This was a near-the-top-of-the-table all Yorkshire clash between Sandal and Otley on a cold, foggy afternoon. On arrival the semi-visible pitch was still white from an overnight frost. However, appearances can be deceptive and the ground was actually quite soft so the fixture was definitely on. As you can see from the picture above, the weather didn’t deter supporters and there was a healthy (hopefully!) crowd to witness the action.
As described previously, photographing games in Winter can be quite difficult as the light is often poor at the start and diminishes with the coming of sunset around four o’clock. However, on this day the light actually improved in the game’s middle section. The sun never actually appeared but it did have an effect, casting a pale orange glow through the thinning cloud.
It being an all-Yorkshire fixture, ickledot adopted his usual policy of remaining at one end for the entire game so each team would be playing towards him for a half. Although Sandal scored a try at the other end, the decision wasn’t disastrous as it happened to be the only one of the afternoon.
Defences remained strong for the rest of the game and the other few points were all from penalties. Otley came out on top, just, with nine points from three of them, against Sandal’s eight from the try and one penalty. As you’ll see from the photos, if there was a winner, it was the mud! Big thanks to all for an enjoyable afternoon.