Yorkshire Division 3 Halifax Vandals 17 : 15 Skipton by Simon Smith

It was heartbreak for Skipton, losing 17-15 to Halifax Vandals with the last kick of the game, after holding them to nil-nil at half-time, playing up the slope, and taking a 15-3 lead in the second-half.

Vandals kicked off down the slope and with the wind behind them. A great break by skipper Josh Nkwo and centre Anthony Chapman put the visitors' three-quarter line clear but a forward pass denied the try. A further break by winger Hamish Munro and full-back Luther Hall was ended with a dropped pass and points went begging.

Vandals steadied their ship and countered with heavy pressure on Skipton down field but the visitors defence held firm. Skipton No. 8, ex-Yorkshire Colt Joe Hayes, made a fantastic individual 50 metre break from the scrum but the ball was adjudged to have been knocked-on at the breakdown.

The heavy Vandals pack gained a penalty at the scrum and put the ball into the corner but Skipton stole the ball at the line-out and Munro cleared. A great tackle by Skipton winger Chris Wilkinson resulted in a penalty to the visitors and Skipton put the ball down field to end the half at nil apiece.

Skipton were down the slope in the second-half and an early penalty saw centre Jonny Tomes-Green slot the kick to open the scoring. The re-start kick did not go 10 metres, Skipton took the scrum but back-row Will Havers-Strong picked up a yellow card for an infringement. Vandals slotted the kick to level the scores.

Skipton used the ground well and put a penalty kick into the corner. Tomes-Green was over for Skipton's first try from a superb break by Chapman and Munro. The conversion attempt went wide.

Michael Tam replaced Shaun Barraclough at scrum-half for Skipton and the visitors continued to apply pressure on the Vandals. A goal line drop-out hit the whitewash and Skipton gained a five-metre scrum, from which many phases of play saw Hall over for Skipton's second try. Tomes-Green added the extra points and Skipton were ahead by 15-3.

The Vandals came back strongly at Skipton. Back-row Joe Pearson collected Skipton's second yellow card of the afternoon. Vandals opted for the scrum close in and were over for their opening try. The conversion was good and the score stood at 15-10 to Skipton with five minutes to go.

Vandals now had the bit between their teeth and gained two further penalties close in, opting for the scrum both times. Forward Joe Moorhouse picked up Skipton's third yellow card. Vandals opted for the scrum again and were over for a push over try with the last play of the game. The scores stood at 15 all and the final kick of the game saw Vandals add the extra points to win 17-15, leaving Skipton with just a losing bonus point from a hard and entertaining afternoon's rugby.