Yorkshire Division Four North West: Wibsey 13 Knaresborough 3

GOOD things are happening on and off the field for Wibsey.

Last season they won Yorkshire Division Five, and this season they have won three out of four to sit on top of Yorkshire Division Four North West.

Meanwhile, off the pitch, secretary Steve Brooke is beavering away to both try and secure the club's future at Northfield Road and improve their facilities.

He said: "We have a grant from the Rugby Football Federation – a subsidiary of the RFU – and have put some new posts in at Northfield Road, and our application for a 25-year lease there – we haven't had a lease there before – is with Bradford Council's legal department.

"Also we hope eventually to put more perimeter fencing in there, some barriers around the pitch, dug-outs and get a second pitch."

Dry-weather specialists Knaresborough were one of two clubs that were level with Wibsey on nine points before kick-off – the others were Leeds Corinthians – and presented a stiff challenge.

The visitors had first use of a breeze that was strong enough to blow an umbrella inside out, but a largely forgettable 40 minutes started with three players – James Sawyer for Wibsey and Steve Youngson and Will Stevenson for Knaresborough – slicing kicks directly into touch from outside their 22.

That same breeze also made throwing into line-outs tricky, and both sides were rightly pulled up by former Keighley prop Richard Leach for not straight.

In the 24th minute, Wibsey flanker Chris Farley pinched a Knaresborough line-out in the home 22, but Sawyer knocked on when the ball was passed back to him.

This led to the most sustained pressure in the match, with the visitors showing great continuity over a series of phases before Steve Youngson and then his brother Andy were held up over Wibsey's line, while home fly half Luke Helliwell made a try-saving tackle in between.

Then Knaresborough had a slice of bad luck on the half-hour as scrum half Simione Bituwaqa darted for the line and seemed to get there, although the ball bounced up after his outstretched arm seemed to plant it down.

Referee Leach, who otherwise had a fine game, was possibly unsighted and ruled a knock on.

Three minutes later, with Knaresborough, whose half-back paring of Nem Rayavui and Simione Bituwaqa looked dangerpous but ran too laterally, realised that they needed to get points on the board, and succeeded with a straightforward Rayavui penalty from in front of the posts.

Knaresborough full back Steve Youngson, when under no pressure, knocked on Sawyer's long kick downfield early in the second half, and that was the signal for Wibsey's supporters to give 'Milky' the bird for that incident, and for the rest of the match.

Five minutes into the half, Wibsey had a great chance to level, but centre Brad Wright, perhaps thinking of his miss at Burley the previous week which resulted in Wibsey's only defeat of the season so far, hooked the kick horribly wide.

Farley's charging down of a clearance kick in the 52nd minute brought the next wave of Wibsey pressure, and they won another penalty, which Wright kicked a minute later to make it 3-3.

A superb long-distance kick downfield by full back Sawyer put Knaresborough on the back foot again, and Sawyer almost went over himself soon after when the visitors bought his dummy.

James Brown, playing at hooker for the first time in a while, went close a couple of phases later, but Knaresborough were not let off the hook as Wright landed a second penalty just before the hour.

But Wibsey landed a killer blow in the 70th minute after Sawyer snaffled possession, Wright's neatly-weighted grubber kick to the right corner, giving winger Jimmy Rogers the chance to dive on the ball.

Then Wright, showing he had got over his yips, nailed the conversion from near the touchline.

However, Wright then had a clearance kick charged down in the 75th minute, replacement Jamie Bird picking up the loose ball to put the visitors on the front foot again, but their pressure ended with a knock on, and Wibsey not only triumphed, but denied the losers a bonus point.

Wibsey's short-term ambition is to make the top four, which would put them into the 'super eights' with the leading four clubs from Yorkshire Division Four South East, with the clubs facing each other home and away.

Points will be carried forward from the initial phase, and the top two teams at the end of it will be promoted.