Greens and Otley go close in grandstand finishes

Wharfedale 17

Cinderford 19

wharfedale's victory hopes ended with the last kick of the match.

In a dramatic finale to a keenly fought if somewhat erratic game, centre Tom Davidson's conversion attempt, after a last-ditch try by substitute winger Andrew Lovatt, sailed inches wide of the post.

It was Davidson's sole failure from five shots at goal, his four penalties having kept the Greens in touch in a game that saw the visitors commanding the greater share of possession.

So the Greens lost their unbeaten home record.

Had Davidson's shot succeeded, it would have been rough on Cinderford, who might well have crossed the home line twice before hooker Chris Hall's 36th-minute touch-down after an extended pack surge eventually cracked the Dalesmen's resilient defence.

Having been on the back foot in the opening exchanges, it was Wharfedale that opened the scoring with Davidson's first penalty. Cinderford fly-half Mark Woodrow – a key player – equalised after he had been fouled, only for Davidson to restore the Greens' lead on the half-hour.

Woodrow's fine conversion to Hall's try saw the Gloucestershire side to a 10-6 interval lead.

Davidson raised home spirits with a splendid 46-metre clearance a minute after the restart. This was negated by Woodrow and the two kickers swapped penalties once more before Woodrow missed narrowly with two further penalty attempts.

A yellow card for Cinderford scrum-half Sam Brown sparked a late surge by the Greens but Woodrow's fourth penalty meant the Greens needed a converted try for a share of the spoils. They pressed furiously, got the try – but the extra points eluded them.

In the final quarter, Cinderford had irritated home fans with suspiciously frequent stoppages for attention to 'injured' players.

The wounded men apparently recovered well after their 'rests'. Eventually, the referee lost patience and ignored what, for once, looked a genuine injury, but Cindereford's tactics had worked well, having effectively disrupted their opponents' rhythm.

Rosslyn Park 17

Otley 15

Otley again produced a grandstand finish but had allowed Rosslyn Park to get too far ahead, extending their half-time 14-5 lead by a further three points before starting their fightback.

Both sides were committed to open rugby but a defensive error allowed No 6 Joe Burton to force his way through the middle on 10 minutes, fly-half Richard Davies converting for the home side to grab the lead.

Responding quickly, Otley made space for winger Curtis Wilson, who outpaced the defence with ease but centre Jervis Manupenu, already having missed a brace of penalties, failed with the conversion.

Put under pressure, Otley lost back row Richard Beck to the sin-bin and Park made them pay, Burton ending a drive by going in between the posts for his second try, giving Davies a simple conversion.

An early second-half penalty from Davies served to reignite Otley and at last James Twomey was given an opportunity and the winger duly obliged with Manupenu adding the conversion.

It was the turn of the home side to feel the strain. Prop Sam McDonald, caught handling in the ruck , was yellow-carded, Manupenu kicking the penalty and Otley were in the ascendancy but failed to take further advantage.

Although running the home side ragged in the final minutes, they were unable to pierce a resolute defence and had to be content with a single bonus point.