THE mentality of Baildon's squad has thoroughly impressed head coach Jake Duxbury following his side's sharp turn in form.

Before the turn of the New Year, Baildon often struggled to find consistency, particularly on the results front despite putting on impressive displays.

Duxbury has always pointed to the fact he wants his side to continue playing the "Baildon way", even if results aren't going to plan- meaning aggressive, quick and pleasing on the eye rugby.

Hi s side have continued with that mentality and have been fully rewarded for it, with the Bradford side claiming victories in their last three outings- this included an away victory at local rivals, Old Grovians.

Duxbury said: "There is a great feeling around Baildon Rugby Club at the minute. We are hitting 33 or 34 players at every training session. There are constantly big numbers available and ready to play for the first team and second team, and the club is growing in the right direction.

"The players are all on board with trying to take this club forward and we as coaching staff are really pleased with the players' mentality and the effort they are putting in, not just on the pitch but in training too.

"The commitment they have shown has clearly helped us to collect a number of positive results in recent weeks. I mentioned before that results were not perhaps reflecting our good performances, but they are now and it's well deserved."

Duxbury added: "In recent weeks we have also seen our game systems come to fruition even more which has helped to stabilise our defence.

"We have taken part in a number of tight encounters, but that is because of our desire to defend- a huge part of the Baildon DNA. It's part of what got us promoted out of Yorkshire Three- that ability to dig deep, defend and not concede.

"And I think we are starting to see exactly that, with the fact we are stopping teams from scoring.

"We went into the Grovians game knowing exactly what they would posses, which was them having some real strike weapons on the outside. I believe our centres nullified their threat in that game, while our line stayed strong against some extremely dangerous attackers.

"It's a testament to how far we have progressed."

Baildon return to action today when they travel to high-flyers, Wheatley Hills.

The Bradford side will be looking to make it four wins on the bounce but a tough task lies ahead.

Looking ahead to the tie, Duxbury said: "We have a few players heading to the international fixtures this weekend but we pride ourselves on having a big squad to choose from and this weekend will be no different.

"We will have players away but whatever line-up we put out, we won't be making excuses- it will be our first team.

"That in mind, it will be a tough fixture. Wheatley are doing well this season but I don't think they are the Wheatley of old as when I used to play them it was all about their sheer strength and size. They like to play a good brand of rugby and I'm expecting a good game, but we have every reason to be confident going into this one."