WHARFEDALE 9pts
Penalties: Bedworth 3
Wharfdale: N. Baggett; J. Hutchinson, C. Malherbe, M. Bedworth, S. Horsfall; A. Baggett (capt), J. Doherty; T. Horner (rep N. Dickinson 74m), G. Hindle, N. Dickinson (rep E. Fynn 44m), D. Lister, A. Capstick, A. Allen, H. Verity, R. Baldwin. Reps not used: C. Steel, O. Renton, M. Langstaff
REDRUTH 9pts
Penalties: Hook 3
Redruth: C. Bonds (capt); J. Caruana, P. Thirlby, P J Gidlow, S. Peters; M. Hook, M. Richards; D. Jacques, O. Hambly (Rep B. Priddey 77 m), P. Joyce (rep S. Lutey 75 m), D. Cook, L. Collins, N. Pascoe, C. Fuca, M. Bright. Reps not used: S. Brown B. Fox.
Referee: Mr A. Taylorson (RFU)
THIS was more a case of two points lost rather than two points gained as a late penalty from the half way line by Wharfedale centre Mark Bedworth denied Redruth the win in a cracking game of rugby.
Making their longest away trek of the season, Redruth dominated the first half and could have been out of sight by half time while the home side came into the game more in the second half and for a period the Reds had to defend for all they were worth.
"Frustrated rather than disappointed the way things turned out today," was how Redruth head coach Nigel Hambly summed up the Reds draw in the Yorkshire Dales. "We had a lot of chances to put them away, but we didn't. Give some credit to Wharfedale, they are a decent side at home, not many people come here and get anything."
The heartbreaker for the Reds was the fact they were over the line on four occasions but referee Andrew Taylorson was not happy with the grounding "The boys are pretty confident they scored a couple of times, but they were not given so that is that," said Hambly.
"The boys were pretty disappointed in the dressing room, mainly because we did not play to our full potential. We are going in the right direction, we are the first Redruth team to come here and take some points home."
On a mild spring like day against the stunning backdrop of the Yorkshire Dales, Redruth dominated possession and position in the opening 15 minutes. They setup camp in the Wharfedale 22, with both PJ Gidlow and Luke Collins held up over the line, but they ended a period of dominance without any points on the board.
A penalty in from of the posts after 26 minutes by Bedworth opened the scoring for the home side after Redruth had handled in a ruck.
Mike Hook kicked close range penalties in the 37th and 40th minutes to send Redruth in with a three point advantage. Hook kicked a third penalty from close to the posts in the second minute after the resumption to increase the lead.
Wharfedale started to get into the game and Redruth had a long period when they were under pressure and forced to defend. The defence around the fringes and in midfield was outstanding as the Reds contained the England counties' centres Bedworth and Chris Malherbe.
Bedworth kicked a 35 metre penalty in the 52nd minute after the Reds defence was caught offside, but crucially he was just wide with a kick from 30 metres three minutes later after Bright was penalised for a push in a line out.
In a thrilling final quarter a large crowd were on the edge of their seats. The Reds had a spell camped on the Wharfedale line, Bright taking a pass from Gidlow at full tilt appeared to crash through a tackle and touch down on the line near the posts but the referee was not convinced and gave a scrum five to the Reds.
Jamie Caruana made an important crunching tackle on his opposite number Simon Horsfall.
Mark Richards covering was outstanding in particular anticipating one clever chip from his opposite number James Doherty. With time running out Horsfall charged down Hook's clearance kick but the ball just beat him to the dead ball line.
There was an enormous cheer from the home fans when Bedworth put over a big kick from near half way after the reds had been penalised at a ruck to level the scores.
Wharfedale panicked as Redruth built momentum with a driving maul from the half way line and conceded a penalty. Hook prepared his kick in respectful silence but it was just short of the posts from 42 metres wide out.
"With four of our remaining six games at home we can definitely effect where we finish in the league, fourth, possibly third," said Hambly. "Hopefully we can keep building for next season and give a few youngsters a chance. It was a pity Ben Fox did not get on to make his debut but hopefully he enjoyed the experience of being with the squad for the weekend."
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