Conditions dictate style.

Heath welcomed East Coast rivals Bridlington to a rather wet North Dean. From the kick off Bridlington pressed hard and when winger Stirk broke free after two minutes only a super covering tackle by Charlie Lomas prevented a score in the corner. Brid continued to press and after four minutes good defensive work from Downborough and Richardson prevented another possible try when the referee adjudged ‘held up’ over the line. On seven minutes Heath gave away a penalty on the 10 metres line but the kick went just wide. Heath were struggling to come to terms with the pace of the game and on 12 minutes, after constant pressure, Brid got another penalty when Heath were caught offside and Mellonby made no mistake to put his side ahead: 0 - 3. Heath’s first move came shortly after when Moore, Hetherington and Walsh combined well. Puttick, Downsborough and Hetherington were involved next and the fly half put in a perfect kick towards the corner for Si Brown to pick up and go over unchallenged and open Heath’s account. Hinchcliffe had no trouble with the conversion from in front of the posts and put Heath ahead: 7 – 3. Back came Brid then, controversially, Hinchcliffe was pulled up for not releasing in a tackle but an opportunity was missed. Moore was sin-binned and a period of even play followed as the two teams got to grips with each other. Conditions on the pitch deteriorated as the saturated surface cut up. Half time approached with no further score but for the last 20 minutes Heath were on top. Heath had the perfect start to the second half, being awarded a penalty on 41 minutes but Hinchcliffe did not have his kicking boots on and the shot was well off target. Another opportunity came shortly after when Brid were caught offside and although the kick was closer it yielded no points. The six points missed could have made all the difference. Another chance immediately after also went begging! It was all Heath at this point with the pack going particularly well. Constant pressure by Heath had to pay off and both Downsborough and Hunter were close to scoring. On 50 minutes, the ball came out and Hetherington out-flanked the defence to score Heath’s second try, unconverted, to put them 12 – 3 up. Two minutes later, Hetherington was sin-binned for a second high tackle. Brid chose to attack instead of going for points but Hinchcliffe relieved the pressure with a superb clearance kick, pushing play back into the Brid half. On 58 minutes, Jack Sheldrake made a strong charging run and then put a perfect kick through but he was obstructed. A penalty was awarded 10 metres from the Brid try-line. Sustained pressure from Heath followed with Watson, Hunter and Puttick in the thick of things and then Heeley from Brid was sin-binned as the visitors battled to contain the home side. With 15 minutes left, Ollie Wilby was substituted for Hunter. On 75 minutes, Heath were offside defending but were fortunate when Robinson missed the penalty for Brid. Brid kept pressing to the end, looking for a losing bonus point, but Heath held out for a prized win which should ensure Yorkshire One rugby will continue at the club for another season. Next week, it’s away to Roundhegians in the Yorkshire shield. Injuries and unavailability are like to play a large part in the outcome of that encounter.