Thanks to the never-ending bone-headed decisions taken by the RFU and the tin-eared Yorkshire RFU, Ilkley’s season was due to finish today at around 4.30. Instead, the Dalesmen decided to pack it all in thirty  minutes earlier, squandering a commanding lead, to fold and lose by 48 points to 43. What a shame for retiring players Blake Morgan and Tom Dickinson, who could and should have had a far more memorable last game for the club they have served so well. Both played the fu

With fourth place in the League nailed on, Ilkley travelled up to England’s northernmost rugby club with nothing to play for but pride. Their hosts on the other hand were anxious to secure second place in order to have home advantage in the forthcoming play-offs, which will be against Harrogate, whose demolition of Sandal means they will finish third. There were various changes in the Ilkley side , which could not be described as being at full strength, but they made a lively

With Ilkley pretty much at full strength and coming off the back of a comfortable win away at Driffield, there was considerably more optimism in the air amongst the Ilkley faithful, compared with the visit to Heath in November. Back then, with half a dozen or more players missing, the Dalesmen were on the end of a 45-10 pummelling, so on a lovely Spring day, there was something to prove, not least as the visitors had just lost their only match of the season to date, away to A

A cloudy and cool day awaited Ilkley at Driffield but the Dalesmen warmed their faithful supporters with a lively and competent performance to gain a well deserved win. Despite missing  three players from last week's side, Ilkley made a bright start playing up the slight slope when from a scrum the ball went quickly right and Harry Harrison slipped his tackles and good interpassing gave Blake Morgan an unconverted try. Driffield came back but were repulsed and Ilkley were aga

There was a big crowd of supporters at Stack's field for this local derby match and conditions were good and dry. As expected the match was hard fought with Ilkley throwing their all at Harrogate. Ultimately though, Harrogate's very big pack held the upper arm and swung the day for the visitors.  Ilkley had a dream start when Ilkley's forwards regained lost scrum ball to release full back Freddy Brown who left Harrogate with a great view of his back as he scorched through for

Ilkley vs Pocklington U17 Colts 22 Feb 26 – Reported by Gary Ferguson The Winter Sun made a rare Yorkshire cameo at Stacks Field — presumably bribed with tea and biscuits — as a gallant but numerically challenged Pocklington side arrived for the sequel nobody knew they needed: 14-a-side rugby. Numbers may have been down, but spirits were not. Ilkley, still feeling the aftershocks of last week’s epic against Keighley, welcomed back Captain Harry Schmidt and Loosehead Prop Will

Regional One North East: Cleckheaton 25, Ilkley 44   ILKLEY are well on track to better their highest-ever finish in Regional One North East. They currently sit third, having advanced a place at the weekend after winning their derby 44-25 at bottom-of-the-table Cleckheaton, while Harrogate dropped a spot to fourth following their 44-36 home defeat to leaders Heath. However, finishing above the seventh place that Ilkley achieved last season is not the limit of their ambitions.

Ilkley 12 v Keighley 7 The rain relented to provide the first dry window for what feels like weeks. The pitch was in amazing condition. Fresh from the sponsors team photographs with Mike Picken (Attis), Mike Simms (Cardinal), Joe Widdop (Ripon Ground Care), Mark Hall (Business Waste) and David Shaw (Ilkley Pride) all supporting local youth rugby with a spanking new strip, training tops and bags. The lads ran out as firm underdogs. A scratch side with many absentees, Jacob

Following what seemed like a full week of rain, sunshine greeted the players on Saturday afternoon in what turned out to be a very good win for Ilkley but a win which was very well contested by Blaydon, particularly in the first half.  Ilkley started at pace gaining a penalty from their kick off and possession from their lineout allowing a swift moving maul to give Blake Morgan their first try, not converted. Ilkley kept the pressure on and on 9 minutes from another Ilkley li

The rain relented in the early hours to provide much better conditions than expected for this rearranged match. Ilkley started brightly when Charles Morgan kicked a penalty long downfield.  Middlesbrough failed to gather and illegally prevented Ilkley scoring from their kick ahead resulting in a penalty try and an early 7 - 0 lead. To their credit Middlesbrough came straight back and pushed Ilkley back via a penalty to their 5 metre line from which they mauled their way over

