JUST a handful of Pennine League games survived the weekend freeze.
Those included crucial clashes for two Huddersfield clubs, with mixed results.
While St Joseph's suffered a first Division I defeat since November in going down 16-14 at Crigglestone All Blacks, in-form Slaithwaite Saracens kept their Division IV title hopes alive with a 24-8 triumph at Brighouse Rangers A.
But the Saracens were forced to dig deep to secure the League points.
It was always going to be tough for the visitors, who were lacking four first-team forwards through injury and work commitments.
On top of that, Brighouse's first-team game at Ovenden was postponed, which meant they were able to strengthen their second string.
Not surprisingly, this made it a tough contest and it wasn't looking good as Saracens trailed 8-0 at the break after conceding a converted try and a penalty.
But following another inspirational half-time talk from coach Steve Russell, they stepped up a gear.
Within five minutes of the restart Richard Gutteridge finished off a good move, which was converted by Richard Flooks, and it was game on.
A further 20 minutes passed without either side managing to add to their score.
But in the final 15 minutes, converted tries from Lee Knapton, Darren Hawkyard and Lee Hurd sealed a hard-fought and vital win.
But St Joseph's lost in dreadful conditions.
They made a bright start when man-of-the-match Kevin Bower chipped over for Shaun Mitchell to score.
And just before the break, their lead had been extended to 14-6, thanks to further tries from Lee St Hilaire and a second for Mitchell, with Darren Kelly adding a conversion.
But Crigglestone hit back with a try just before the break on the back of a St Joseph's error to make it 14-10.
Then with 15 minutes to go, the All Blacks crossed for the all-important converted try to settle the contest.
