Second shutout for impressive YMCA

HUDDERSFIELD YMCA Under-15s battled the snow, rain and hail to keep Cleckheaton scoreless in a 59-0 victory.

It’s the second time in two weeks they have stopped their opponents scoring.

It was once again the disciplined structure of the YMCA forwards that laid the foundation for the backs to play some surprisingly good rugby considering the conditions.

The YM struck early as the Cleckheaton defence bought an outrageous Luke Earnshaw dummy and he sprinted through to score under the posts.

The pack then really started to take control as Tom Dalton, Archie Walsh and Jacob Crosby hunted in packs and were able to secure good ball for scrumhalf Elliott Holroyd to play with.

However, the Cleckheaton defence was more than up to the task and the big hits closed down many opportunities.

Elmo Morgan had a tried disallowed on 10 minutes, but he made up for it just a couple of minutes later as he scored his side’s second try.

The YM backs were now really starting to get into the game and were looking to use the ball with every available opportunity.

Centre Ethan Harrop had another try disallowed following a forward pass and his partner James Haywood came close following a strong run.

The next couple of minutes, though, belonged to skipper Archie Roberts as he scored two tries in quick succession – both following some silky handling skills from his team mates.

Layton Morris made a trade mark run to score under the posts after the break.

Not to be left out, his front-row colleague Morgan got his second try of the day, bravely suffering an injury in the process that saw him leave the field. Man of the match Morris got his second and the YM went 47-0 in front with more than a quarter of the game to play.

However, for the next 15 minutes, the seemed to implode. Giving away penalty after penalty, ill-discipline crept into the side as the referee started to lose patience. Cleckheaton took advantage and camped themselves in the YM 22.

Despite the penalties, though, the defence was resolute and the visitors were unable to find a way to the line.

With just two minutes left on the clock, the YM were able to get their hands on the ball and cleared their lines. A very good chase presented the ball to Harrop who sprinted 30 metres for his first try of the season.

With the final play, YM worked the ball out wide for winger Giles Garside to score in the corner. Luke Earnshaw converted seven of the nine tries.