Waterloo 27 - Wharfdale 42
HOPES that Waterloo would manage to start the new year by moving upwards from the bottom of the Division Two table, flourished steadily until 10 minutes into the second half of their match against Wharfedale on Saturday.
At that point they had actually managed to scored 27 points to 11, claimed no fewer than four tries, and defended much more efficiently than on many previous occasions this season.
Then just as supporters felt the corner had been turned, cold-blooded reality reared its ugly head, and the visitors took full advantage of a mounting gale at their backs to claim five tries without conceding a further point.
In the first half, it did look as if Waterloo’s defence had been much improved due to hard practice, but once Wharfedale’s comeback began, holes opened up all over the place despite quite a lot of individual effort, and Waterloo had no means of keeping things as tight as they needed to.
Rather surprisingly, they gained an even share of possession from both scrums and lineouts, but after a fairly positive first half, found themselves unable to maintain control.
Midway through the first half it looked very different, as a fine burst from a free- kick by Adam Anderson earned him a try that James O’Brien could hardly fail to convert, and soon after prop James Hall followed suit, with O’Brien converting.
The visitors pulled back to 17-11 at half-time, thanks to a try by sub Scott Greer and two penalties from Mark Bedworth, but when winger Matt Williams and centre Freeman Payne added two further tries on the resumption, it really did look likely to be Waterloo’s day.
Sadly, they just lost their grip, partly due to a rising gale in their faces, and conceded five more tries to full-back Adam Whaites, winger David Hall, scrum- half and skipper James Doherty, fly-half Luke Gray and centre Mark Bedworth.
Waterloo did have their moments, and several of their players put in quite a good performance, but yet again, they kept making fatal mistakes and failing to cope with really dangerous runners.
In the end they lost by a full 15 points, and even though they did earn a League points through their four tries, it was obvious that their defence really does need to be reinforced.
