Wharfedale head to Otley braced to put unbeaten record on the line in 'hostile' environment

There can be as many as four Yorkshire derbies every Saturday in the White Rose-heavy regionalised fourth tier but few have as much meaning, or the potential for as much needle, as Otley versus Wharfedale, two clubs whose grounds are within earshot of the River Wharfe.

Jake Armstrong, Wharfedale’s player/forwards coach, knows it better than most.

“My junior club was Otley and I’ve played on that pitch and worn the Otley shirt, so I know there’s people at that club that really care about this game,” said Armstrong, who left to try and find his fortune playing professionally for Leeds Tykes, Jersey, Bristol and Edinburgh before rejoining Wharfedale last year.

“If it’s not going their way I can imagine they’ll be pretty annoyed with us but we’re hoping for a decent crowd.

“Historically it’s an intense game, Otley versus Wharfedale and we’re expecting that at the weekend.

“Our crowd always get pretty revved up for the Otley game. There’ll be plenty of people there from the Dales. And it’s always a hostile environment.”

Wharfedale go into the derby as the form team, three wins to start this season after two wins to end the last campaign in which they finished a highly credible fourth behind the runaway top two of Rotherham Titans and Leeds Tykes.

But Armstrong expects a very tough test for the visiting Greens.

“Otley this season to last season is a bit of a different beast,” he told The Yorkshire Post. “They’ve recruited well, their coaching staff is settled and strong and they’re clearly reaping the benefits from that.

“Although they’re only one win from three, they’ve played Tykes and ran them close, and it was tight at Billingham which is always a tough place to go.

"We know what to expect, they are much improved from last season and they’ll be strong up front, as most teams are in National Two North.”

Armstrong is trying to beef up Wharfedale up front, but it is in their try-scoring that they have made significant strides so far this season.

After a summer in which they retained a lot of their players – as they tend to do given their geographical restraints and the loyalty of a strong core of players who have served them since juniors – Wharfedale have started the season in determined mood.

Last year, even when finishing fourth, their inability to routinely claim four-try bonus points in their 17 victories from 26 games, prevented them getting close to Sheffield in third place and kept the teams below them snapping at their heels.

This year, they have picked up five-point wins from every outing and sit third. “We won at Tynedale playing expansive, flowing rugby,” explained Armstrong, “and then against Harrogate it was gritty, a lot of kicking, a lot of set-piece. Twelve scrums in the first 10 minutes was not what I wanted.

“We’re winning in different ways but ultimately getting over the line and that comes down to determination. Promisingly we’ve got five points from every game, whereas last season we really struggled to score tries. We’ve made a few adjustments to the attack to try and exploit space and take more opportunities, and that’s come to fruition.

“It’s been a good start, a bit of momentum carrying forward from the confidence we built through last season, which is always a positive.”