Pertemps Bees 12 Otley 33

IAN Shuttleworth came off the bench to replace Rob Whatmuff to find that his after a 100 yard scoring run his hamstring was fully recovered.

Whatmuff left the field to be patched up and Shuttleworth came off the bench after a long absence to find himself in possession when a fierce tackle by a fellow defender dislodged the ball and he had a clear field ahead of him.

In the wind and rain and on a very muddy surface he had a 100 yard run to face but with Jason Oakes in support he made it.

Oakes had himself scored the opening try after just five minutes when he crashed over after a break from a drive but it took another 47 minutes before Shuttleworth added the second.

Otley had to defend as the home side used the miserable conditions to keep their visitors in check for they were being given a torrid time in the forwards. There was a long delay just before half-time as the Birmingham side's No 7 Cae Trayhern was treated on the field for a suspected neck injury and half-time was extended whilst the air ambulance took him to hospital.

Happily he returned a couple of hours later looking fine. The Birmingham side had taken a real battering throughout the first period as, without success, they probed the Otley defence and it began to show as the screw was turned.

They had little answer to Otley's mauling beyond the obvious and on 56 minutes Andy Brown, just on for Dave Scully, ran blind, dummied towards his winger and went over in the corner.

Ten minutes later Mark Luffman grounded after the pack had trundled in from 25 metres, Robin Kitching landing his second touchline conversion.

Consecutive errors led to the Bees getting an unlikely score. Chris Hyndman clearing from the re-start, had his kick charged down but a forward pass gave Otley a five metre scrum where the heel was not under control and scrum-half Paul Knight was able to dive on the ball for a try.

With the bonus point intact Otley gave Kitching the opportunity to add a couple of penalties but true to form they allowed winger Aaron Takarangi to score under the posts in added time, fly-half Tim Walsh converting.

There was just time for Kitching to add a third penalty to complete a comprehensive victory with a very solid display.

Otley play one of their two remaining home league fixtures at Cross Green on Saturday when Cornish Pirates are the visitors.

On Saturday April 15 Otley travel to Earth Titans at Rotherham and this will be followed on Saturday, April 22, by their last home league game of the season against Exeter Chiefs.

Their final league game of the season is on Saturday, April 29, at Nottingham.

Otley Viscounts lost 22-0 at home to West Park Bramhope who arrived at Cross Green with an unbeaten record. Viscounts were soon on the attack but Park had a well-organised defence and countered every ploy.

Twice they got over the line and the referee ruled held up. Otley skipper Jamie Chappell had two penalty attempts but both drifted wide in the wind. As half-time approached Park got their backs moving and looked dangerous but Viscounts' defence was resolute and it was still pointless at the turn round.

With no points cushion Viscounts had a tough task on their hands but for a time they held out until good handling engineered an overlap for a try in the corner. The move was repeated shortly after and as the gaps started to appear Park scored a couple more tries in the closing minutes.

Park were deserved winners in the end but Viscounts kept going to contribute to an entertaining game with both teams giving total commitment.