RUGBY REPORT: Old Crossleyans 49 Horden 8

A tough trip to Halifax was made harder still when cry-offs resulted in them taking a squad of 16 to Broomfield Avenue.

It got even worse when prop Jordan Yates was injured in the warm-up, leaving the colliery side with the bare 15.

As a result, Horden didn’t start well and were 28-3 down within 25 minutes.

The pitch was heavy and Horden had a dominant scrum but weren’t using it enough.

Craig Gilmour made a couple of half-decent breaks off the back of the scrum but they would have been better served keeping the drive on and winning the penalty.

Horden did score their only try after this scenario.

The away side kicked a penalty award into the corner and from the line-out Paul Malcolm finished off a catch and drive.

A 28-8 interval deficit was soon increased by conceding a soft try just after the break.

Horden kept going and played quite a bit of rugby in the home half but struggled to break through.

As ever, skipper Paul James was leading from the front, being well supported by Chris Wood and Steven Heckles, both of whom worked really hard at the breakdown.

Malcolm made one good surge but no further scores came and Crossleyans ended the contest with more scores, including a last-minute try, finishing a point shy of the half-century.

Horden host Northern in a North East derby this Saturday.