The Bees squad of 20 boys, many of whom had been playing together from the age of 6, were certainly pre-match favourites to beat a relatively inexperienced Baildon team.
And so it went... the Bees pressed from the start and were soon in front with a try from captain and linchpin of the team, Joe Bashforth. Further tries from Ryan Wilson (2), Joel de Villiers, Lewis Brook, Will Rix and Harry Ellison meant the game was pretty much over by half-time. Second half tries from Andy Niczyperowic (2)and Nick Gore, who also kicked a total of 7 conversions, took the score to 0-64.
To their credit, however, Baildon refused to give up and were rewarded when their full back, who had already made a number of try saving tackles, foiled a late Bees attack and emerged with the ball, to run almost the length of the pitch and score under the posts, taking the final score to 7-64.
This was a competent, if not clinical, performance by the Bees. Some good work by the forwards including a couple of powerful runs from man of the match Sam Oddy, combined with decent distribution and slick handling through the backs kept the Bees on the front foot throughout the contest. However, some indecision at times and a combination of individual breaks and slow support play left Bees players isolated on one or two occasions, which presented Baildon with more turnover opportunities than they might have expected.
Plenty of work still to do, but a good result nonetheless. Particularly pleasing was the contribution made by all four of this season’s new recruits Tom Cox, Sam Germaine, Jack Meggit and Sam Oddy.
by Dave Butterworth