Baildon 19, Bramley Phoenix 13

While most of the crowd were focusing afterwards on the performance of referee Iain Hallam, Baildon head coach Dave Duxbury was more concerned about the discipline – or lack of it – of his team after this SSE Yorkshire Division Three derby.

The Jenny Laners, whose derby opponents starved them of much ball when the hosts had initial use of a strong wind in the first half, still managed to build up a 16-3 interval advantage yesterday.

But after a Nicky Lister penalty had stretched the advantage to 19-3 in the third quarter, the last 20 minutes were mired in fisticuffs and controversy as two players saw red and another yellow.

“We should have won that match more comfortably but we could have lost it,” said Duxbury, who read the riot act to his players on the pitch after the final whistle.

Baildon hooker Tom Craven could easily have been the first player to be dismissed but was only sin-binned in the 70th minute for repeatedly punching prone Bramley prop Ashley Stead.

Craven was only yellow-carded, despite the incident happening right in front of the referee – and this five minutes after the whistler had called skippers Micky Benn (Bramley Phoenix) and James Dawson together to plead for calm.

Bramley gained a bonus point with a penalty in the fifth minute of injury time but the main talking point happened after this, with Benn being sent off for retaliation and Baildon replacement Ben Priestley also being dismissed, despite being punched by more than one Bramley player while he was on the floor.

Duxbury said: “It took us 20 minutes to get going but we then played well for half an hour – the last 20 minutes of the first half and the first ten minutes of the second half.

“Then the red mist descended. The referee handled the game well for an hour but I don’t know what happened when Ben was sent off.

“I asked the referee afterwards and he said that Ben threw the first punch, and if that is what he saw then he had to send him off...”

Bramley coach Steve Langton said: “It all got a bit out of hand towards the end but I thought we would win at half-time.

“Baildon were the better side. We were missing a few but if we lose next week when three or four of our players are back then I don’t know what I will do!”

Fly half Sam Coates put the visitors ahead with a penalty in the 19th minute after scrum half Aaron McHale won a penalty for what seemed a combination of Baildon not retreating ten metres from his tap penalty and a high tackle.

Two minutes later, Nicky Lister’s towering penalty from just outside Bramley’s ten-metre line levelled matters.

Then in the 26th minute it was his classy break in midfield that set up his brother Hayden Lister, on the right wing, for a fine try.

Nicky Lister added another penalty in the 28th minute and scrum half Ben Newton got a vital try eight minutes later following good work by the pack.

That Lister penalty three minutes into the second half should have steadied fourth-placed Baildon down but instead the educated left foot of Coates put them under increasing pressure.

They survived one line-out near their own line but, while Craven was off the pitch, Phoenix flanker Tom Langton scored a try in the 80th minute, Coates converting for 19-10.

Great work by full back Aiden McGrath and Langton, who was involved in that unsavoury late melee, almost brought Bramley a second try, Baildon managing to gain turnover ball for Nicky Lister to find touch.

Coates did add a late penalty to earn eighth-placed Bramley a deserved bonus point but the contest then ended with that unfortunate off-the-ball incident which resulted in the two red cards.