Billingham v Rossendale

Having lost two on the bounce Billingham were very much up for Dales visit and were first out of the blocks with some tenacious defence and some hard direct running. However with the wind to Dales advantage and early pressure in our opponents 22 we managed to get on the score board first when the pack won a ball against the head at scrum time, Paddy Pole powered off the base and ran over the top of his tackler before off loading to James Bramhall to score under the posts. Bramhall converted 0 – 7.

From the kick off Dale put more pressure on Billingham by playing the game in the right areas and again with some good forward play Billingham were reduced to giving away cheap penaltys and Dale increased their lead 0 – 10 with a James Bramhall Penalty.

Dale then took their eye off the ball and Billingham forced their way into the game. With the Billingham back line looking dangerous and attacking with pace and running elusively they eventually scored in the corner. Dales defence was looking pretty shaky at this point and when Billingham attacked again Dale were forced to give away another 3 points. Tim Fourie sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock on and with a 3 man over lap, probably a good call. Half Time 8 – 10.
Second half Dale needed to keep hold of the ball and work through the phases with patience and composure which is exactly what we did for the first 10 minutes with a reward of another 3 points through a James Bramhall penalty. 8 – 13.

Billingham were now starting to lose their heads and were annoying the referee with back chat and cry’s for forward passes. Dales discipline was again fantastic for the second week in a row much to the credit of every single player. With the introduction of Matt Mackenzie Dale were playing good keep ball rugby and again with the backs setting targets for the forwards and hard direct running Matt Mackenzie crossed for a very hard earned try. Bramhall missed touch line conversion. 8 – 18.
To the credit to Billingham they kept the pressure on Dale and only hard work and last ditch tackling from the back three of Roger Dennison, Ali Harper and Jonny Appleton kept them out. Paddy Pole was causing havoc with his picking and going and he was well backed up from the rest of the pack.

Dale started to give away penalties for technical reasons and with Billingham and in particular their back three running good lines and at pace they crept in the corner for a well deserved try. 13 – 18 and very much game on. Dale needed to score next and keep the pressure on.
Then probably the turning point of the match with the game in the balance Billinghams number 5 was red carded for a blatant and stupid head butt right in front of the ref. Dale now galvanised the pack driving a lot more with a man advantage and the referees 50/50 calls going Dales way due to Billinghams ill discipline.

With all the pressure now on Billingham Dale were making all the right calls and a neat and well taken try from Jamie Albinson from a back row move to make the game safe. 13 – 23.

Dale were not at their best but a massive positive coming away with a well deserved win against a team that were well fired up and hunting for their first win of the season. Discipline again was outstanding along with our defence. The backs are not quite playing to their full potential but with Paul Wilcock coming back from injury very soon bringing in much needed pace.

Team; Jonny Appleton, Roger Dennison, Dave Wood, Thomas Albinson, Ali Harper, James Bramhall, Jamie Albinson, Paddy Pole, Cameron Thompson, Andy Dauncy, Pole, Tim Fourie, Grant Eddlestone, Leyton Taylor, Paul Keys, Ian Marshall, Subs, Danny Greenhaulgh, Matt Mackenzie, Nathan Settle.