National League Two North Otley 19 South Leicester 34

IT WAS a better day off the pitch than on it for Otley yesterday.

Two cheques, each for £1,250 thanks to profits from the Boxing Day match at Cross Green, were presented before the match to the Nathan Cubitt Trust and Prince Henry's Grammar School.

Also Otley's shiny new red tractor, courtesy of Ilkley & District Round Table, was on display outside the perimeter barrier.

In the match action, although Otley led 12-7 after 16 minutes, they were generally second best, however, against the eighth-placed visitors, who had a dominant scrum early doors, broke more first tackles and made more breaks.

Otley's director of rugby Peter Clegg, however, wondered afterwards how much of that superiority was down to the interpretations of south Yorkshire referee Ben Rayner.

A frustrated Clegg thinks a fair degree, and said afterwards: "He never policed the offside line – their centre was standing offside all game – while in the scrum their loose-head prop and hooker were just attacking and forcing Tipiloma Kivalu to stand up.

"It was a good game played by two good sides and we just wanted something given back, but we got nothing from the referee."

However, Clegg did concede: "Our first-up tackling was not good enough, although it was better in the second half, and our passing moves were not accurate enough."

On a spring-like day, albeit with a chilly wind blowing towards the river end, it seemed that the conditions might suit Otley.

Although they were penalised at the first scrum, the hosts were ahead in the third minute.

A tackle by fly half James White freed up the ball, and centre Jack Mackie's grubber kick arced nicely back infield for onrushing right winger Henry Roberts to gather it and score near the corner flag.

But the lead only lasted eight minutes as Kivalu's ambitious offload in midfield was fumbled by Mackie, South Leicester fly half Ricky Aley gathering the ball and breaking to create the platform for left winger Matthew Cooke to score.

However, pacy Otley full back Tom Hodson – Otley's best attacking threat as usual – then spotted a gap down the left flank and drew the cover before putting winger Alexander Beaumont over, Hodson then nailing the touchline conversion.

In what seemed to be developing into a 'we score, you score' scenario, the visitors were over again in the 18th minute, despite White making a covering tackle, centre Aaron Martin crossing for Aley to convert.

South Leicester then broke the sequence, scoring an easily-created try in the 21st minute, lock William Ward galloping over for Aley to convert.

Otley centre Mike Coady knocked on in a promising position, but the visitors generally held sway in the second quarter, only a last-ditch Hodson tackle denying Cooke a second try before South Leicester failed to capitalise on a five-metre scrum just before the interval.

The hosts almost made an immediate impact in the second half, attacking down the right via Hodson, Roberts and Coady before replacement prop Jason Moss knocked on underneath the posts when he should have passed left where Otley had an overlap.

Maybe Moss knew that Otley had already been awarded a penalty, but they messed up the subsequent line-out anyway.

The visitors, for whom Aley added a penalty in the 46th minute, were a shade quicker in thought and deed and much more likely to disrupt home ball.

But fine combination down the right between centres Coady and Mackie put the former over in the 57th minute, Hodson converting just inside the near upright to set up a potential grandstand finish as they were now only trailing 24-19.

However, South Leicester responded with a try by Calum Gunn on the hour, which Aley converted, and they survived the sin-binning of Ward seven minutes later for pulling down a maul.

Two minutes after a touchline melee involving most of the players, Aley added a 75th-minute penalty, but the most worrying sight in the closing minutes was Otley flanker Tom O'Donnell being treated by both physios for what looked like a neck injury.

But not only did O'Donnell not need a brace or a stretcher, he eventually got up and trotted back into the fray – one of the few pieces of good player news all afternoon for the home fans.