Otley 21

Plymouth Albion 40

IT would have been interesting to be a fly on the wall in the home dressing room at half-time on Saturday just to hear what Otley coach Peter Clegg had to say to his team after watching them perfecting the style of play they had practised in their last game at lowly Moseley.

Albeit they were again without many pivotal players and they lost their playmaker Simon Binns after 27 minutes when he could not continue after aggravating a back injury during the warm up.

They played such a loose game the impression given was that they were a team of strangers.

Whatever was said those words and three tactical changes in the pack brought some life to the proceedings and suddenly the opposition no longer looked like world beaters.

Replacement Paul Williams, after a long lay-off with a broken finger, with his first touch of the ball was driven over within three minutes.

A conversion and a penalty by Dan Clappison brought Otley back to 16-30 and although a penalty was conceded when Neil Law finished off Otley's best move of the game, looping round Clappison after the forwards had hammered at the Plymouth line, it appeared that the tables might well have been turned with a reversal of the cup game four weeeks previously.

Alas, it was not to be as Otley once more showed their propensity for letting the opposition score tries from their own half - something like 75 per cent of the total conceded this term.

When full-back Jon Fabian rescued a long kick out of defence from fly-half Simon Hawkins he managed to ship the ball whilst being hauled down by a good tackle from Will Darby. Winger Nigel Simpson with nowehere to go decided to run straight for the posts from 60 metres out and he arrived with not a hand being laid on him.

New Zealander Brett McCormack, the scrum-half, added his fourth conversion to give himself a 100 per cent success rate with four penalties to boot.

The first-half really had little of note to record. There were times when the home pack appeared about to make inroads but mostly the effort foundered with a knock on or a penalty conceded but they did fall for the sucker punch in the first minute.

No 8 Dan Ward-Smith picked up at the first scrum and ran at the Otley midfield. Centre Keni Fisilau made a half break and co-centre Ross Winnie was through.

When he was halted, Darby again making the stop, he found second row Will James at his side to wander over under the sticks.

It appeared to be only a minor setback as Otley went on the attack and within ten minutes Binns had kicked a couple of penalties but as their play subsided into the depths they gave McCormack two easy penalty chances.

Worse followed when Winnie was waived through to score, naturally, under the posts. McCormack's only difficult kick was when he converted Simpson's first try, on 28 minutes, following a really top class display of handling.

Again the break came from the side of a scrum and Otley were left as mere spectators as the ball sped from hand to hand ending with a long pass to the winger who raced in at the corner.

A McCormack penalty in the final minute of the first-half left Otley with much to do and sadly it was beyond them.

On this form Sunday's encounter at Wakefield begins to look ever more difficult. Hopefully the extra training session called for by the coach will concentrate their minds.

l Dan Clappison