Ross Tucknott: Cornwall, Sport & All Sorts

Wharfedale return to the Recreation Ground today seeking to repeat their slender, last-gasp 14-15 victory here last season in a result which put the first nail into the Reds’ title hopes after Launceston had closed the coffin door the weekend before. Currently lying in fifth place in the table, a defeat today could see the visitors drop a further couple of places to possibly lie only two points above their Cornish opponents, whereas a couple more wins would certainly seal Wharfedale’s position yet again as the longest-running inhabitants of level three rugby.

Wharfedale started the season at lightning speed, winning their first seven matches which culminated in beating Redruth 28-21. However, that victory was to prove to be Wharfedale’s only win this season against a team in the top half of the table: after losing their perfect start at the hands of London Scottish, a win against Stourbridge was followed by a hat-trick of losing bonus points against Newbury, Tynedale and the struggling Blackheath. After smashing Sedgley Park at home, Wharfedale slipped up twice more against two teams which overtook them – Cambridge and Launceston – before getting the fright of their lives at Manchester. With the scores at 23-28 with fifteen minutes left to play, the Dalesmen steadied the ship with three late tries and a conversion to avoid the upset of the season, and a routine beating of Cinderford has got Wharfedale back on track for this fixture. Due to cancellations, Wharfedale also have the dubious honour of being the only side to have avoided playing Esher at all so far this year.

The winning streak at the beginning of the season was in part due to the influence of young Leeds star Joe Ford, the son of England defence coach Mike Ford, who at fly half controlled the game expertly but who returned to Leeds in November and has 35 points from four Premiership games since. Tongan flanker Latu Makaafi (Bradford & Bingley, Hull) currently leads the team’s try scoring with 9, whilst Mark Bedworth (Darlington MP) has combined a return to kicking duties with a taste for crossing the line as well with 7 tries of his own. Wharfedale home-grown centre Simon Horsfall and injury-prone winger Chris Malherbe (Camberley, Otley, Kendal) share the third spot, with the latter having played the two games leading up to this one. His extra pace out wide will be a boon to a side who have struggled to score from the wing: with 9 tries, Wharfedale have less than half the tries scored from the wing than the other top-six sides, and only Blaydon (8) and Manchester (2) have less.