Bradford & Bingley 39 Driffield 12

APART from his team's capacity to give away penalties, not all of which they agreed with, Bradford & Bingley director of rugby Martin Whitcombe must have been relatively satisfied on Saturday night.

The feeling beforehand was that this North One East encounter would be close as the Bees (eighth) and Driffield (seventh) were separated by just one point in the table.

In the opening phase of the match, the home side gave away enough penalties to keep the visitors more than interested.

But by half-time, stern defence by the hosts and the clinical nature of their attack had given them a 22-0 lead – and despite having hooker Masui Akauola sent off for a second yellow card in the 75th minute, they won the second half too.

A second successive five-point victory lifted the Bees to fifth and, with the likely return of playmaker Gerhard Nortier next week from persistent ankle trouble, had them thinking of more than a mid-table finish.

"We played to the patterns that have been coached into us since July," said home skipper Tom Booth.

"It started last week (at Malton & Norton) and we now have a stronger pack to play to those patterns.

"Brett Mitchell and Tom Cummins are carrying the ball well, the young lads who have come into the team have done well and we also showed our defensive side.

"Overall it was a good team performance but the number of penalties we are giving away is something we will have to work on."

One youngster who has broken through this season is 20-year-old winger Ryan Wilson, who somehow prevented fly half Will Brigham from scoring in the first half when the Driffield man was a strong favourite, and bagged an interception try six minutes later when he snaffled a Ben Dinsdale pass.

Wilson, who has been playing for the Bees teams since he was five and for the second team the past three seasons, said: "I just sensed that he was going to pass it."

Bradford & Bingley lost their first line-out and conceded the first penalty but capitalised on strong pressure to go ahead in the 19th minute, pinching a Driffield line-out and moving the ball smartly down the line for centre Nick Gore to score.

Wilson's interception try was converted by fly half Schalk Oosthuizen and the latter player added a penalty before full back Adam Mitchell ran a nice line to scoot over, Oosthuizen again converting.

The Bees were threatening a bonus-point try before the interval against opponents who had already lost scrum half Joe Robinson (ribs), Brigham (shoulder in trying to score the try that Wilson helped to prevent) and prop Simon Pettinger (back).

But that fourth home try came in the third quarter via their second telling interception of the afternoon, lock Brett Mitchell galloping in from 55 metres out.

Akauola was already in the sin-bin by then for a late tackle and Oosthuizen followed him ten minutes later for interference.

Lock Oliver Cooper showed good upper body strength to twist over for a Driffield try when the Bees were short handed, full back Jack Sowersby converting.

Adam Mitchell's penalty put the home side 25 points ahead in the 72nd minute and, after the fracas in which Akauola got his second yellow card and Driffield also had a man sin-binned, Pettinger – who had returned to the fray – got a late try and replacement hooker Matt Cochrane an even later response for the Bees, Oosthuizen's mighty boot converting.

Driffield also lost lock Kyle Turner to illness in the second half.