Seven-up Greens bow out on a high

3:36pm Sunday 27th April 2008

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Wharfedale 41, Halifax 10

In a final flourish to what has been a creditable season for Wharfedale, the Greens recorded their seventh successive home win and their highest total of the season in a six-try demolition of bottom club Halifax.

In the process, they moved one place above Southend to finish in the comparative comfort of seventh position in the table.

If Dale showed some touches of exuberant and even flashy handling, it was more their patience in careful, controlled build-up and willingness to exploit successive phases of possession that brought them their commanding success.

Halifax tackled both resolutely and spiritedly throughout but their lack of any effective capacity in attack condemned them to another fruitless afternoon.

They did open the scoring after quarter of an hour when winger David Hall's powerful slanting run finished off a series of close drives near the line and Joe Knowles converted.

Wharfedale responded immediately with a fine period of sustained passing by forwards and backs ending with full back Adam Whaites scoring wide out.

They added a second try virtually from the restart after Mark Bedworth's half break found Chris Malherbe in short support and the South African centre exchanged passes with flanker Alistair Allen to power over.

Whaites and Bedworth were again involved in a slick exchange of passes wide out at the end of a blindside move from the back of a scrum for the winger to record a third try for the Greens.

With Andy Baggett adding a penalty and one conversion, Wharfedale were comfortably in charge 20-10 at the interval despite a penalty from Knowles just before the break.

Wharfedale added three further converted second-half tries, the first from a driven lineout by hooker Gavin Hindle to celebrate his 100th league game for the club, and two more as their job was made easier by the sin-binning of visiting lock Lee Brown.

This was a set Halifax could ill-afford as scrum half James Doherty darted home from short range and then Allen crowned a lively afternoon in the loose with a powerful angled burst to the line.