Ilkley's young guns bag semi-final spot (From Ilkley Gazette)

Ilkley's young guns bag semi-final spot

8:02pm Wednesday 3rd February 2010

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Doncaster U-13s 0 Ilkley U-13s 29

It was a cold, drizzly, Sunday morning as the Ilkley U-13s convoy set off early for their Yorkshire Cup quarter-final clash with Doncaster.

Crossing the border into South Yorkshire, there was an air of expectancy as the lads were determined to do what neighbours Wharfedale had narrowly failed to do in the previous round. As the convoy rolled through the gates of Castle Park, they were met by the very impressive and imposing sight of Doncaster’s multi-million pound state-of-the-art facilities. There was no way the Ilkley lads would be intimidated or lose their focus following their pre-match briefing from senior coach Nigel Postlethwaite, forwards coach Garry Ogden and backs strategist, ex-Scottish international Tony Layton. The weather in sunny Donny was now perfect for rugby, with the vast playing area bathed in sunlight with the muddy surface moistened by the overnight rain. The match kicked-off with a titanic battle in the middle of the park, with both packs powerfully driving at each other rucking and mauling to gain some sort of advantage and ultimately show supremacy in this area. This war of attrition was set to continue throughout the early periods, with Jonah D’Arcy leading his troops with aplomb. Joe Hargreaves, Harry Dennis, Richard Burn, James Hall, and Harry Donnison-Layton were unwilling to relinquish an inch of ground and contested everything around the ruck area. After several turnover balls, the Ilkley pack started to dominate with the ball finally popping out to Baxter who sent speedy winger Chris Unsworth away to break through the backline for the first time. Although he was caught, just short of the line, Sam Ogden and Rowan Beckett followed up with a ferocious drive, allowing Postlethwaite to cleverly pounce and score. Greg Cox had a difficult conversion attempt that sailed just wide of the upright.

Harry Brow and Dougie Burn were relieved of their normal attacking duties and given the specific role of man-marking the Doncaster wingers, who had been identified as main dangers due to their size, speed and power and previous try-scoring exploits and they stuck to this task doggedly, cancelling out any potential break-outs. Sam Brearley marshalled the scrum well with Cox’s kicking game starting to turn the game in Ilkley’s favour. It was only a matter of time before the unstoppable force of Richard Burn burst through the backline to score, leaving two defenders reeling in his wake. Cox secured the extra points with a swinging kick from the leftside touchline that curled over sweetly.

Cox went on to convert his own try, and a great run from Burn allowed Brearley to skip through, and jink to the line for an impressive score. A further conversion put the match out of reach for a shell-shocked Doncaster side, although a final last effort and bombardment from Doncaster to avoid being ‘nilled’ meant that coach Postlethwaite lined up Ahmed, Asquith, Kapadia, Mayuki, Rice-Birchall and Burnett as wholesale changes to shore up the defence and relieve tired legs, only for the referee to blow surprisingly early according to the dismayed Doncaster coaches. Although, the 29 point difference rendered the ensuing, but amicable debate rather irrelevant.

This was soon forgotten, as is the case in rugby union, both sets of hoarse parents, coaches and players alike all ventured to the palatial surroundings of the Castle Park Restaurant and lounge bar to enjoy some state-of-the-art hospitality! Ilkley now wait to see who they will face in the semi-finals of the Yorkshire Cup, just one game away from that illustrious, much sought-after cup final place.

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