North One East: Bradford & Bingley 34 Wheatley Hills 10

WOODHOUSE Grove pupil Luca deVittoris marked his Bradford & Bingley first-team debut with what will probably be remembered as their try of the season in the 76th minute.

The young winger received the ball near his own 22 in the left-hand corner of the Wagon Lane pitch nearest the River Aire and set off upfield and infield leaving a stream of defenders flapping at his heels.

Ten seconds after picking the ball up, deVittoris was dotting down to the right of the posts towards the clubhouse with his team-mates charging up to congratulate him.

However, this was one outstanding moment in a largely forgettable 80 minutes, although the Bees opened this game at terrific pace and tore through the visiting defence to score from their first possession.

Adam Sutcliffe got on the end of a sweeping move off the back of a scrum, from right to left, with the Bees player just managing to dot down by the corner flag.

With the conversion missed, it was 5-0 to the hosts and it looked like it may be a very long afternoon for the division's bottom club.

However, after that initial burst the game quickly slumped into an end-of-season stupor, with the visitors gradually beginning to play some decent rugby which belied their lowly league status.

Much of the Wagon Lane crowd seemed to lose interest in watching the game and were just enjoying a social afternoon in the spring sunshine, and unfortunately, for long periods, the Bees players seemed to be about as interested in proceedings.

Halfway through the first half there was a slight rise in activity, and Masui Akauola was able to reach the line for a 10-0 lead.

Adam Mitchell could not add the extras kicking into the breeze, and the Bees seemed content with two tries in the bag and half-time to come.

Wheatley Hills appeared to want to up the pace of their game and were rewarded with a penalty in the 37th minute to bring them within seven.

The second half began very much as the first hand ended, with the Bees showing little inclination to up the pace of the game and Wheatley Hills possibly edging the game in terms of commitment, and increasingly gaining the upper hand with good field position.

Around the hour mark, the visitors were rewarded for their efforts with a well-taken score to the left of the posts.

It was 10-10 but with the Bees still not applying any concerted zip to their game, there was a definite thought in the air that Wheatley Hills might just steal their only win of the season.

The mutterings in the crowd seemed to transmit to the action on the field as the home side finally started to move through the gears in the final 15 minutes.

Lee Neha ploughed over after a kick had been charged down, and with Mitchell slotting the extras, it was 17-10 and Martin Whitcombe's men now looked to be upping the effort and pace right across the field.

Brett Mitchell was next over the whitewash with around eight minutes remaining, and then came deVittoris's wonder try, which at least gave the home crowd a reason to be cheerful as they returned to the bar.

The Bees weren't finished, however, as Sutcliffe zipped over from a fine passing move, giving the Bees a sixth score for the afternoon.

The Wagon Lane side have given a run out to several promising youngsters this term which bodes well for the club's prospects in a couple of years' time, but there are some immediate upgrades required to the side if the Bees are to improve on this season's finish in 2017-18.