ILKLEY successfully backed up their victory at home to Scunthorpe a fortnight ago with a strong away win at Pontefract on Saturday.

A chilly autumnal afternoon in the leafy suburbs of Pontefract greeted the Dalesmen to a ground that they had not visited for ten years.

Pontefract already had the scalps of Heath and Cleckheaton under their belts and their confidence of a result today was palpable. But they clearly hadn’t reckoned with the resurgent Ilkley side whose wingmen Ben Walker and new signing Jordan Cummins would revel in the space created by Jack Maplesden, Charlie Morgan, Kristan Dobson, Keiran Wilyman and Kodie Brook.

The opening salvos were a thing of real beauty. It took only three minutes, two lineouts, a scoring chance for Cummins and a penalty to deliver the first score from a lineout five metres out. Jack Popeley’s throw hit his man perfectly. A textbook drive was unstoppable, and Alex Powell got the ball down. 5-0.

Ilkley were keeping Pontefract pegged in their half. Walker was sniping from deep when he was on the receiving end of probably the hardest but fairest tackle seen this season. He wouldn’t be deterred though and instead set the ball to release the unstoppable Dobson into Pontefract’s 22.

A lineout was offline and Pontefract seemed to have escaped, but this time the rampaging Wilyman turned them over and back to the 22. Maplesden’s pass found Morgan whose dancing feet stepped this way and that and stepped again for the second try under the posts. 12-0.

Pontefract kicked off straight out. The Ilkley scrum on halfway got Dobson away and in full flight. He brushed off three defenders to score under the posts. 19-0.

Pontefract were shell-shocked but clearly not down and out. Finally, they got into the Dalesmen’s 22 following a penalty. The solid lineout, one of their main strike weapons, got them up to the line but they conspired to knock on.

Ilkley cleared with a monster kick which eluded the Pontefract winger. Walker was up and on to it. He fed Dobson who was felled just short, but he popped the ball up to Cummins to score Ilkley’s fourth try for the bonus point. 24-0.

With just thirty minutes gone and apparently little to bother the Dalesmen the dynamic of this encounter changed. It is difficult to discern why but suddenly Ilkey were defending with a lineout on their 22. A penalty was coughed up and backchat conceded another 10 metres. Suddenly the powerful Pontefract scrum came into the game. Now it was Ilkley’s defence that was called upon. Four penalties were conceded, though exactly what for was unclear.

Max Jones who was having a stormer suddenly went down after contact with a boot away from the ball and from Mr Garland’s attention. Jones and the coaching team were incensed. Jones had to come off. Luke Gamble, no mean replacement, entered the fray.

Try as they may, Pontefract couldn’t breach the defensive lines and eventually the ball was turned over. Pontefract were still battering at the Ilkley line before, finally, the half-time whistle relieved the tension and provided the coaching team chance to restore some calm to proceedings.

The second half was illustrative of the chaos theory of rugby. Clearly Pontefract thought they still had a way back into the game. Just as clearly Ilkley weren’t going to allow them back, but in their determination, they crossed the rubicon of fair play rather too much for comfort. Maplesden saw yellow for an indiscriminate hand in the back of a scrum to stop a pushover try. The resulting penalty scrum was well defended, and Ilkley won a penalty.

Sigsworth returned. Archie Elgood came on for the sacrificial Cummins.

After yet another long-distance foray into the Pontefract 22 from deep in his own half Dobson was found isolated as his back up brigade caught him up a tad too late. The relieving penalty gave Pontefract a lineout inside the Ilkley half and they won it well to score in the corner. 24-5. Still 25 minutes to go.

Following a penalty score, Ilkley effectively put the game to bed as Walker touched down in the corner, with Morgan putting the kick over from the touchline. 34-5.

The hosts did fightback but it was Ilkley’s day as they ran out 34-17 winners.