Aireborough 17 Old Otliensians 31

OTLIENSIANS set up victory in this re-arranged match by scoring five tries in the first half at Nunroyd Park.

However, for the second week running, their performance fell off dramatically after the break when they failed to add to their score.

Aireborough gained in confidence and put their rivals on the back foot as they ran in two tries of their own.

Although this bonus-point win was never really in doubt, the visitors will be anxious to address the reasons for the worrying failure to maintain momentum.

With the pitch in surprisingly good condition, Otliensians made a lively start, with half -backs Rob Lofthouse and Ollie Eaves wasting no time in getting the backs moving.

Full back Zak Stead joined the line in the fifth minute and sliced through the middle before feeding lock Ali Campbell, who went over near the posts. Centre Will Foster added the conversion for a 7-0 lead.

The visitors’ line-out was working well with lock Jack Smith and flanker Sam Featherstone providing a good supply of ball. When the ball was spun wide, young winger Will Howarth used his pace in an elusive run up the left wing to score.

Fellow winger Declan Jackson capitalised on good play by the forwards and backs to score a try which Foster converted.

After a failed clearance kick, Otliensians riskily tried to move the ball on their own line and a dropped pass allowed the home side to score.

Stead moved into the centre to replace the injured Dom Oddy for Otliensians while Kristian Keinhorst filled the full back berth.

The visitors were soon causing more problems as Jack Smith, Rob Arbuckle and Tom O’Donnell put in strong runs. Centres Foster and Stead took play into the home 22, where good support play from the forwards allowed hooker Jim Dyson to scamper over halfway out for a try. Foster’s conversion lifted the score to 26-5 after 31 minutes.

Winger Howarth was a constant threat and he added a further try when he collected a looped overhead pass from prop Ross Nichols to score at the corner.

After the break, Jackson was again on the attack, but was bundled into touch as he threatened up the right wing.

Otliensians then started to give away penalties through such things as failing to release after the tackle and offside.

This enabled the home side to drive play into the opposition 22 through the trusty boot of their fly half.

With ample possession and territory, Aireborough were able to go through the phases and they eventually breached the defence after 58 and 73 minutes. With one conversion, the score stood at 31-17.

Although the visitors put a lot of effort into defence, it was disorganised with hurried clearance kicks and jittery passes. Experienced lock Richard Smith came on for the last ten minutes and brought some order to his side’s play.

Despite being comfortably in control in the first half, Otliensians never really clicked after the break.

With several stiff away games facing them, Otliensians will have to work on keeping their enterprising play going for the full 80 minutes.