Robinson guided Wibsey to a double triumph against Queensbury in the Pennine League Premier Division derby at Hill Top.

Bury, with first use of the slope, made the early running and took the lead when second-row forward Joe Swain produced a smart offload to send wingman Tony Clarke scampering to the whitewash, leaving Scott Swann to add the extras.

The Warriors had to work hard to gain field position, which brought reward when, on their first visit to the home red zone, quick passing saw winger Jim Rodger over in the corner.

Bury soon restored their advantage when the mighty Swain’s sleight of hand sent stand-off Josh Naylor clear. He dummied the scrambling defence to put Swann sprinting over for a 10-4 gain.

Warriors centre Nick Walker repeated their previous effort with a blockbusting run before Robinson showed his strength and determination by squeezing in at the flag and his touchline conversion went in off the post to send the visitors into the interval 14-10 up.

A huge melee on the restart saw the fists flying fast and furiously, which earned the main culprits, Brett Marriott (Bury) and Harry Hall (Wibsey), a yellow card as referee Tony Martin quickly restored order.

The focus thankfully returned to the task in hand when Robinson latched on to a huge up and under to claim his brace and Marriott marked his return from the sin bin by spinning out of a tackle to feed full back Liam Dover to reduce the arrears.

Any hopes of a home comeback were dashed when loose forward Hall made his amends by charging down a threatening kick to race 60 metres to the chalk for the game-breaker which put the match out of reach of Queensbury at 26-14.

A battle-weary home outfit then suffered a major blow when Swain, who had clearly been the best forward on the field, left the fray with an ankle injury as the intensity took its toll.

The wily Robinson spotted the narrowest gap to find full back Mike Derrick on a charge to the posts and the pair then produced a planned move that gave Derrick his second in quick succession from the kick-off. Robinson added his fifth conversion for a personal 18-point tally to mark a splendid performance that sees the Warriors retain fifth spot in the table.