Billingham made the journey to Wakefield to face Sandal.

Traffic, crashes, delayed referees... it was all going on before a ball had even been kicked!

Its always nice to visit Sandal... well initially anyway. Always a warm welcome before everyone including supporters alike go into game mode. A ground like no other.

As mentioned in the game preview its a ground not favored by many teams. A 'slight' lean on the pitch gives many teams difficulty especially going up hill. Add to that a morning downpour, a big Sandal pack meant today was going to be tough.

Billingham chose to head up the infamous hill with the view of keeping Sandals points to a minimum and hit the second half hard. Within 2 minutes of the kick off Sandal made good yards showing nice hands between the forwards before the ball being fed to the winger to score in the corner. It was clear to see Sandals intent.... they weren't just there to make the numbers up! Billinghams centre pair of of Kirby and Lawson showed inexperience allowing an overlap to follow. However both quickly adapted to their new positions and quickly learnt to trust one another in defence. 5-0

Billingham kicked off and Sandal took control once again. Their big pack pushed their way downfield. They broke the gain line time and time again before the referee blew his whistle for offside against Billinghams returning defenders. Sandal nudged the extra 3 to take them out to a 8-0 lead.

Now the game could have went two ways .... Sandal could have continued to dominate or Billingham could pull something out of the bag... Well you guessed it! the latter happened. A turnover on half way and the ball found its way to Elliott Husband who danced passed two defenders. The resulting ruck saw the ball go to Peter Evans who spotted no defenders at the back, a kick through and raw speed of Alfie Lawson saw him kick the ball on and dab down despite the attentions of two Sandal defenders. Jobe Roxby kicked the extras. 8-7

Billingham got back in the game? No!! Sandal came steam rolling down hill once again. A lineout on the 5 metre line, a catch and drive saw them roll from left to right, taking out multiple Billingham players before scoring. 13-7

A swift talking to from captain Peter Evans, Billingham were on the march. They showed more intent. Nathan Myers was showing his capabilities, picking from the base making 5 yards and setting up a quick ruck. Mike Walton, Joe Spoors and Kieran Clark each had a turn in crashing the ball up through the middle before Conner Foley fed Matt Kirby who swiftly found Alfie and a 2 in 1 for Hopley to ground in the corner. Jobe Roxby, the man with the golden boot notched up the extras 13-14

Both teams started to tire. Billinghams fitness seemed to have the edge and on 38 minutes the referee pinged Sandal for repeated infringements in their own 22. Jobe Roxby stepped up and kicked the 3 points... 13-17 ..The lead was building nicely.

Sandal kicked off, Billingham played 3 phases upfield before clearing their lines. The ball made it up to Sandals 15 metre line. Sandals winger cleverly evaded two tacklers before being seat belt tackled on half way. A straight penalty and the referee pointed to the posts. Sandal players were glad of the rest. The extras were well kick and Sandal were down by one point. 16-17

Both teams went inside at half time, the large crowd regathered after their glasses filled and their voice boxes warmed up ready for what would be an action packed second half.

Second half: Billingham were going downhill. Some clever placed kicks from Evans, Husband and Roxby saw Sandals defence continually having to run backwards. They could only hold out for so long...surely? Ben Walton was the man to do it. Another try for the second row in what has been an impressive scoring campaign from the big man. Jobe Roxby kicked the extras. 16-24

Billingham made replacements with Whinn on for Burns and McCartney on his debut for Hopley. With fresh legs on the field Billingham upped the anti. McCartney found the ball in his hands early on. A goose step and fend saw his opposite number crashing to the ground before being dragged down. The game started to open up which clearly suited Billingham. Jackson, Foulds, Mike Walton all showing excellent skills. With Billingham recycling the ball, a Spoors scrum half pass found the ball to Peter Evans. He shaped to kick which fooled the defence. A quick turn of pace saw Evans find his way past 3 flailing defenders to score. Jobe with the extras. 16-31.

Every time the Sandal got the ball it seemed the only option was to kick it away... and each time Billingham would run it back. Husband was in his element running the ball back with intent. Next up was Mike Walton who bust through 2 defenders to gallop and unceremoniously dive over the line. Jobe with the extras. 16-38

Next up for his debut was James Boyd-Bell who came on for Kieran Clark who completed another great shift. As the game continued to open up it was inevitable that gaps would appear in both defences. Who cared... it made for great rugby! Sandal hit back in the corner after some slick handling. 23-38

As Sandal had the taste for the tryline again they marched their way up the hill only for the ball to be stripped from their grasps. Billingham made a break and managed to regather the ball. Spoors made the carry following a quick offload from Foley. No advantange.. play was pulled back. rather than go quickly Peter, sensibly called for a shot at goal;. Why not? Jobe hasn't missed a kick all game! 3 more points! 21-41

8 minutes on the clock... surely neither team had any energy left. Well one player did. Anth Jackson who previously had a couple of seasons at Sandal whilst working in the area. He had already received some 'banter' from the sidelines... So when he got the ball in hand 30 metres out he made a break for it. He had enough pace to evade wannabe tackles to dive over the line. He was clearly happy to get over the line he even forgot his trademark one finger (index) salute to the camera! Jobe with the extra 21-48

As a strapped up skipper made his way off the field, Hopley returned only to see Sandal make some big metres up field. Not even Mike Whinns 15 metre run and smash put off Sandal scoring the last try of the game.... Final score 30-48

A game of two halves. Billingham determinations and grit pulled them through. October has been a tough month. Otley, PGH, Macclesfield and Sandal have taken alot out of the boys. Next week is a free week. A time to recover. A time to set new goals.

Thank you for your continued support.

#OSIOS