Woldsmen register vital bonus point win

The second home game of 2017 brought Dinnington to Kelleythorpe. Driffield fielded an unchanged side with Robinson partnering Dench in the centre, Stephenson on the wing and Dodds joined with Cooper in the second row.

It was the visitors who started brightly, exerting pressure on the home side’s line. Driffield turned the ball over and moved it wide to Robinson who made 50 yards up the clubhouse wing. Unfortunately the last pass went forwards and the chance was lost, but that would provide a template for the Woldsmen in how to win the game.

The next attack did bring points for Driffield. Dench moved the ball wide and good hands put Blacker into space. He found Dinsdale who turned his man inside out and popped to George Mewburn to register his first try of the game.

Dinnington hit back with a penalty to the corner. A catch and drive brought repeat pressure, which the home side defended well and won the penalty. However, Dinnington repeated the catch and drive and went over for a converted try. It was Driffield’s turn to score next, with their own catch and drive setting the foundation. The forwards looked well-set and seemed to be heading towards the line, but the maul broke up. The ball was fed to Brigham who spotted a half-gap and darted through. His conversion hit the post leaving the score at 10-7.

Driffield kept pushing, with a strong break from Dench making yards before the ball went to ground. Dinnington’s defence held well, but good vision from scrum-half Gray found Blacker on the short side and he finished well. Blacker added his second soon after, and wrapped up a bonus point for the Woldsmen. A chip through from Dench was well-collected by Dinnington’s full back. He was clattered by Dench and lost the ball forward. A move from the resulting scrum found Blacker on the blind-side and he sold a dummy and touched down. This was converted to leave the half-time score 22-7.

Driffield made a fast start to the second half. A good kick was chased hard by Dinsdale, and Dinnington were pushed back towards their own line. Fly-half West cleared their lines well, but from the resulting line out, Brigham found George Mewburn who burst through the defence and rounded the full-back to leave the score 29-7. Dinnington kept attacking the home side, with the number eight in particular carrying aggressively, and West moving his team around the pitch intelligently. Credit to the home side’s defence though, as they consistently brought their bigger opponents to the deck. This defence forced Dinnington to try a chip through, which Gray tidied up. He shimmied past one man, but was held short. Driffield won a penalty which lead to a yellow card for Dinnington and three points for the home side.

Dinnington lost another man to the bin soon after, and Dinsdale wasted no time in adding to the score, beating his man on the outside and touching down in the corner. The conversion hit the post again to leave the score at 37-7.

The last fifteen minutes saw Dinnington up the pace and stretch the Driffield side. They got their big runners moving onto the ball out wide and made inroads into the Driffield defence. It was credit to the defence that they only added one try, with a break from the back of a scrum leading to a converted try leaving the final score 37-14.

This game once again showed the quality in this league, with the result leaving Dinnington in the third relegation spot and Driffield in eighth. 6 points now separate sixth and twelfth position. The backs scored the majority of the tries in this game, but the platform was set up-front. Cooper and Dodds were outstanding in the second row, tackling aggressively and carrying hard. The back row of Mewburn, Mewburn and Burns was as influential as usual, and Brumfield turned the ball over numerous times on the floor. In the front row, captain Dervey and Nellen put in a shift against bigger opponents and Pettinger made an impact off the bench.

A week off follows before a vital trip to Guisborough, where Driffield will be hoping to build on their good start to 2017.