1st XV Match Report - Saturday 4th November 2017

“One does not simply walk into Mordor”, it was once said. However, Ripon did, invited as they were, but faced a number of challenges far more fearful than the “Fellowship of the Ring”. Blighted by ill-discipline; naivety in reading and playing the referee appropriately; inability to capitalise on quality first phase possession and crucially, failure to respond emphatically to a side playing every game for survival; Ripon ground out their second draw in as many weeks. Earning a well-deserved additional point for four tries, three of which were pure magic however; Ripon were not all bad by any means. However, if the club is to increase its league standing and this squad play to its full potential; the elimination of unforced errors and better discipline are key priorities.

So, under the watchful gaze of the Two Towers – Barad-Dur (Wainhouse Tower) and distant Orthanc (Emley Moor Mast), Ripon set out their stall on perhaps England’s highest pitch and in the most magnificent surroundings. Whether they were blown away by the beauty of the setting, the influence of the evil Saruman; excitement about bonfire parties or sheer complacency that beating the “bottom feeders” Halifax Vandals was a formality, Ripon came away from what should have been an emphatic win, with a draw. The hosts however played with passion and precision, played the referee perfectly and in a game in which the lead changed hands four times; gave an account of themselves that was far more creditable than their lowly league position suggests.

Ripon, continued to ring the changes and re-introduced Mark Greenwood and Tom Gilchrist from injury and in a proud moment for Director of Rugby Ian Hassall, gave a debut opportunity to his Under 18 son Archie. Not wanting to upset a winning formula, the bedrock of the pack remained with Sadler, Wolloms and Dalby, with Whitaker keeping his place at Scrum Half. In further experimentation to fill the currently vacant Number 10 berth. Head Coach Tom Gilchrist stepped up to take on the challenge and seamlessly picked up where Scurr left off last week. “Gilly” performed well under the circumstances and controlled the midfield to good effect. However, as league action intensifies, a more sustainable solution than willing and able stand-ins needs to be found.

In an exact repeat of last week’s game, Ripon opted to receive the kick, play into the wind and up the slope in the first half. It was quite a wind and quite a slope, but undaunted, Ripon played perhaps their most exciting Rugby in this half. With the sterling work of the rock solid scrum providing a plethora of quality ball, Ripon seemed to have the makings of a dominant performance. Unfortunately and not a situation often seen where teams have significant “go-forward”, the referee saw fit to penalise the Blues at will. Ill-discipline, or poor interpretation of the laws, losing two players to the sin bin in the first half and a third in the second half was simply careless and thus led to nearly half of the game being played with 14 men on the pitch.

The hosts kicked off and challenged the receipt sufficiently to hold Ripon in their own half momentarily. Gifted with three penalties early on, Vandals failed to capitalise and through ineffective line outs, succumbed early on to the might of Ripon’s scrum. At 6 minutes, a drive by Dalby took play into the host’s half and saw Findlay handle twice in a speedy move up the left wing before showing a hint of a dummy to wrong-foot the Full Back to open the scoring for Ripon with a try in the uppermost corner of the pitch. Patrick Whitaker banged over the conversion into the wind to take the score to 0 – 7 and all looked good with the world.

Vandals kicked long from the restart and immediately threatened the visitors’ line. A pile up close to the goals saw a try saving tackle from Wolloms, which was adjudged to be late and so resulted in the first of three yellow cards for Ripon and much indignation from Wolloms. Opting to go for maximum points, Vandals kicked to touch and from the ensuing line out; caught and drove for the first of their three tries. The conversion, a full 40 metre monster, floated in on the wind to even the scores at 7 – 7.

After a few exchanges in which Vandals tried to capitalise on the extra man and Ripon defended with spirit, the overall weight of numbers showed and at 19 minutes, the hosts increased their score with a penalty goal to go 10 – 7. Determined to bounce back positively, Ripon used Gary Nicholson to batter away from the base of the scrum and take play into the heart of the opposition. After two successive scrums, Tom Gilchrist broke right to feed Audsley-Beck on the wing, who then fed Buckley coming into the line from Full Back. Buckley danced around two defenders and got to within diving distance of the goal line, but unselfishly fed beck to James Audsley-Beck coming up at pace on the inside to take Ripon back into the lead at 10 – 12. Whitaker’s luck ran out with the boot as he missed this conversion attempt and then kept off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game.

From the next restart, Ripon broke out from the receipt, with skipper Barker leading by example making some hard yards. Unfortunately his example didn’t last long and ended in a penalty for holding on in the tackle through slow support. A missed attempt at goal let Ripon off the hook, but served as a further warning as to the way the referee wanted to control the game.