Ilkley travelled up to the murky hills of Cumbria for this return match which Ilkley won well in a rather one sided contest at Stack's Field back in October. It soon became clear that Penrith were looking to reverse the scoreline with their huge front row leading their charge. Early scrum pressure from Penrith forced a penalty and from the resulting kick Penrith were up to the Ilkley 10. However,  Ilkley's defence held firm and Ben Magee led Ilkley's response upfield on the a

The last match of the year and one for the Dalesmen to forget. Despite scoring four sparkling tries, team discipline was left on the bus and Sandal took full advantage, belying their lowly position in the league. An astonishing 11 penalties were awarded against Ilkley in the first half alone, compared to just the 1 against Sandal. Matters improved somewhat in the second half, but the ratio was still 7 to 4 and there is no doubt that the game was lost for that reason.Ilkley di

Ilkley got the second half of the season away off to a good start with a solid win against a lively Kendal side, the first of what is hoped to be a few doubles, having won the away fixture 24-27 back in September.  Still not at full strength, missing Magee, Morgan and Harrison, this was a great result for the squad as a whole and fourth spot in the league was maintained.  Ilkley made a great start and when a promising move was halted by a high tackle, the resultant line out e

So, half way through the season now and the Dalesmen remain in 4th position, despite losing their third game to a top three side, at the hands of a very slick Alnwick outfit. Still not at full strength and in some truly awful weather conditions, the Dalesmen can thank Louis Anderson’s boot for gaining a solitary losing bonus point, as he converted Harry Harrison’s try a long way out on the left wing with five minutes to play. Anderson had already hit the post twice and with r

A gutsy performance by a much depleted Ilkley squad unfortunately wasn’t enough to prevent league leaders Heath notching yet another win, making it ten out of ten in this season’s campaign. Furthermore, the West Vale side has added finesse to its attack, so it’s not just grunt and shunt any more, the side is strong from 1 to 15. Ilkley started well and were 3 nil up after 10 minutes, courtesy of a Harry Smith penalty, but the lead was short-lived as the Heath pack started to

The Dalesmen’s disappointment in the manner of their defeat at Harrogate a fortnight ago was shrugged off for this clash with old foes, Driffield, a club cut from the same cloth as Ilkley. As has become the norm this season, the home side had to withstand considerable early pressure before unleashing its potent attacking options and with five first half tries to just one from the visitors, the large well-lunched crowd could be forgiven for expecting more of the same in the se

Following a very brief light shower the match kicked off in bright, sunny weather with referee Tom Hurdley officiating. Ilkley's travelling support was substantial and made their presence known after each superb Ilkley try. Harrogate's pitch was a clear improvement from Ilkley's last visit and held up well. After an early exchange of penalties when Mr Hurdley's whistle made clear who was in charge, Ilkley's Harry Harrison caught Ilkley's kick off and scorched through several

After a disappointing visit to the North East last week, the Dalesmen were anxious to get their show back on the road against a side languishing at the bottom of the table. This is Cleckheaton though, a side that should never be taken lightly, despite their poor start to the season. Sure enough, the visitors starved Ilkley of possession and always looked dangerous when they got close to the Ilkley goal line. The home side was forced into giving penalties away - four in the fi

Ilkley travelled to Blaydon with a good number of supporters on the coach as well as in cars, all hoping to see another entertaining Ilkley victory. However, it was not to be. They met a determined, young Blaydon side who clearly had their sights on a home victory and they set about their task from the outset, running hard and moving the ball quickly between backs and forwards. They kept Ilkley penned in their own half for most of the first half scoring three tries to none us

There’s Champagne and then there’s Krug: there are Full-backs and then there’s Ben Magee, who not for the first time showed an appreciative crowd what an asset he is, not only to his Club, but to the wider rugby-loving public. Magee was the brightest star in the constellation that is the Ilkley back line, scoring two of his side’s eleven tries on the day, but also popping the scoring pass on three other occasions. Harry Harrison notched another hat-trick, fellow centre Matty