In a game full of commitment both sides played through the poor conditions with some excellent ball handling however it was the outstanding defensive effort of the visitors which edged the game in their favour. Playing up the slope in the first half Ilkley played the slope well to score two tries in the first twenty minutes and these proved to be the crucial scores in an excellent contest of two sides who have been contesting in the top four for the first half of the season.

Ilkley took the early initiative dominating early possession and territory and after 16 minutes play they turned the ball over in midfield and it was moved swiftly to the left wing Kodie Brook who cut inside to score near the posts and with the conversion had a 7-0 lead. Brods responded well but could not make the best of their opportunities and it was a well taken high kick which was gathered by Ilkley no 12 Johnson and the strong running centre ran hard to the line to finish under the posts for the visitors second try . The conversion was taken and a 14-0 lead
The Woodhead boys stepped up their game with some strong running down the left by Jason Dodd and Michael Briggs however the ilkley defence was good as the home side pressured the ilkley line. After several minutes of desperate defence a quickly taken tap penalty by Hodkinson put Ilkley on the back foot and the ball was moved swiftly to Phil Town on the right wing who dived in at the corner for a well taken try. And a half time score line of 14-5.

Brods opened the second half handling well up the slope however when a loose ball was hacked deep into Brods territory Brods young second row forward James Millington had to chase back nearly 50 yards to regather under pressure to save the day. It was Brods turn to defend now and they did well as the game ebbed and flowed and both sides showed great discipline to keep their respective lines intact. As the game moved into the closing stages both sides were clearly tiring and it was ilkley who scored following a period of pressure in the Brods 22 and it was some good interplay which created the score by Steve Costello and with the conversion striking the posts they held a 19-5 lead. Brods were to have the last say as from the restart and a breakdown in play near the half way line Christian Georgiou regathered, spun and kicked ahead, he chased his own kick to the line and won the race to touch down to provide the final score.

An excellent game of rugby by two top sides and played in excellent spirit despite the difficult conditions.