After an overcooked kick by Vandals at 26 minutes, Ripon recycled their 22 metre drop out through Leeming and Findlay. Rob Nicholson carried on the attack through the midfield for some 30 metres before Buckley appeared on his shoulder to take the offload and feed Leeming screaming up the left wing. Leeming broke through three tackles and danced a further 30 metres up his touchline, before reuniting Ben Buckley with the ball for him to plunge over in the corner for Ripon’s third try. The missed conversion restricted the score to 10 – 17.

At 35 minutes, a substitution to bring Hooker Dave Curry into the fray didn’t last long as he was yellow-carded for allegedly handling in a ruck. Undeterred, the Ripon pack continued to dominate the scrum and from a further effort on 37 minutes, Euan Findlay launched a pacy attack from the base of a scrum, only to be unceremoniously clotheslined after 50 metres. Findlay struggled for breath as the rest of the team struggled to comprehend the referee’s decision to award nothing further than a scrum to Ripon for a knock on by the tackler. The attack from the next scrum fizzled out and the next bizarre decision from the referee was to blow for half time with fully two minutes of normal time left on the clock. Going into the break leading 10 – 17 and with the slope and elements in the favour for the second half, the prospects looked rather bright.

However - The best laid schemes o' mice an' men - gang aft agley! And so the Vandals set about reversing Ripon’s fortunes. Despite being pushed deep into home territory by Ripon’s restart, the hosts played the short order game and gradually eased their way out of the danger zone. After only three minutes into the half and with Ripon again reduced to 14 men, the numbers told again and through effective recycling, Vandals were able to edge up-field sufficiently to attack left then right, before unleashing their speedy Right Wing to scythe through Ripon’s defence to score their second try and with conversion added, take the score level at 17 -17.

No more than ten minutes later, the hosts were getting the better of things and despite a back-pedalling scrum, were able to launch some effective attacking phases. Ripon were also again disadvantaged by the application of the laws in that no sooner had Curry been allowed back into play, Dalby tag-teamed his way into the sin bin for an alleged late tackle. Thus, with still only 14 players in the game, Ripon again succumbed to the power play and after three successive penalty kicks to touch, Vandals again found themselves within sniffing distance of the Ripon line. It came as no real surprise then, when the Vandal’s Number 8 (arguably their best player), broke through the defence to regain the lead with a try to take the score to 22 – 17. Thankfully the Vandals’ kicker lost his form and the try remained unconverted.

The introduction of Hassall Junior at this point was designed to bring on fresh legs and youthful exuberance. Unfortunately his debut was short lived when after only 10 minutes, he had to leave the field with an elbow injury (we wish him well) and signalled the recall of Coach Peter Taylor taking to the field in earnest. The next 20 minutes were a hard fought affair, with Ripon still dominating the scrums with whatever front row combination they used and the backs probing and trying game-fully to string some decent attacks together. Both sides stepped up the pace and intensity, with bludgeoning forward drives and crashing tackles. Both sets of backs also looked to probe out wide as well as trying to crash through the middle. This week’s new Centre partnership Seal and Rob Nicholson showed resolve in defence and creativity in attack, but it seemed that further scores would be a long time coming.

At last, with five minutes of real time left, Ripon looked poised to break the deadlock. Rob Nicholson broke free supported by Gilchrist, who fed Gary Nicholson to set up a powerful attack, which saw several close order drives, pounding on the home line. Trying to alternately go wide and then close, Dalby, with his usual “no nonsense” approach, seized the chance to increase his score count and raced in a full five metres for his second try in successive weeks. Whitaker’s conversion attempt could have taken the lead, but the dark powers that were at work here, prevented that. Thus the score-line remained at 22 – 22 and despite the referee making up for short-changing the first half with five minutes of injury time, that remained the score and end result.

There is much to laud about player versatility, creativity and dominance of certain phases of the game. There is also more to work on about discipline and turning pressure into points. Impassioned words from Barker to the squad at full time must be heard and responded positively too. This is a long season and a tough competition, so there is much to play for. Ripon have given an opportunity for many players to be part of this squad, probably more at this stage of the season than in many years previously.

Through injuries and other unavailability, the team has been in a state of constant change. Whatever the change, the club still has the players, coaches and management to make the most of the situation, so continued efforts from all will help to restore the confidence in playing to win and getting the results the squad deserves.

Next Saturday, Ripon travel to further distant outreaches to take on seventh placed Goole and seek nothing but a win. Kick off 2.15pm, all supporters continue to be very welcome.