Yorkshire Division Three: Halifax Vandals 5 Baildon 17

THE fact that Baildon's young team survived this test shows how far they have come.

Vandals, who were playing down the slope but against the wind, started brightly on their narrow pitch and seemed to want the victory more, taking on the visitors' young pack.

Baildon's scrum went backwards and their line-out was disrupted, but they defended their line three times.

The visitors then lost playmaker JJ O'Connell (winded after a tackle) but the hosts had a player yellow-carded (it could have been red) for taking out Tom Peel in a line-out, the Baildon player lading on his neck.

Baildon did not use the wind to their advantage, and when they did get into the home half their execution let them down.

Matty Robinson was the next visitor to leave the field, with blood pouring from both his nostrils, and was replaced by debutant Ross McUrich.

Flanker Danny Pollard then won a penalty for holding on and O'Connell, who had returned to the pitch, kicked it for 3-0.

Vandals, however, looked certain to score when they had a five on two but were denied by a deliberate knock-on by Dale Tabiner, who was sin-binned.

Somehow Baildon clung on to their lead up to half-time, but they lost scrum half James Dawson to a chest injury just after the restart and, still a man down, they conceded a try after a beautiful line from Vandals' fly half.

Although the easy conversion was missed, this was the time when Baildon, still a player short, were in danger of self-destructing.

However, they didn't, instead pulling together and stepping up a gear.

McUrich made a promising break in midfield, only for the last pass to go behind Matty Robinson, who was playing with both nostrils packed with surgical dressing.

But Luke Strauss' break down the wing, Matty Robinson's forward roll in evading a tackle and Joe Robinson freeing his arms to pass the ball out of a tackle all played their part before O'Connell took the ball in broken play and, seeing the home defence at sixes and sevens, skipped through for a try which he converted.

Vandals were losing their patience with Baildon, the referee and themselves, and visiting club medic Dr Mark Purvis had to assess Matty Dixon and Andy Magee for concussion.

Baildon, courtesy of Pollard, Adam Hewitt, Will Tomlinson and James Fox, kept their cool, however, in a game that they might have lost two seasons ago.

McUrich was then brought down inches short of the Vandals line, but Josh Strauss was driven over for a try, after which Vandals' coach was sent off for referee abuse, O'Connell's conversion makine it 17-5.

* Mid-table Old Grovians went down 71-3 at Wetherby in Yorkshire Division Two.