Yorkshire Division Two: Keighley 41 Old Rishworthians 6

HAVING won only three of their 13 matches before Christmas 2014, Keighley extended their record to 24 victories from 29 matches since the beginning of last year with this triumph.

As per the previous weekend, when Bradford & Bingley and Yarnbury had shown their handling skills in the mud, Keighley provided some silky moves in wrapping up the four-try bonus point as early as the 54th minute.

Although they were not as secure under the high ball, the hosts again kept their line intact against dogged opponents, meaning their tries against column still only reads 12 for the season, while their points against tally is only 92 – the best in the north east of England.

So what has changed for Keighley since the start of January, 2015?

"I don't think there is just one thing, because we have not just been working on defence, we have been clinical in attack," explained Keighley's head coach Danny McGee.

"We have gone back to basics, and we don't always get that right – we didn't get that right here.

"But the whole club – the first team, the Stags and the Academy – are working on concrete structures, and we have been able to do that because of the numbers we have been getting down to training.

"It doesn't matter what structures you have in place if the lads are not coming down to training, and credit must also go to our strength and conditioning coach Scott Dyson, whose input means that we are in charge over the last 30 to 40 minutes."

Keighley, who have won 15 of their 16 games this season, are still second in the table, but only four points behind West Leeds now with a game in hand.

However, McGee added: "We are not just chasing West Leeds. We still have Pontefract to play twice, and ten points for them would put them back in the mix, and we also have Roundhegians to play as well as West Leeds."

Some of the Old Rishworthians players and officials felt that Saturday's match should not have been played because of the state of the Rose Cottage pitch, but McGee said: "We always had the mindset that we would be playing."

Referee Liam Taylor (South Yorkshire Society) passed the pitch fit, and was right to do so, and Keighley showed their focus by having a quick hit of the tackle bags as Old Rishworthians were waiting for the match to start and the referee was running onto the turf.

The Halifax visitors shoved Keighley back at the first scrum, and prop Chris Stone soon put a big hit in on home centre Adam Horsfall, but the hosts were first to put points on the board in the tenth minute.

Fly half Alex Brown broke away from the back of a ruck and threw a miss pass to full back Allan Ebbrell, who put left winger Luke Carter in for the try.

Brown converted for 7-0 but his opposite number Josh Kelly both missed and converted penalties before man of the match Carter was over for his second try after 22 minutes from a move that was called by No 8 Hamish Pratt.

Old Rishworthians then profited from some penalties and knock-ons under the high ball by Keighley, but, despite a period in and around the home 22, could only add a second Kelly penalty.

The hosts then made their half-time team talk a tad easier with a try in stoppage time as lock Leigh Sugden went over after a good drive by the pack and darts for the line by prop Sam Booker and hooker Will Armitage.

Brown's conversion made it 19-6, and the visitors then paid the penalty in the second half for an obstruction by right winger Rhys Town on Pratt, who was chasing his own kick ahead, Sugden bagging his second try in the 54th minute while Old Rishworthians were still short-handed.

Brown then showed his vision with a shallow kick into space which almost brought a try for right winger Jack Atkinson before a sweet pick-up on the half-volley by flanker Josh Hannah gave him try number five in the 62nd minute.

The conversion attempt by Brown smacked the centre of the crossbar and bounced out before visiting centre Taniela Bakoso, who was their man of the match, burst through in midfield by taking advantage of a rare missed tackle.

The attack came to nothing, however, and Rishworthians, who lost scrum half Gary Morris to a head injury early in the second half, could not profit either when Keighley skipper Armitage was sin-binned for lying on the ball.

The hosts ended proceedings on top, though, with late tries for Atkinson, superbly converted by Brown from near the right-hand touchline, and Booker, Brown hitting a post with that conversion attempt.