Selby 3rds 14 vs. Wath upon Dearne 7

Selby 3rds 14 vs. Wath upon Dearne 7 Saturday 17th November 2012

It was getting dark by the time the Yorkshire Air Ambulance finally cleared the Sandhill Lane main stand. Safe inside and on his way to hospital in Leeds was Selby thirds stand-off for the day Danny White with a suspected dislocated hip
Play had started as is customary at this time of the year with a 2.15 kick off and straight way Selby were off the mark with Jason Goodwin ghosting through to touch down under the sticks, White gratefully accepting the early kicking practice to tidy away the extras.
Wath were reeling again after 15 minutes as Neil Venables dived on a loose ball on the edge of the visitor’s twenty two and, as has been the hallmark of so much of the third string’s play latterly, deft hands sped the ball across to the waiting Mickey Parsonage who, with an overlap available, stepped inside to swallow-dive across the whitewash and neatly position White for his second successful conversion
Wath rallied and, keeping the ball in the hands of their robust pack, ground forwards. As their progress was halted the ball was recycled for their stand-off to find the corners and a series of attacking line outs. Selby succumbed as Wath mauled onwards and with more Swans committed to repelling the attack the flanks were left exposed. Wath took advantage of a four man overlap and a clear run in.
The conversion reduced the deficit and from the re-start Wath collected and began to grind forwards again. The ball was snaffled and fed out to White who went down awkwardly under the wheels of the advancing Wath juggernaut.
Play was quickly abandoned and a hurried call placed for the emergency services. First Responder and Ambulance duly arrived and White was tended on the pitch for quite a considerable time before the air ambulance arrived on the scene sweeping autumn’s leaves across the park as it landed.
White was transferred from ambulance to helicopter. The attendant BBC film crew quickly interviewed thirds team manager Steve Knowles before taking to the air.
A bad way to end a good game however good news was to follow, White was checked and found to be intact but will be needing crutches to get about for a while.