Yorkshire Division Three: Baildon 75 Halifax 0

THERE is a buzz about Jenny Lane again.

Four seasons after they were promoted from Yorkshire Division Three as runners-up, only to sink like a stone the following season, Baildon are on top of the table.

In a game that was well controlled by 20-year-old exchange referee Robert Gall (Manchester Society), Halifax, gamely as they tried, were not much opposition for the hosts, who ran in 11 tries, with centre JJ O'Connell bagging 30 points from two tries and ten conversions.

It was their best score since they triumphed 77-0 at York RI on the first day of that 2012-13 campaign (and almost doubled their tally of 77 from the opening four matches this season), and their best home scoreline since the return fixture against York RI that season in April, which they won 67-0.

Under coach Dave Duxbury, Baildon also reached two successive RFU Junior Vase finals at Twickenham (won one, lost one) and lifted the Yorkshire Silver Trophy.

"It was fun, we played for each other, and it is what we have again now," admitted Andy Pollard, who was a player then and is their current coach.

"Most of the lads have been team-mates since they were youths."

However, Pollard admitted that the points tally could have been much higher, adding: "We missed about five chances but we did some good things that we had worked on in training, and it is coming."

One player who was a part of their success four years ago and has returned to Baildon after spells with West Park Leeds (with Duxbury) and Bradford Salem is prop Adam Hewitt.

The birthday boy said: "I went away to learn, but Baildon has always been close to my heart, and I wanted to come back when I heard that Andy Pollard and Jimmy Lyons had taken over and that Jack Aaron and Ryan Kershaw were playing again, and that Dale Tabiner was too after his health issues.

"We have now won five out of five and can achieve things with this group of talented players."

Halifax's coach Neil Spence, who formerly played for Bradford & Bingley and coached at Ilkley and Old Crossleyans, said: "We are in transition and it was always going to be a difficult afternoon as we could only name two on the bench and got three players injured.

"But I was a lot more pleased with our second-half display."

Baildon – spurred on by a good sprinkling of former players on a day when Graham Reid had a plaque unveiled to celebrate his 60-year involvement with the club – had first use of the slope and, although the visitors put in a couple of solid hits early on, they trailed 42-0 at half-time.

After Kershaw, who was lively throughout, had pinched a ninth-minute line-out deep in Halifax's 22, O'Connell found space to cross when the attack moved left.

Kershaw's break two minutes later gave lock Tom Peel, who was supporting on his inside shoulder, a try, and good pace and vision by full back Matty Robinson brought centre Harrison Strauss a try in the 14th minute.

A delightful reverse pass by O'Connell gave right winger Hayden Lister the bonus-point try four minutes later, and after Lister had been thwarted in the right-hand corner and O'Connell lost his balance when he seemed to flummox himself, the latter made amends by showing pace and poise to score with half-time approaching.

In first-half stoppage time, Lister picked up a loose ball and ran some 60 metres to score, saying afterwards: "Has anybody seen a pair of lungs?"

O'Connell's full house of pre-interval conversions made it 42-0, and the centre also added the first three of the second half before missing with his tenth attempt, then nailing his 11th.

Baildon seemed to take a liking to the left hand side of Halifax's defence, with Peel getting his second, Matty Robinson a brace and Lister completing his hat-trick.

It didn't seem to matter to O'Connell that most of the conversions were from the right-hand touchline as he landed three from four but coach Pollard has warned his team to remain grounded as they capitalised on derby rivals Aireborough's first defeat of the season to take a three-point lead at the summit.