Wheatley Hill 36 Ilkley 34

There were a number of firsts for Ilkley on a sunny day in Doncaster against old foes Wheatley Hills with debuts for Ben McGee, James Henry, John Pickersgill and James Colclough, all looking resplendent in their new kit.

It has been a long time since the Dalesmen played Wheatley Hills at the same level and this Yorkshire Cup preliminary round tie proved to be good experience for this young Ilkley side, disappointing as the 36-34 defeat was.

The high scores might suggest that tackling was not high on the agenda of either side, but this was a tough game, typical of what Ilkley can expect from their North One East rivals in the season to come.

Ilkley started brightly and not only looked the sharper in attack for the first quarter of an hour, but also looked to be very solid in defence, soaking up all the drives that the home side could muster.

Hills were on the wrong side of the referee during this period, conceding half a dozen penalties. The first one in range struck an upright, but despite onrushing winger Paul Petchey just failing to catch the rebound, Ilkley were soon ahead.

The Hills’ clearance led to an Ilkley line-out, then a ruck, from which the ball was spun out for McGee to score in the left corner, with Josh Kimber adding the goal Having withstood sustained pressure from the Hills’ forwards, including losing the first of three strikes against the head, Ilkley went 10-0 ahead, courtesy of a Kimber penalty.

Hills hit back with their stand-off Johnny Woodcock making some great breaks. Ilkley were buckling as a Hills penalty gave them a line-out five metres out, but a fantastic steal by James Spencer saved the day.

The home side were not to be denied and one of their powerful forwards burrowed over the line for a try which Woodcock converted.

Ilkley got an insight of what lies ahead in North East One as the home forwards battered their way into Ilkley territory before releasing their right winger for a try which Woodcock converted.

A piece of good fortune then came Ilkley’s way as from a maul, Woodcock tried to offload to a colleague but instead slipped the ball to Nick Carolan 35 metres out. The flanker took his opportunity and Kimber added the conversion for a 17-14 half-time lead.

With Craig Barker on for Steve Nolson in the centre, an Ilkley attack was halted illegally. Wheatley Hills were reduced to 14 men and Ilkley seized their chance.

Scrum-half Tom Collard saw a gap after a ruck and skipped through it. Kimber’s kick gave Ilkley a 24-14 lead.

Five of these points were recouped when the Hills pack piled over again, but then Ilkley’s Barker was carded for a swinging arm 10metres out and Hills opted for a scrum. This proved to be a wise decision as the pushover was rewarded and Woodcock’s kick made it 26-24 Ilkley were still very much in the game though, but briefly went down to 13 men when skipper Stuart Vincent was injured and limped off.

While he was being treated, Ilkley conceded a penalty under their posts and slipped 29-24 down.

James Henry replaced Vincent and was involved in the move that ended with Barker being high-tackled and Kimber reducing the arrears by three points.

It looked like game on but disaster struck from the restart. The Ilkley catcher was stripped of the ball and that man Woodcock was on hand to take a slipped pass to race though unopposed under the posts.

It left Ilkley with the seemingly impossible task of scoring three times, being 36-27 down with around eight minutes remaining.

Well they nearly made it, when the backs broke out of defence, Collard fed Henry, who drew his man beautifully before offloading to Petchey at speed.

The winger cut inside his man and then ran 35metres to score under the posts for the best try of the game, converted by Kimber to give a final score of 36-34 Defeat was disappointing but this Ilkley side looks capable of holding its own even before the missing players return.