Sheffield Tigers 34   Hull Ionians Hawks  5

Dore Moor; Squalling rain fell from a slate grey sky driven hard by a biting wind. A dark, brooding and sombre place. Hardly a place for the sweet and innocent.” High summer in Sheffield” a local spectator mumbled from under his hat, pulled low to offer a modicum of protection. A sense of foreboding prevailed.
The Hawks elected to play into the wind, knowing that a resolute defence was required to repel both the elements and a confident Tigers. The rain abated and the defence stood firm, perhaps an omen? Unfortunately not. For the opening ten minutes the Hawks controlled play, denying Tigers possession and though not threatening much in attack settled well and grew in confidence. Rich MacKay led the way with the pack driving the ball forward at the heart of the opposition defence (who lived a yard in front of the gain line all afternoon). Inexplicably The Hawks attempted to kick the ball into the strong wind and the elements mocked them, blowing the ball back over their heads. The Hawks tried to recover but Tigers pressed up and turned the ball over, moved it smartly wide and scored in the corner.
This was only a minor set back as long as I’s stuck to their task which they did for a further 20 minutes, centres Rob Whittam and Ryan Girking sterling in defence and probing in the forays forward. The home team began to exert pressure round the fringes of the breakdown and exposed the Hawks Achilles heel, an inexperienced back row. Hard as Sam Forth and John Potts tried, and they tried manfully, there is more to back row play than tackling. Tigers held the edge in this area and made it tell. Driving play took them close to the line before they moved the ball to the backs and scored two tries as half time approached.
17 – 0 at half time wasn’t insurmountable. All the Hawks needed to do was control the game as they had done in the opening quarter and use the wind to play the game deep in opposition territory and release their speedy backs. Good plan; poor execution. The forwards were unable to secure quick ball to release the backs who were stifled by a perfidious defence and the Hawks kicked badly. Much credit must also go to the Tigers who used the elements to greater effect and carried out their game plan efficiently. They attacked close to the breakdown and made inroads into the Hawks defence, the forwards carried the ball well, especially the athletic second row, and forwards and backs linked well. They scored a further 17 points equaling their first half efforts. The Hawks scored a try by Ryan Girking who finished a move started by the enterprising Luke Thundercliffe.
It was a frustrating afternoon for the Hawks, there are just a couple of pieces missing from the jigsaw and once they are found the Hawks should match the performances of last season. Certainly the front row is an area of strength. Both props showed skill, technique and experience and will be pushing the first team, as will No 8 Rich MacKay. Ally Forth carried on where Sam left off, winning a couple against the head and throwing well at the line. The backs have pace and skill in abundance and given quick ball will carve up most opposition but as a team they must execute the game plan. Dore Moor, or against any team in this merit table, is no place for the naive and innocent.