Keighley 68 Whitehaven 9

Missing the first match of the rugby season because of a waterlogged pitch was too difficult to contemplate for Keighley rugby club members.

This meant that the committee worked hard with garden tools to ensure that there was at least one playable surface available.

After a hard wet summer of intensive fitness and skills training, together with two successful training matches against quality opposition, Keighley were looking forward to the first round of the EDF Energy Senior Vase competition against unknown opponents Whitehaven on Saturday.

The game began with both teams intent on throwing the ball around, making full use of the extra space provided by the new Experimental Law Variations (ELVs).

Keighley were first on the scoreboard with a successful penalty kick from Alex Brown, after an excellent surging run by new boy Matt Langstaff.

Slowly but surely the Keighley forwards turned the screw. The early scrums were dominated by the big experienced Keighley pack, causing havoc in the Whitehaven ranks.

Ten minutes into the half superb interplay between forwards and backs brought a try for livewire scrum half Adam Balderstone, which was converted by Brown. Whitehaven managed a long range penalty from fly half McConnell.

The pressure continued. A training ground move from a line-out deep in Whitehaven territory was well finished by prop Richard Leach. Brown added the conversion.

Towards the end of the half skilful interplay and purposeful running from the dominant back row of Stuart Inman, Andy Bennett and Leigh Sugden fractured what was left of the Whitehaven defence leading to tries for Langstaff and Brown, together with three penalties from Brown.

Whitehaven’s only reply was two further penalties from McConnell. The score at 33-9 on the half-time whistle was a strong indicator that it was going to be a long afternoon for Whitehaven.

A number of substitutions were made at half-time for both teams. However, this made very little difference to Keighley’s ambitious ball in hand approach.

Within two minutes of the restart slick interplay and an inch-perfect pass from young hooker Will Armitage gave ex-rugby league man Neil Jordan a debut try that was converted by Brown.

At this point Whitehaven raised their game and threw everything they had at Keighley, to no avail. After ten minutes of parity they succumbed to tries from Sugden and Armitage, both converted by Brown.

In many respects these tries came from scrum dominance and the new experimental law variations. The ELVs are part of a global year-long trial.

Certainly it will take some time for players and officials to get used to them, and time will be the judge of whether they have been a success.

As far as Keighley were concerned the extra five metres of running space available at scrums was a boon to their powerful back row players, and was exploited to the full by Bennett and Sugden.

New Zealander Moa Meki came on as substitute ten minutes into the second half. His defence and powerful driving play was awesome but unfortunately he dislocated his shoulder after only 15 minutes. At this stage of the game his injury, whilst bitterly disappointing for him and the Keighley fans, made no difference to the flow of this game.

Balderstone and Brown kept the opposition defence on the back foot with intelligent distribution which allowed the centres and wings to join the attacking line at pace.

In the later stages of the game Leigh Sugden was a handful every time he got the ball – and he saw plenty of it, scoring a further two tries.

The final whistle came as a great relief to Whitehaven who were outfought and out thought at every turn by a Keighley team who were quicker of mind and fleeter of foot, and who thoroughly deserved a victory that was superbly orchestrated by Brown pulling the strings at fly half, and Leigh Sugden in the engine room.

The coaching trio of Jeff Inman, Sheffield and Dyson together with new captain Andy Bennett were pleased with the aptitude and application of their players. However, they are astute enough to realise that ‘one swallow does not make a summer’.

This Saturday it is Sheffield away in the first league match, a much sterner test.