With a lot of ringing around and messages flying across the internet meant that the Ripon management got both a 2nd and 3rd team out on Saturday, well done to all involved. The 3rd team played Roundhegians in a friendly whilst the 2nd Team player Keighley in a must win league game.

The 2nd team was warmed up by a very welcome returning Dan Watson who showed throughout the day he still has the drive and love for playing. The game got underway on a soft and heavy pitch with little risk of rain with both teams looking to play expansive rugby. Indeed it was a full 8 minutes of play before the first scrum was awarded. This was always going to be hotly contested area and Ripon very quickly established dominance with Craig Wolloms, Joe Turner and Mark Sadler in a strong front row. Patrick Whitaker started the game as he intended to play all afternoon with some perfectly flighted long passed to an attacking midfield. Both James Blood and Sam Duffield ran strong lines and it took equal strong defence to stop them. The battle between the centres went on all afternoon with Keighley also running strongly into a solid Ripon defence. Unfortunately Mark Rees had to retire early due to a hamstring strain, but this did give the chance for debutant Steve Townsend to come onto the wing despite normally playing hooker. The first try of the game went to Keighley who managed to pull in the Ripon defence before passing wide to score in the corner. Ripon's response was to work hard with their tight structure to get into the opposition half where Patrick Whitaker converted a penalty. The score after a very even and tough first half was 5:3 to Keighley.

Half time also gave the opportunity for some fresh legs with Miles Warriner and Callum Findlay coming on for Dan Watson and Billy Burgin. The second half was very much a duplication of the first with both teams trying to find a way through the oppositions defence and it took some great last ditch tackles from Tom Graham and Phil Graham to deny opportunities after breakaways. Keighley did manage to bundle the ball over the line after a well worked lineout, drive and ruck. Although the Ripon lineout struggled to maintain its normal high standard, scrum half Jake Tart had another great game and managed to get the ball out despite pressure from the opposition. Unfortunately Sam Duffield who was having a storming performance had to leave the field with an ankle injury half way through the half and was taken to hospital with a suspected broken ankle. This spurred on the Ripon team who took a ball against the head on the Keighley 5 meter line to drive the scrum forward and give Miles Wariner the opportunity to score. With 15 minutes to go this left the score 10:8 to Keighley and yet another tight hard fought game between the two side. Again Ripon trusted to their pack to drive the ball forward to be awarded a penalty which was converted by our star kicker, Patrick Whitaker, for Ripon to lead by 1 point. The next 10 minutes was terrific rugby for the spectators with both teams looking for that one chance. This should have gone to Keighley who were awarded a penalty in the dying seconds in a kickable area. Who would want to be a kicker on a day were the ground was really soft and slippy? As the Keighley player went to kick you could see his standing foot slip and his connection sent the ball drifting wide. This was the final play and The full time whistle saw a very relieved Ripon team getting a very hard fought for win.

To select players that stood out today would be difficult as all the players gave everything for their team mates. Jack Newby and Jake Botting were tremendous in loose play both in attack and defence and in also turning the ball over. Dan Watson and Simon Rudsdale gave a solid platform in 2nd row for the pack to work from. James Blood's running lines and crash balls gave options for Patrick Whitaker to control the game from 10 and his solid tackles ensured no one came through midfield. Although Miles Warriner came on to have a great game at No8 the man of the match was awarded to Sam Duffield who kept us going forward in attack and never missed a tackle in defence. Hopefully Sam will be back playing soon and we all wish him a speedy recovery.

Games against Keighley are always hard and close with many going down to the final whistle. Today was Ripon's turn to put in a team performance to gasp the win. Many thanks to a great set of lads from Keighley and I am sure next season will be just as competitive. Many thanks also goes to the referee who kept the game flowing and who managed a hard fought and tight game superbly to ensure an enjoyable experience for all. Ripon Hornblowers are away next week to a rescheduled league game to West Leeds and with only 2 games left are determined to pull themselves back up the table.

A final note goes to all the Ripon players who managed to turn out this weekend in order to get 3 teams playing, a total of 55 players. The 3rd team gave a determined performance to lose against a young Roundhegians 2VX by 47:14, however the fun in the bar after made sure everyone had a great day.