ONLY if you're lucky - very lucky - will sport provide you with an occasion like the one granted to the people of Settle and the members of North Ribblesdale RFC on Saturday.

The 13-10 victory in the semi-final of the Powergen Junior Vase, courtesy of magnificent 35-yard drop-goal from fly-half Adam Whaites two minutes into the second period of extra time after the scoreline had been level at 10-10 at the end of normal time, earned the Grove Park club a trip to Twickenham on April 17.

There they will face Leodiensians from Leeds, another side from Yorkshire Two.

But the statistics alone - a try by flanker Michael Carr and a conversion, penalty and drop goal from fly-half Adam Whaites - don't start to tell the story of a terrific sporting occasion in which a sheer refusal to accept defeat bound the team and the audience together as a single entity. This was a definitive demonstration of how a pure will to win can overcome immense odds. Mounts Bay had more power, more possession, more continuity, more chances.

But they could not puncture Ribblesdale's unquenchable spirit and tenacity. And, equally significantly, they did not have a totally committed crowd whose fervour did not allow them to slacken their efforts when their engine was running on vapour.