Ilkley 14 Pocklington 7

Ilkley maintained their 100 per cent record at the new-look Stacks Field with another satisfying win.

Just as they had against Keighley in their previous game, Ilkley started brightly and put Pocklington under real pressure.

The opening exchanges saw Kirk Arundale escape the clutches of several desperate tackles, and the increasingly exciting Tom Bills exploit the sleepy opposition defence with a slick running move.

With only five minutes on the clock, they found themselves only metres from the line. Messy rucking ceased the heavy wave of pressure, but the signs were there. Ilkley were asserting themselves with gusto.

The intensity of their play continued, and tough forward play was the ultimate foil for some impressive attacking flair.

The Ilkley pack are looking more and more robust with every contest, and Saturday saw no let up, the revised front row of John Oakes, Jon Hutchinson at hooker, and Ben Fear displaying a level of intensity and strength unmatched by their Pocklington counterparts.

The Dalesmen turned possession into points after 15 minutes. A fierce display of mauling took them deep into opposition territory, and when Arundale was halted only two metres out, Ilkley found themselves in a handsome position.

Slick hands through the line left Stuart Vincent with the chance to finish and Bill added the awkward conver- sion for a 7-0 lead.

A key area of Ilkley’s first half dominance was at the line-out.

Their throw in routine is looking more and more polished, and with Charlie Scott and Steve Burns in their armoury, they have ball winners of serious authority.

Pocklington just couldn't compete in this department, and their pressure was made evident when Matt Webber failed to throw straight midway through the half.

In Neil Spence, Ilkley have a great organiser. Time and again he marshalled his side’s mauling and it was no surprise when he scored his third try of the season. Bills again converted from a wide angle to establish a 14-0 lead.

season. Bills once again added two points from a near identical angle. 14-0. Imperious Ilkley.

The home side gave little room for Pocklington improvement. Bills was showcasing the full array of his kicking talents, and whenever the away side managed to mount any sort of attack, the number ten was there to clear his lines.

When Ilkley overturned a scrum at their own twenty-two, the feeling was that their dominance would prove irresistible. Surely this would become a rout.

How wrong that feeling was. From nowhere, and with only eight minutes to the turnaround, the Dalesmen threw themselves into a panicked frenzy.

Rich Greenfield and Pete Turner, so impressive up until that point, each produced sloppy handling to give Pocklington a foot in the door.

When two Ilkley scrumm- ages were halted in quick succession, it was up to the away side to take advantage, which they did with an edge absent throughout the rest of the half.

Winger Tim Nixon flew through the broken defensive line for a score, which Mick Bennett maximised with a confi- dently taken conversion.

Momentum is a powerful thing in sport, and if Pocklington ended the first half on top, they sure started the second in a similar manner.

Their opening advances were reminiscent of Ilkley’s in the first half, and whilst the home defence stood firm with admirable strength, slick running moves from centres Travis Plumridges and Will Greenwood (not the England World Cup winner) began to take hold. Pocklington were a different side.

Frustration was the theme for the home side and almost inevitably, penalties came in packs, one of which presented Bennett with a simple chance to put his side within a score of the lead.

He hooked his effort left and Ilkley breathed a collective sigh of relief.

It was the East Yorkshire men who were now applying considerable pressure.

A mixture of handling errors and desperate defence plus a string of fine clearances from Bills, Phil Howell and Vincent pre- vented a second half score for the second successive week.

Worryingly there were moments of panic which led to the concession of penalties.

The nervy boot of Bennett missed another kickable effort before the visitors opted to invest their penalty gifts in line-outs and scrums.

Pocklington launched a late flurry and were three times halted three times within distance of the line, before Vincent cleared way upfield so that Ilkley,could breathe a long-awaited sigh of relief.

Now Ilkley will be looking to continue their bright start when they visit Heath on Saturday.