Aire secure derby win

Due to heavy rain there had been some doubts whether this game would go ahead; however both teams were happy to play on Mods heavy pitch.

Aire were buoyed by the return from injury of influential centre Liam Cree and front rower Will Warrington was back to bolster the pack. Aire started with the wind and slope in their favour and some smart kicking exerted early pressure on Mods. Aire had repeated waves of attack; however Mods were resolute and committed in defence.

Despite the heavy conditions, Aire's back line looked sharp and the ball was moved with precision and accuracy. Aire's big forwards pummelled the right side of Mods 22 and having pulled in defenders, the ball was fizzed out to the left wing , where Eddie Farnell crashed over for the opener.

Mods came back fighting and a series of penalties gave them a toe hold in Aire's 22. Mods couldn't break down Aire's defensive pattern; however another penalty was awarded, which was knocked over to make it 3-5.

The re-start was accurate and Mods struggled to gain any territory with their clearing kick. Despite blustery conditions hooker Will Girt's arrows were good and found the jumper. Aire trundled forward with a meaty maul which made good yards. The ball shifted out and the ever improving Adam Bishop hit Harvey Sellers on a hard line. The tackle was made and the ball recycled. Ben Hague, Lewis Eastwood and Nathan Cawood drove through the guts of Mods defence. Skipper Mikey Dolan was released off the back of the ruck and powered his way through a couple of would be tacklers to score on the right. The tough conversion was missed, but Aire took a 10-3 lead, with 15 mins to go of the half.

Mods upped their game and worked their way into Aire territory and again the penalty count racked up against Aire. Mods kicked for the corner and a series of heavy drives stretched Aire's scrambling defence to the limit. Adam Bishop saw yellow for a dubious late challenge, taking Aire down to 14.

Repeated drives sucked in defenders and Aire's line was breached for a deserved Mods score to make it 10-12 at the break.

Aire were braced for a torrid second half; however Mods seemed to run out of steam and injuries disrupted their formation. Aire spent the majority of the second half in Mods third of the pitch. Connor Fitzpatrick came on from the bench and caught the eye with a couple of barnstorming runs. Aire were knocking on Mods line and the ball was shifted to the right. Will Warrington galloped forward and unselfishly released winger Ollie Spinks to score his first Aire try. The back line looked dangerous with Jamie Sykes adding a threat from full back. Skipper Mikey Dolan got over for the BP try.

Credit to Mods who kept going to the end and scored a breakaway consolation try with the last play of the game.

There were lots of positives for Aire to take away from this game. The pack fronted up and Aire had a dominant scrum that put Mods on the back foot. Aire's back line clicked and this game saw some of the sharpest handling this season.

Skipper Mikey Dolan was nominated by Mods as Aire's player of the match and he didn't disappoint in the post game pint race.

This BP victory cemented Aire's 3rd place in the league and the lads are desperate to kick on in 2024.