ROUND 2: A GAME OF 2 HALVES – NEW EARSWICK ALL BLACKS ARLFC V WYKE ARLFC: Saturday 12th April -
Match Report: NEAB v Bradford WYKE
Date: Saturday 12th April 2025
Venue: New Earswick Sports club
Round Two Yorkshire Men’s League Division 3
A game of two halves!
New Earswick All Blacks returned to white lane looking bounce back to winning ways in their round two clash against Wyke. If they could produce a performance similar to their previous home game when they demolished Bramley in the cup then victory would surely be certain.
The first half got under way with the All Blacks receiving the kick off, completing the first set and ending their set well, setting the tone with their intent in defence. Both teams went set for set in the opening ten minutes before aggressive line speed and strong contact by a handful of left edge players forced an error from Wyke inside their own 20m zone. Centre Iain Oakley was on hand to pick up the loose ball and score the opening try of the game in the left-hand corner. Unfortunately, the conversion was missed.
The All Blacks failed to deal with the kick-off allowing it to find touch and putting their try-line under pressure. However, the Wyke threats were repelled by outstanding and committed try-line defence. Shortly after this, the All Blacks enjoyed a spell of possession and scored back-to-back tries through Sean Malarkey and Iain Oakley.
Malarkey ran a change of angle play off the ruck from the halfway line to exploit some lazy defending on the inside from Wyke and broke the line clean. The backrower showed tremendous pace and backed his ability to take on the fullback and round him with ease to score under the posts. Iain Oakley’s second try of the game was produced through some lovely attacking play. The All Blacks got on the front foot after Wyke gave away a penalty for being offside and they attacked to their left through Gargan who had his pass knocked down. He managed to regather the ball, show some footwork to evade the Wyke defence and find Oakley on the outside in some space to score.
With the All Blacks now holding a fourteen point lead they were still in the mood to score more points and a good finish from winger Adam Caddie before halftime which was converted saw the scoreline sit at twenty points to nil.
What was a dream half for the All Blacks was to turn into a nightmare in the second half as the team displayed poor ball handling and ill-discipline with set completion at an all-time low. Providing Wyke with plenty of field position and possession was going to finally take its toll on a spirted All Blacks team that continued turning up for one another defensively throughout the game.The second half saw Wyke secure ten points through a couple of late tries in the latter stages of the half with the All blacks failing to register a point.
It was an opportunity for the All Blacks to demonstrate a level of ruthlessness after a dominant first half, but unfortunately didn’t have the cutting edge in the second half to put Wyke to the sword.
Head coach Paul Meilam was pleased to get the win and in particular the first half that he witnessed with the team working well together. But equally frustrated with the second half performance as the team continued to put itself under constant pressure throughout that half. However, he was extremely proud of the defensive commitment from his players who on many occasions turned up for one another stopping the Wyke attacking threats pressing on their try-line.
The All Blacks will be back in action on the 26th April with an away trip to West craven Warriors in round three of the Yorkshire men’s league.
All Blacks Team: Coverdale, Caddie, Oakley, Blatchley, Smith, Calam, Gargan, Shaw, Iddon, Gibson, Malarkey, Ritchie, Carling.
Subs: Baynes, Gurden, Parker, Fernandez
Match Day Partner: J Scales Plant Contractor
The Bob Bradford Man of the Match: Connor Iddon
Half-time: 20-0
Tries – Oakley x 2, Malarkey, Caddie
Conversions – Calam 2/4 – Sponsored by Yorkshire Scaffolding Services
Second-half: 0-10
Full Time: 20-10