Morley 15, Sedgley Park 23

SEDGLEY Park always enjoy their trips to Leeds where the welcome is warm, and Morley's characterful old ground seems to bring out the best in the players. And so it was, last Saturday, weather conditions apart.

Thankfully, a downpour ended just before kick-off, but the pitch was wet and the home side had first use of the strong wind. Sedgley were the quicker into their stride, through, running a penalty from their own 22 to that of Morley, a position from which Colin Stephens kicked a penalty goal.

Sedgley were playing brightly, with Chris Raducanu and Richard Senior already breaking tackles, and it came as no surprise when Tim Fourie scored from short range.

Morley now came into the game and a short period of pressure resulted in a try for centre Dean Drane, converted by youthful stand-off Dave Evans. The home team were beginning to find gaps in Sedgley's defence; nor were the scrums going well for the visitors, that recurring problem these last few seasons. Play became bogged down inside Sedgley's 22 before Stephens cleared his lines with a long kick. A late tackle on the little Welshman led to some good driving play by the Sedgley forwards and another penalty, from which Raducanu scored a try; Stephens converted. Sedgley led 15-7 after 24 minutes, but the rest of the first half passed without significant incident.

The weather was looking bright as Sedgley began the second half well. Scrum-half Dave McCormack made a half break and young prop Gareth Roberts showed a reasonable turn of speed as he dashed for the line, being stopped centimetres short. Sedgley had the scrum but lost it against the head, the first of three. More strong forward play, however, led to an easy penalty for Stephens.

Morley showed they could play, too, with forwards and backs combining nicely to win a penalty for Evans, making it 18-10 midway through the half. Sedgley's pack exerted hug pressure against which the Yorkshiremen defended well until a diagonal dash by Sephens opened them up. He was tackled just short, then Fourie was help up over the line, but from the resulting scrum full-back Alun Peacock ran through to score.

The game's final quarter was not a thing of beauty. Sedgley started to give away penalties. Tim Fourie was sin-binned, the rain suddenly lashed down. The one bright feature was the play of Morley's backs, less forceful in their running than their Sedgley counterparts, but more skilful in their handling and elusive footwork.

Their reward was a try for fight winger Eddie Hutchinson, a couple of obstructions having gone unseen by a referee who had previously missed little. No matter, Sedgley can be happy with their performance, more or less, and happy with two valuable league points and a huge leap up a congested table.

This Saturday, newly promoted Dudley Kingswinford are visitors to Park Lane. The Midlanders have begun well and a good game is in prospect -- if it ever stops raining.