Following on from last week’s “game of two halves” theme, this was another; with Ripon dominating the first and winning that by a fair amount and then squeaking through the second by the narrowest of margins; to bash out their third league victory in five games. It was also a game of two pitches and regrettably for Wath, a game in which too many players suffered injuries sufficiently serious to remove them from the game completely, as well as one in which a catastrophic leg injury towards the end of the first half, led to the abandonment of the pitch to leave the injured player to await the attentions of Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

Much credit must go in a number of directions. To the players and officials of both sides in seeking and agreeing a sensible solution to the match continuity situation. To the referee for his pragmatic approach to keeping the game going, with due deference to the desperately injured lad left lying on the field. To the Ripon 3rd XV and their opponents Wensleydale, for giving up their pitch to allow the 1st XV game to continue. Last, but not least, to the sizeable crowd of home and away spectators, who respected the decision to change pitches, respected the lack of definition of playing and spectating areas and made the management of the second half a seamless transition from the first. Thus in the spirit of true sportsmanship, despite both sides playing a perilously close game towards the end and with Ripon gaining the all-important league placing, Rugby Football was the winner on the day.

Ripon RUFC seeks to be a welcoming, community orientated, yet competitive club and takes its status in Yorkshire Division Two very seriously. The unexpected injury toll encountered by the visitors is unprecedented in recent memory and whilst it mustered an incredible show of determination in the second half of this game from the opposition, it must undoubtedly have an impact on that club’s strength in depth. It is hoped therefore, that all at Ripon will join in wishing all those injured Wath players a speedy recovery and a return to winning ways.

Ripon went into the game with a yet again rearranged back line, but using predominantly the same personnel as have started to gel recently. Again, a subtle blend of youth and experience and an anticipation that some exciting action would follow. The pack started unchanged from the previous week and again, with the blend of youth and experience looking just right, looked every much equal to the much vaunted Wath pack.

Starting the game with a purpose and sustaining that purpose to convert pressure into points, has been the ethos of the last two weeks, so as to avoid the terrible pressure Ripon put on themselves by starting badly against Rishworthians and Wetherby recently. Building upon last week’s scintillating start against Thornensians, Ripon hit Wath from the kick off full tilt and didn’t give any quarter for the first 20 minutes.

From the Ripon kick off, Harry Scurr collected the hanging ball as no potential recipient was interested and the immediate possession was turned into a series of driving plays towards the visitors’ line. Clearly rattled by the Ripon onslaught, Wath conceded a number of penalties, all within kicking distance, but Ripon chose to sustain the forward momentum, with sequential touch kicks, line outs and drives. Stout defence however, from the visitors kept Ripon out and so at 12 minutes, after a period of sustained pressure, a miscommunication allowed Wath to break out of defence into Ripon’s half for the first time.

What did show up from the first few minutes’ play, was Ripon’s pace on and off the ball and the commitment of the likes of Dalby and Stiddard, so influential in their ball carrying, tackling and turnover capability. Outstanding however was Euan Findlay, playing like a man on fire, carrying aggressively and tackling like a demon.

The Wath counter attack was short lived however and a Ripon steal from a Wath line out, saw the first of many spirited breaks by Gilchrist to take Ripon back into contentious territory and an opportunity for Scull to open the scoring with a penalty attempt at 15 minutes. Scull’s recent success with the boot was slow to be realised in this game and with the attempt going wide, gave Wath the opportunity to break out again. Some spirited attacking play from the visitors saw them encroach into the Ripon half and succeed with a penalty goal attempt to open the scoreboard.

Ripon responded immediately from the restart and on the 30-minute mark, Scull found his kicking feet and equalised the scores with a penalty goal. From the next restart, Ripon countered through Butler, Cleary and Findlay, to almost cross the visitors’ line, only to be brought back for a forward pass. It was at this point that the game stopped for ten minutes to accommodate the Wath player’s serious leg injury and the relocation of the game to another pitch.

Restarting with a Wath scrum, the visitors seized upon a home error and took a further penalty opportunity to push the score up to 6 – 3 in their favour. From the next restart, Ripon really stepped up the pace again and repeated the performance of the first quarter. Ripon, by using their big players effectively in both carrying the ball for several yards and snuffing out the opposition, made the last few minutes of the half intolerable for Wath. From a perfectly executed blind side scrum break, Findlay made several yards, before the ball was whipped quickly to the open side for Butler to scamper in for Ripon’s opening try and to take the lead for the first time. Scull was oh so close with the conversion attempt, but not quite.

From the final restart of what was turning out to be a very long half, Ripon carried cleverly again back into the visitors’ territory. A penalty offence saw Scull put the ball in the corner for Ripon to further exploit their line out dominance with a catch and drive. The drive went the distance with all manner of Wath attempts to interfere and finally, when the irresistible force was unceremoniously pulled down, the referee had no choice but to blow for a penalty try. Scull happily added the conversion.

Going into half time, Ripon felt good about the 15 – 6 lead, felt good about the cohesive and co-ordinated play and felt good about pursuing a victory. Wath however, had a different view and testament to their spirit and resilience, despite Ripon’s best efforts to grab the game by the throat and see it off, set about responding effectively to everything Ripon threw at them. Even at 65 minutes, with the loss of their last front row replacement and a need for scrums to be uncontested, Wath sought to attack where possible and defend with pride.

In the second half, each side scored three tries apiece and Ripon just sneaked it by three conversions to one conversion and a penalty from the visitors. Findlay continued in good form to add a try following another typically aggressive run. All the Ripon forwards were actively engaged in close order carrying and all the Ripon backs carried with a purpose. Richard Scull scored two tries, one from a quickly taken tap penalty and the other from the tail end of a line out catch and drive. Scull also added a further three conversions to take his personal tally to 21 points on the day.

With less than five minutes to go and leading 36 – 14, either Ripon took their foot off the gas, or Wath found a reserve tank, but the visitors really stepped up the pace to exploit defensive weaknesses and score a further two tries, one of which was converted. Notwithstanding the sympathy for the Wath losses through injury and completing the game with 14 players, the end result, with three tries against the run of play, speaks volumes for Wath’s resilience and determination and perhaps may be a lesson for Ripon to learn on closing a game down and putting it out of sight.

Questions are still posed as to Ripon’s defensive resilience and precision in clinically finishing games. Work in progress clearly, but with good numbers training, consistency of availability and the skills development opportunities opening up, the future can only look bright.

Players should note the new approach to club training, as described on the website and Facebook page. Focus on team and individual/unit skills development will undoubtedly be a step forward and is another example of players’ views being listened to and acted upon.

Next week, Ripon are at home again and entertain Sheffield Medicals in what promises to be a lively encounter. Ripon of course will be looking for the elusive “three on the trot” and seek to build on this week’s success. The students will as usual, want to play their expansive style and so this will be an interesting test for both. All support welcome as usual. Team meet at 1.45pm kick off will be 3.00pm