Poor kicking costs Wharfedale dearly

The Greens controlled territory and possession, supplied constant running attack, squeezed the life out of Park’s game and dominated everything but the scoreboard. But for abject goal-kicking they would surely have recorded their first away victory of the campaign.

Park survived by courtesy of some lethal opportunistic finishing pace wide out, the clinical boot of Ross Laidlaw and the steadying rock-like defensive presence of centre Chris Lewis.

Two well-taken snap opportunities by full-back Miles Mantella and winger Nev Edwards in the opening quarter established a 14-0 Park lead that allowed them to survive a torrid quarter of an hour spent in desperate defence as the dominant Wharfedale scrum exploited the yellow card to home flanker Rowland by hammered away repeatedly at the line.

Park were forced into repeated infringements and the Greens perhaps deserved more than merely scrum-half Phil Woodhead’s sole try. Luke Gray’s four misses with the boot were beginning to look costly.

Edwards’s second powerful overlap finish in the corner immediately after the break with Laidlaw’s conversion negated all the good Wharfedale effort to open up a significant 21-5 lead.

But this rare Rosslyn Park attack was the prelude to total Wharfedale domination for the remainder of the game with the play camped immovably within the home 22.

With Park still vulnerable at the scrum even with front-row reinforcement and pressured on the back-foot at the breakdown, Wharfedale, despite passing up kicks in easy range, engineered a flowing move which ended with Aaron Myers scoring in the corner. Simon Horsfall’s touchline conversion sailed just wide.

Dan Solomi characteristic blistering short finish from the back of a precisely-executed maul and at last a successful kick from third-choice marksman James Druce left Wharfedale needing one more score for victory.

Park survived the final four minutes of nervy pressure until Laidlaw’s fine clearance kick saw then out of harm’s way, leaving Wharfedale to rue a victory that somehow escaped them.