1st XV Match Report Saturday 30th January 2016

No disrespect intended to Knottingley, but this was a game that the majority of pundits would have considered a “banker” for Ripon to add four, perhaps five points to their league table standings. Who would have believed it then that the Division’s struggling side, would turn out an heroic performance to destroy any hopes Ripon had of a bonus point victory and consign them to a solitary loser’s bonus point for keeping the score down.

Knottingley, not sure whether they would actually have a full side not long before kick-off, let alone any replacements, showed a tenacity and determination to contest everywhere they could and ended up deserved winners of this keenly fought contest. That tenacity and commitment to challenge everything for eighty minutes was probably the main difference between the two sides and whilst Ripon may feel fairly comfortable nestling in mid-table just now, Knottingley must take some heart in their ability to dig deep into their reserves and motivation to fight for their survival.

The character of the two sides was clear from the outset. Ripon had an increasingly dominant scrum, which perhaps got a little complacent towards the end of the game and wobbled more than in recent weeks. Knottingley, usually quite powerful up front, did as many other teams in a similar situation do however, used the experience of their back row and half backs to turn retreating scrums into attacking platforms. Ripon on the contrary turned attacking scrums into little in the way of territorial advantage and failed to apply any cohesion to their attacks overall. Knottingley to their credit, used sheer determination to punch holes in the Ripon defence, time after time and threatened to break loose on so many occasions, only to be foiled by handling errors or hasty reorganisations of the Ripon defence.

It’s fair to say that Ripon’s recent form has been to largely dominate games up front and provide ample amounts of possession for all of the team to do their best with. It is also fair to say that the ample amounts of possession have not been turned into substantial or sustained advantages, either by significantly crossing the gain line, or yielding a proportionate try count. Again, a failure to shut down the opposition, no matter how spirited, resulted in a poor performance overall on this occasion and a loss, out of keeping with the possession and territorial advantages held throughout the game.

Enough about the overall performance; which can definitely be improved upon on the training field, with the commitment of all concerned; and on with the game.

Low lying and exposed, prone to high winds from any direction and any weather systems attracted by the up-draughts from the local power stations, the afternoon was blessed with everything nature could throw at it. From end to end winds, horizontal rain, hail, sleet and snow, to momentary periods of calm and blue skies; the elements did neither side any favour and made for an interesting kicking game, as well as a more interesting handling game. Seemingly more used to the conditions, the hosts, were less uncertain under the high ball and better able to recover wayward balls in open play. The scrum count however, went in favour of Ripon and if only the platform that this phase provided could have been exploited more, the score could have looked a lot different.

Any description of the conditions would be pointless if the exceptional state of the turf wasn’t mentioned. Whilst damp in one or two places, it was by no means as waterlogged as Mallorie Park in recent weeks. It had a substantial covering of grass overall and a firmness underfoot, quite remarkable for this time of year. Perhaps it was the effect of the grazing of the local travellers’ ponies and their fertilisation of the playing area, but all in all, a pitch worthy of note.

(Photos for the match can be found all on Dropbox... click here)

Oh yes, the game! Knottingley kicked off with the wind and set about stifling any attempts Ripon made to break out. Facing a very stiff wind, all Ripon could hope to do was keep the ball in hand and reduce the opportunities for errors and gradually take the game back to the hosts. Despite some good inter-passing and ball retention work, Ripon fell foul of the referee, who gave the home side their first points opportunity after only two minutes for a holding on offence. The penalty kick went wide, but was an early indicator of the strength of the boot of the home Full Back.

Restarting into the wind. Ripon sought to keep the hosts in their own half and this saw the opportunity for them to press the opposition into making errors. Sure enough at the seven-minute mark, Ripon were offered a penalty within Tombling’s range and he calmly slotted it over to nudge his side into the lead.

After that, the play went pretty quiet and the weather spoke up in volumes. At the 27-minute mark, Knottingley pressed hard, with an icy wind and an apocalyptic hailstorm in their favour, spun the ball out to the right wing after successive forward thrusts. Unsighted due to the blinding ice storm, Ripon allowed the try in virtually unopposed. The conversion attempt was relatively easy with the wind, from the corner, but ably assisted by the woodwork to push the hosts 7 – 3 in the lead.

