In conditions ideally suited to mud wrestling, the Bees put together some of their best rugby of the season in avenging their September defeat at the hands of visitors, Wensleydale. The reverse fixture was played on a glorious sunny September afternoon, where the home side were comfortable winners by 52-14. But with the wind consistently bringing freezing drizzle, then heavier rain down the Aire Valley towards Saltaire, it seemed this would be an afternoon dominated by the forwards and general bumping and barging up the middle. However, that was not the case as both sides tried to play some running rugby despite the adverse weather.

Before kick-off, Bees coach, Ali Macdonald said that despite the heavy defeat in the first fixture, he had spotted one or two things about the opposition which he believed would give the side an edge in this fixture at Wagon Lane. If Macdonald's plan had included vigorously contesting for the ball immediately after a tackle, then his charges reaped a handsome reward as the home side turned over Wensleydale ball at least half a dozen times, with forwards and backs both committing to wrenching the ball from the opposition player as they hit the turf. It was difficult to see, in the increasing gloom, who was the burglar-in-chief, as the ball came back on the Bees' side of a maul, but centre Sam Lindeman, wearing a red scrum cap stood out, and seemed to be there or thereabouts in those close exchanges.

As well as his work in and around the tackle area, Lindeman was also on hand to claim two of the Bees' three tries, with scores in the nineteenth and 57th minutes. Lindeman modestly shrugged off any acclaim for his two scores, claiming he was just in the right place at the right time, when in truth, both scores were fine individual efforts, as he burst through at least one would-be tackler before galloping home from twenty metres out.

There was a distinct difference in approach to handling the conditions as it seemed the visitors had decided that the kicking game would be a lottery and running with the ball consistently would be the best approach. The Bees sought to use the wind more and kicked for territory much more often and with an excellent defensive front and their ability to turn over the ball in contact, perhaps the tactical battle was slightly edged by the home side.

The only scores in the opening quarter of an hour was a penalty to each side and with the conditions deteriorating, an attritional battle with kicks deciding the outcome looked inevitable. However, Wensleydale's constant attempts to run the ball at the Bees made the game far more open than might have been expected, and then on 19 minutes, Lindeman burst out of a tackle to the right of the posts, just inside the opposition 22. With more than one defender still in front of him, he ploughed forward and outpaced the defence to reach the try line for the score. With Dom Walker missing the conversion, it was 8-3.

There was little to choose between the sides as the first half wore on and perhaps such a narrow margin would not be enough of a lead to take into the second half as the weather was an advantage to the side playing with the wind at their backs. As the forty-minute mark came up, the Bees earned some more breathing space as the ball was worked nicely up the left-hand touchline, with Wensleydale running out of defenders wide on the right. A final pass put Ryan Wilson in the clear and he was able to scamper over for a second Bees try.

The side turned round at 13-3, and when the visitors crossed for a try on fifty minutes, with a Bees player in the sin bin, it looked like Wensleydale might just be gaining an upper hand. With the wind again picking up strength, it seemed only a matter of time before the Bees' defence would be breached again. However, Lindeman had other ideas and just short of the hour mark, the Bees outside centre set off on a charge up the left hand touchline, stepping outside a defender and then back inside a final tackler to crash over the line out on the left. Dom Walker added the difficult conversion and the Bees looked like they had 20 minutes to hang on, playing into the wind and rain.

Their cause was not helped as Lindeman capped a superb afternoon by receiving a yellow card as he contested for the ball under the Bees posts. The Bees defence remained in fine form and Wensleydale were not able to break down the door as time played out.