Twickenham triumph as Baildon fly the flag for Yorkshire rugby

Three teams from across the White Rose headed south to the home of rugby on Saturday for the RFU Cup finals.

Followed by nearly 1,000 fans apiece, Baildon, Wath upon Dearne and Ilkley helped produce a carnival atmosphere for amateur rugby.

Baildon, though, were the only winners from Yorkshire, triumphing 6-3 against Harrow in the Junior Vase final.

Wath upon Dearne were then beaten 31-22 by Wells in the Senior Vase final before Ilkley fell 34-18 to East Grinstead in the Intermediate Cup later in the afternoon.

For Yorkshire Three side Baildon, who will celebrate their centenary next year, it proved a memorable day out at headquarters.

Cheered on by their raucous fans, they took an early lead and then defended valiantly in a nervy, tense final.

Head coach Andy Whitley, whose team are also two wins away from winning the Yorkshire Silver Trophy this season, said: “It’s a fantastic achievement for everyone involved at the club and the biggest day of my career.

“Even though I wasn’t playing it was my proudest moment.

“There can’t be many days in the club’s history, many achievements, bigger than this.

“The interest it has generated has been superb – we had old members from Australia, Spain and the very north of Scotland who went to Twickenham.

“To do it so close to our centenary year as well, we just couldn’t have picked a better time.

“We’ll designate a corner of the clubhouse at Baildon for memorabilia; shirts, programmes, etc, to remember the day forever.

“We’re not sure of the qualifying criteria to get back into the Junior Vase next season, but we’d love the chance to get back to Twickenham to try and defend our trophy.”

Nicholas Lister scored the two penalties that would prove so decisive in a tight encounter.

Baildon captain James Dawson said: “Our defence won us the game today – they were superb, like a brick wall.

“Harrow threatened us but we stood strong and knocked them back.

“We had a few injuries to important players but we coped with that and deserved the win today.

“This win is so big for the club, it’s the chance of a lifetime – I’m just so proud to be captain and to lift that trophy, it’s a phenomenal feeling.”

Baildon dominated possession in the opening exchanges and grabbed their six points within 15 minutes through Lister, but Harrow’s Gary Conroy halved the deficit with a penalty on 26 minutes before hooking another shot wide, with Lister twice off-target before the interval.

Baildon lost flanker Danny Pollard to the sin-bin for an act of foul play seven minutes after the restart as the match became increasingly scrappy.

Harrow, champions of Herts/Middlesex Division Two, dominated with Pollard off the field and created the clearest scoring opportunities of the game.

But the Londoners could not convert pressure into points and Baildon, who ply their trade a level above their opponents in Yorkshire’s amateur pyramid this season, cleared their lines.

Harrow full-back Derek Byrne displayed some sublime running skills in an otherwise forward-orientated affair as his side sought a route back into the match.

And they were handed a golden opportunity to equalise six minutes from time when Baildon were penalised for a deliberate knock- on inside their own 22. Conroy’s strike, however, cannoned agonisingly off the post and it proved to be Harrow’s last meaningful chance as the Yorkshiremen, using the ball intelligently, hung on for the victory.

Celebrations went on long into the night as the West Yorkshire club saluted a famous day in their history.

[email protected]