Bitter end to cup campaign

Birmingham Solihull 14 Wharfedale 13 (Half time 6-0)

Wharfedale's hopes of a cup run came to an end in the Midlands where Birmingham Solihull rode their luck and held on to win by the narrowest of margins, writes Keith Lewis.

The format of the match programme seemed to be mirrored by the events on the field as Wharfedale, numbered one to 15 with five named replacements, played with flair and imagination but were first and foremost individuals. By comparison the home side were listed as 25 unnumbered names and on the park they looked a fairly anonymous bunch except for the collective sense of purpose which they brought to the game.

The Greens undoubtedly had the game's most exciting runners in centre Andy Hodgson and fullback Jonathan Davies as well as the grafter with the most yardage, flanker Sam Allen, but Birmingham Solihull were disciplined in defence, made fewer errors in possession and took full advantage of the few scoring opportunities which came their way.

Wharfedale travelled with a team showing several changes from the previous week, with fly- half Johnny Harrison and flanker Hedley Verity both unavailable. Davies was recalled to the side at fullback and Neil Heseltine switched to fly-half becoming the club's most experienced National Cup campaigner with 13 appearances out of the 14 games played since 1993. Sam Allen came into the pack at open-side and there were debuts on the bench for Antony Capstick and Chris "Boris" Greenwood.

Snarl-ups on the M6 meant late arrivals for props Richard Lancaster and Craig Ingram who were travelling independently and the former got there first to start the game although the original intention had been to give regular replacement Ingram a full run-out.

Birmingham Solihull began with 12 of the side who had scraped a dramatic 19-17 league win at Threshfield last month but were without the services of their regular fly-half Jonathan Smart who won that game with a last- minute drop goal. They included fullback Jim Quantrill, a veteran of over 100 league appearances for Rugby, and their influential captain Julian Hyde - a 6 foot 5 inch lock who was one of several former Coventry players in a team currently in second position in National Division One with six wins from seven games.

The Greens made a promising start in ideal conditions as lock David Lister's clean take at the first lineout was driven all of 30 metres by the rest of the pack. Behind this kind of platform the Wharfedale backs had some quality ball to work with but they soon became frustrated by a solid home defence.

This may have influenced firstly Davies and then scrum-half Graham Smith to opt for drop goal attempts when other options looked better bets to those on the touchline. Along with centre Andy Hodgson, Davies made his presence felt in attack as he ran powerfully from deep positions and after 10 minutes a little more precision in the final pass might have sent winger Adam Mounsey clear on the right.

As so often seems to happen following a largely one-sided opening spell the opposition put points on the board following their first meaningful attack. It had taken the home side fully 15 minutes to get into the game when Quantrill put them ahead with a penalty as the Wharfedale defence were caught offside.

The Greens continued to have the balance of play for the remainder of the half as Allen, Russ Buckroyd and Charlie Vyvyan worked tigerishly in the loose and the front five of Lister, Lancaster, James Ogden, Neil Dickinson and Paul Evans took the game to their bigger opponents. The threequarters also showed more enterprise than of late even though their supply line was not always as smooth as it might have been. By contrast Birmingham Solihull handled with slick precision behind the scrum but flattered to deceive as their predominantly lateral movements came to very little.

As the first half drew to a close Wharfedale narrowly failed to cash in on several good positions near the Birmingham Solihull line and the law according to that rectangular piece of turf clicked in yet again as Quantrill slotted a penalty at the other end to make it 6-0.

The Greens carried on where they had left off after the interval as the outstanding Allen pounded over the gain line and Vyvyan led by example. After 50 minutes a rare spell of pressure near the Wharfedale line resulted in a misdirected clearance and Birmingham Solihull cashed in to stretch the cover before their No 8 Richard Salisbury dived over by the corner flag.

Trailing 11-0 the Dalesmen rallied and Mounsey got the side's first points on the board from a penalty. Directly from the restart Lister and Lancaster combined at pace to drive deep into home territory, but the raid petered out through lack of support.

With Ingram on for Dickinson, Capstick taking over from the injured Evans and Ben Whitfield replacing Mounsey, Davies took over the kicking duties and exchanged penalties with Quantrill to make it 14-6 with 15 minutes remaining.

As Wharfedale pressed forward and Birmingham tried to hang on to their fragile lead, Ben Whitfield escaped on the left and sprinted 40 metres only to be tackled inches short of the line. With time running out Hodgson finally broke the deadlock with a fine try in the corner - his first in five National Cup games and a clear indication that he is back in business. Davies landed an impressive conversion with what turned out to be the last kick of the game and the Dalesmen were left regretting their missed chances.

Birmingham Solihull: Quantrill; S Chapman, R Chapman, Irwin, Shepherd; Glackin, Lydster; Lewis, Robbins, Sturdy, Hyde (capt), Smith, McLean, Beese, Salisbury.

Wharfedale: Davies; Mounsey (B Whitfield 60), Hodgson, D Whitfield, Eccleston; Heseltine, Smith; Lancaster, Ogden, Dickinson (Ingram 60), Lister, Evans (Capstick 50), Buckroyd, Allen, Vyvyan (capt).

Referee: A Pearce, RFU.

Other results in the Tetley's Bitter Cup Second Round ties involving National Division One sides were: Bedford 60 Fylde 21, Cinderford 21 Reading 23, Harrogate 22 Preston Grasshoppers 32, Matson 3 Camberley 22, Newbury 15 North Walsham 0, Nottingham 20 Stourbridge 17, Redruth 22 Lydney 13, Rosslyn Park 47 Bridgewater 7, Sevenoaks 41 Blackheath 40, Weston Super Mare 12 Bracknell 26, Whitchurch 0 Otley 76.

Most notable is Otley's landslide victory in Shropshire although Preston will be delighted to have won at Claro Road. Monday's Third Round draw gave Birmingham Solihull another home tie - this time against Premiership Two side Waterloo.

The consolation for all Second Round losers is a cheque for £4,400 from the competition sponsors. The payments to clubs increase by £1,100 each round up to the Quarter-Finals where the losers receive £8,800 each.

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