Seizing on the momentum of the recent score and with tails up, Knottingley returned the restart and held Ripon back in their own half for the next five minutes. Again, a holding on indiscretion gave the hosts a further penalty opportunity, which was kicked with ease. Further pressure from the next restart saw a similar situation developing, with Ripon unable to clear their lines and the referee finding on the side of the team on the attack and offering penalties as they arose. The final act of the first half was therefore another penalty attempt by Knottingley for a Ripon offence, which went just wide of the posts. Ripon therefore turned around 10 – 3 down and despite a strong wind in their favour, a steep hill to climb as far as using their possession effectively was concerned.

In the second half and trying to use the wind to their advantage, Ripon sought to kick downfield as much as possible and their inability to adequately chase and shut down the counter-attack, was probably another key difference between the two sides. The first scoring opportunity of the half was however offered to Ripon as Tombling attempted a penalty kick at five minutes, which he unfortunately missed.

After that, Ripon steadily sought to use back row moves from scrums, drives from line outs and close order work from breakdowns to progress against the opposition. At the end of the third quarter, Ripon were gifted with a number of successive penalty opportunities. Capitalising on a number of penalty options and seeking to build on the scrum dominance, Ripon opted for four successive 5 metre scrums, each for a different infringement by the hosts. Contrary to other team’s performances recently, each scrum seemed to boost Knottingley’s confidence more than the last and persistent infringements aside, Ripon should have guessed that a pushover try was not on the cards. The final failed attempt to score was rewarded with a drop out to the defenders.

Undeterred, from the clearance, Ripon pushed back again and pressed the defenders into a five metre line out. Ripon caught and drove and with several players taking the lead, pushed again and again at the home line. The stout defence held firm and so the ball was unleashed wide to the right. Quick hands saw Ben Buckley outstrip his opposite number to touch down in the right hand corner. Tombling was just short of the conversion attempt, but the visitors now felt more comfortably in the game at 10 – 8.

With a positive result more clearly in sight, Ripon reinforced their advantage in the scrums and continued to give the home pack a torrid time in this department. Unfortunately, the scrum dominance isn’t just about pushing a team backwards, but also about denying any options arising from the situation. One such example at the start of the fourth quarter, was a back pedalling scrum from which the Knottingley Number 8 broke and directly fed their Inside Centre on an acute angle, who ran through unopposed to increase the hosts’ lead to 15 – 8. The home Full Back was not so lucky with the woodwork on his conversion attempt, the ball spilling free with no further impact on the score board.

Again Ripon sought to turn their influence over elements of the game into points, and again, the weather and handling conditions let them down. Fortunately, the close order game kicked into place again and the visitors found themselves again pressing the home line with some impressive driving mauls. At 34 minutes, Ripon gathered momentum from a line out catch and drive and put sufficient bodies into the effort to award a try to Jake McRobert. Well spotted by the referee as there were perhaps at least the whole of the Knottingley team involved in defending. Again at the extremity of Tombling’s range, the conversion attempt went begging, but Ripon were keen to get straight back into the game, with the score poised at 15 - 13.

From the restart, Ripon continued to put together some good handling moves and retained possession sufficiently to move towards the home 22 metre line. Defending frenetically, Knottingley gave away a penalty and Tombling stepped up to attempt to seal the game for Ripon. Uncharacteristically hooking the ball, Tombling couldn’t give Ripon the lead. What happened next was simply bizarre however.

Knottingley claimed the “mark” from the missed penalty and opted for the touch kick. The referee for some reason, with only 39 minutes on the running clock and perhaps at least another four minutes of stoppage time, called the game as over after the next stoppage, much to everyone’s bewilderment. So with no options left for Ripon, the game was brought to a close, much to Knottingley’s delight and Ripon’s despondence. Controversial decisions aside, Ripon again didn’t exploit the possession that they had, nor did they match the spirited determination on a number of occasions to turn pressure into points and points into an unassailable lead.

It is not all gloom and doom. There is nothing here that can’t be fixed by developing playing relationships in the training environment and embedding ways of playing and decision making that exploit the strengths of the team. There remains a great spirit within the Club and the ability to continue to field three teams is a huge advantage that the Club has over many local rivals.

Next week, it is more than likely that Ripon will now travel to Moortown for the postponed fixture from earlier in January. Further details of exact opposition will be published on the Cub website.