Reminiscent of last year’s away fixture, it was an afternoon in which the weather couldn’t make up its mind, but fortunately for both sides, the 80 minutes of game time featured bright sunshine and ideal conditions for a highly competitive game. Barnsley, contenders at the top end of the table last season and with aspirations to stay up there, were effective in certain departments, but overall, didn’t seem a force to be reckoned with. Even the usually very vocal and at times partisan local supporters, didn’t live up to expectations. Perhaps it was the unexpected vigour and determination with which Ripon played their game that put the home side off their stride and the supporters off their voice?

With the average age of the Ripon back line sitting at just 20 and that of the day’s squad overall at 25, this was going to be an interesting testament to the Club’s youth succession policy as well as how the blend of youth and experience would face up to the task in hand. Without wishing to wax too lyrical, it was definitely a day on which boys became men and men stepped up to be counted, in a gritty and determined display of team play. Despite a slightly shaky scrum at first, Ripon showed creativity with the ball, incredible pace in attack and dogged determination in defence. Barnsley sought to press home a weight advantage in the forwards, but didn’t really succeed and their backs just didn’t get going until late in the second half.

From a faltering kick off reception, Ripon steadily got into the game and seemed to be enjoying more time on the ball and at the breakdown than in the previous week’s game. This was a huge bonus to Ripon, which contributed to some exciting interchanges between backs and forwards and saw the home side stretched frequently. Playing out of position at Wing, Callum Findlay impressed with his aggressive running both in attack and in defence. Also integral to sustaining the momentum in attack was Glenn May, stepping in at Centre following the loss of Sykes to an injury ironically sustained during the warm up. At Inside Centre, Tom Newby was a tower of strength, carrying with confidence and tackling with the bravado of a back row forward.

The first ten minutes or so, saw both sides experimenting, Barnsley using their Blind Side Flanker and Full Back to good effect and Ripon trying to push out wide. At fifteen minutes the break came when a fumble by Barnsley pressing at the Ripon 22 metre line, saw Ben Buckley hack the ball downfield. Not satisfied with the simple pick up at 10 metres out, Buckley opted for the additional grubber forward, which actually went sideways, allowing the opposition to catch up. Fleeter of foot, Buckley however made no mistake of the next opportunity to pick up the ball and touched down for Ripon’s opening try. Watkinson made no mistake of the conversion and Ripon looked to be settling into a comfort zone.

The peace was shattered five minutes later, when a poorly executed clearance kick found the home Left Wing in space, who danced through three tackles to open the scoring for Barnsley, the conversion attempt going wide. After this, Barnsley continued to press and narrowly missed a penalty goal attempt at 27 minutes. Moving into the last ten minutes of the half, Ripon had the lion’s share of possession and pushed further into the lead with a Watkinson penalty at 35 minutes. Barnsley however had the last laugh and in the last play of the half, kicked a penalty goal to make the score 8 – 10 at half time.

The second half was a more open affair, with both sides running through their options. Watkinson added a further penalty goal for Ripon and Barnsley edged up the scoreboard with a well taken drop goal from a scrum on the Ripon 22 and then a further penalty goal. Ripon fought back and held the home side in their own 22 metre area for much of the middle of the half. Two scoring opportunities however went awry for Ripon and that pretty much sealed the fate of the game.

A scrum five metres from the Barnsley line, with home put in, was rich pickings for the Ripon pack, boosted by the late entry of veteran prop Mark Sadler. Shunting the home side backwards, the ball got carried over by their Number 8 for a safety touch down by the Full Back. The referee however, saw a Ripon knock on somewhere and awarded a drop out. Momentarily relieved, Barnsley didn’t yet capitalise and found themselves back on their own line for a 5 metre scrum. This time with a Ripon put in. Forward went the scrum and any hope of scoring from the opportunity was dashed by an uncharacteristic fumble at the base, which saw the Barnsley pack regroup sufficiently for the next scrum to clear their lines.

In the next few minutes, injuries to influential Full Back Joe Duffield and workhorse Flanker Dave Robinson, saw Ripon’s momentum falter and allowed Barnsley in for a last gasp try before the final whistle. Taking credit for a sterling performance overall and gladly taking the one losing bonus point, Ripon will also take heart from the all-round team performance.

Also worthy of note was Ripon’s ability to honour three fixtures so early on in the season by fielding three sides. Whilst the results didn’t all go the Club’s way and the 3rd XV game at Wensleydale was marred by the cruel injury to Club Steward Mike Allen, doing his bit for the playing strength of the Club. Hope all goes well with the treatment and you recover soon to keep the running of the Club on an even keel.

This weekend Ripon face their second encounter with Keighley away at Skipton Road, Utley. Looking to restore some pride from the Yorkshire Shield defeat in the first game of the season, Ripon will travel with some confidence that they can face bigger sides on more even terms and even get more favourable results. Hopefully the Club will also be able to field the two other adult teams to continue to provide Rugby for all and maintain the status of the game in the City. The 1st XV game on Saturday 19th September at Keighley kicks off at 3.00pm and players will be meeting at 12.30pm, all travelling support is very welcome.