Any thoughts of stringing two wins together before going into a well-deserved seasonal break were dashed at Norton Playing Fields on Saturday, by a spirited student side, who simply played for eighty minutes as if they wanted to win. There was certainly no complacency on behalf of Ripon and from previous encounters, they knew exactly how Sheffield Medicals would play when the chips were down. With a good couple of training sessions during the week and a well-supported busload of players and supporters, Ripon approached this game with maturity and an established game plan. The sand in the Vaseline however, was the student’s “gritty” determination to soak up the pressure and assert themselves more emphatically as the game went on.

In bitterly cold, but still and sunny conditions, Ripon started very strongly and pressed from the kick off to keep the students in their own 22 metre area for the first five minutes. The Ripon forwards played with aggression and structure, by sustaining momentum with short order passing and picking and driving. The pressure soon told with Terry Crisp standing in at Fly Half, gifted a penalty opportunity, which he floated over with all the aplomb of predecessor Bob Whitaker. From the next restart, Ripon pressed adventurously again, but met increasingly more robust defence and never looked like breaking through again for several minutes.

On so many occasions, Ripon used their possession well initially, but weren’t quite able to penetrate the defence, or simply took the wrong option by carrying too far or not exploiting overlaps. This led to the frustration of two clear scoring opportunities going begging. The Medics on the other hand, looked lively and countered with pace and tenacity. Ironically also, with a clearly lighter pack, the student scrum snuffed out any advantage Ripon might have had in that department and disrupted pretty much every Ripon put in. Whether it was the wheel, or the strike, or even just giving away the odd penalty, the Medics had a go at every scrum and prevented Ripon from using this as an effective launch pad for attacks.

After the first ten minutes, it all became a bit fast and furious, with play going from end to end and no scoring chances either way through unforced errors. The Medics however put a stop to that at 25 minutes having pressed Ripon into home territory with a probing kick. Winning the line out and exploiting their effective catch and drive (ever a defensive nightmare for Ripon) the first try went to the students. The conversion went over assisted by the crossbar. The final score of the half then went to Medics with a well struck penalty at the half-time whistle for the home side to turn around 10 – 3 up.

The second half saw Ripon pretty much taken to task in all departments, with the Medics scoring a further three tries and two conversions to give than an all-important bonus point victory. The win still keeps Sheffield Medicals below Ripon in the League Table, but narrows the points difference significantly. Ripon will definitely need to dig deep to improve on the current situation and get the club out of the relegation zone.

Playing his first full game at 1st XV, Flanker Charlie Yates was influential for most of the game and showed great maturity and spirit. As did the Findlay brothers, graciously playing out of position on opposite wings. A clear message has to go out to those senior players who pick and choose where they play and in what position that it has to be all about the team and not the individual. Also out of position at full back was George Foster, a feisty Scrum Half, who gave his all before cruelly leaving the field before full time with a bang on the head. Well done to his dad, club stalwart Andy, for taking his place on the bus home!

With a two week break over Christmas it is now time for Ripon’s players to lick their wounds, take stock and get organised for the second half of the season starting on 3rd January at home to in-form West Leeds. Consistency and commitment must be the buzz words for the next phase, with hopes pinned on making the most of who is available to play for the squad and who wants to see Ripon return to winning ways.

There will be training as usual on Tuesday and Thursday this week, and games as notified for Saturday. Next training after this week is Saturday 27th December at 1.00pm prompt, followed by a festive “catch up” session in the bar, then Tuesday 30th December in preparation for the West Leeds game. All players of all teams are encouraged to join in and keep up the good work.

To all our staff, players, officials and other volunteer helpers in all playing groups, sponsors, patrons, supporters and significant others, have a joyous festive season and let’s face the second half of the Rugby Season with positivity and enthusiasm. A club is only as good as what its members want it to be! Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year to all.