Congratulations to Old Rishworthians on both their emphatic victory on the field as well as their emphatic victory on the touchline, where they out-numbered, out-sang and generally out-enthused the home supporters to cheer their side to the success they deserved. Clearly the attraction of a live televised, Welsh performance against South Africa and a rebellion against the agreed principle of delaying the watching of the England game until the club match players and their guests, were in a position to watch it; had little impact on the call for touchline support for Ripon’s currently struggling 1st XV. Club politics or preferences aside, this is a community Rugby Club, supported by willing and generous sponsors and patrons, whose influence and contributions, Ripon simply couldn’t do without. Surely the point of supporting a club, whether financially, or otherwise, is to go and watch them play? Perhaps not if there are better things to watch? What does need to happen, without engaging in chicken and egg debates and desperately trying not to “bite the hand that feeds”, is an improvement in playing fortunes on the field and perhaps the off field support will grow steadily?

This situation does however remind me of a chance encounter with an old acquaintance from my native Birmingham a year or so ago. As a one-time follower of Aston Villa and knowing that my pal had been a season ticket holder since his teens, I asked if he was still seeing as much of “The Villa” as he used to. “No, they don’t come to see me when I’m bad”, was the terse reply. I guess this is the answer to where we are at the moment. A side is fielded every week, comprising a subtle blend of youth and experience. Sometimes many can train, sometimes not many. What happens on a Saturday is therefore down to making the most of what we have and what the coaching team have been able to with who has been available. What also happens is that Ripon set out their ambitions with a strong-ish set piece and plenty of talent, but allow the opponents to dictate the pace of the game, force errors and gain the upper hand. If Ripon were less reliant on individual performances and more focused on team play and support, things might be a lot better at this point in the season. That can only come through team efforts in training and supporting each other.

There was a game played, though the light faded quickly, so it was difficult to see everything the referee saw (particularly in the scrums) and overall, it was a similar story to last week’s performance. A strong set-piece, but an inability to sustain phases of play and convert pressure into points. The one high spot of Ripon’s game was a seven phase retention spree, which saw Whitaker take the narrow side option to put Newby into space. Hot on his heels was Ben Buckley, who received a perfectly timed pass to outpace the defence to score Ripon’s only try of the game. Whitaker finished what he started, with a precise conversion, to conclude Ripon’s scoring for the day.

The visitors thereafter imposed themselves on the game, stifling any Ripon attacks and creating enough opportunities for them to score a creditable bonus-point winning four tries. Ripon looked generally less robust than the week before, though the score-line was similar and were guilty of a number of wrong options, which saw exciting breaks snuffed out through lack of support and hasty decisions that led to lost possession and counter attacks by the opposition.

To add insult to injury, Ripon’s frustrations led to an increasing penalty count against them, as the referee interpreted the visitors’ actions as within the laws and Ripon’s without. What was less fortunate and the thin end of the wedge, was the yellow card given to Stead for repeated offences in the tackle area. What followed in the final quarter was far worse, veteran Centre Spilman was red carded for an alleged late tackle and Barker similarly for alleged fighting. Faced with bans for both players whether innocent or guilty under current regulations, Ripon will be starting their next few games without this influential pair.

Enough of the weekend’s match reporting and on to more happy Club news. Belated congratulations go to Club stalwart, Rob Lamb for his winning entry in this year’s Movember Challenge, with a crop of facial hair which was reminiscent of Workhouse Beadles of days gone by. Where on earth did it all come from and did anyone foresee that coming? Hopefully it will all be gone soon before the small children of Ripon run scared to avoid being sent up chimneys and the like! Hopefully also, the donations for charitable causes will be identified and published.

With just two games left before an extended Christmas break, Ripon has two long distance away games; to Goole on 6th December and Sheffield Medicals on 13th December. The trip to Goole is expected to be an interesting struggle, where points must be proved and gained for both teams and all travelling support will be needed and valued. The Sheffield excursion against the league bottom students, however, will be involve a bus and so there is plenty of scope for an Old Rishworthian-like gesture of support for our club, to travel the distance, support the players on the field and hopefully celebrate victory on a slow and gentle journey home up the A61.

Saturday 6th December v Goole away, Team meet at Ripon RFC at 11.30am, kick off 2.15pm.