Kirkby Lonsdale 0pts v Bradford & Bingley 5pts

A weakened Bees side edged a competitive game at Kirkby Lonsdale.

It should be mentioned at the outset that the team were extremely grateful for the sportsmanship shown by Kirkby Lonsdale in lending us three talented players to ensure that the two teams had equal numbers, and that a closely contested game ensued.

The Bees lost the toss and began the game playing down the slope. The majority of the period was spent in the host's half, as the Bees attacked from the start. The forwards showed the benefit of recent training sessions as they won the battle at the breakdown. The two Joes, Jagger and Boardman, were prominent in turning over Kirkby Lonsdale ball and winning back possession. Alexander Leadbeater made several strong breaks, but could not quite find support to finish the moves.

The best of the backs throughout the game was Conor Summers who made several breaks, including the one just before half-time when he was tackled just short of the try line. His hard work was not in vain as the loan centre, Louis, picked up the ball and went the half metre to the try line to score the only points of the match.

The second half showing from the boys was amongst their best of the season so far, as they refused to allow the hosts to score any points. All eleven of the boys showed great determination, and there were very few missed tackles. Special mention for their defence must go to Conor Summers, Rishi Anand and Mark Atkinson, whilst Jake Wheeler showed a cool head at stand-off. Luke Duffy helped out the side by filling in the wing, and was not found wanting. The forwards also kept working very hard, with props Myles Evans and Ethan Pentith making it very difficult for Kirkby Londsdale to win the ball at their scrum feed. Dominic Lewis got through a lot of work, especially at the breakdown driving the opponents off the ball, allowing his team mates to win turnovers. Whilst Kirkby Lonsdale did get into the Bees' twenty-two, they rarely threatened the try line.

The Bees didn't spend the entire half on defence. Several good breaks were made by the team, but the final pass just couldn't go to hand. Nobody epitomised the team effort more than Joe Jagger, who kept picking himself up from injuries to make decisive runs and tackles.