U13s grind out a victory

Ripon U13s travelled to Pocklington, where the rain and temperature made handling that little bit harder.
The home side's training pitch however was in very good condition and despite the weather it was not the mud bath some might of expected.

Ripon started the game with the advantage of the slope and applied some early pressure, with the ball getting out to Nathan Fraizer on the right wing two or three times via quick handling from Oliver Rockey and Soloman Fiengold. Good defence by the home side nullified the attacks though.
Pocklington were good in the scrum and line outs and had their fair share of possession, which meant Ripon had to also defend well.

The deadlock was eventually broken when Harry Hill picked the ball up on the right wing just inside the Pocklington 22. A great step and turn of speed saw him race in, going under the posts untouched.

The only other try of the first half came from a similar position - a line out on the right wing on the Pocklington 22. Evan Rees won the line out then showed good strength to fend off a number of tackles and power over the line.

Half time saw a number of changes (with 5 subs to bring on). Luca Lombardi came into the pack and the scrum started to improve. Ethan McMurray coming on at scrum half continues to improve and had a lovely sniping run evading a few tackles, before losing his footing.

The first points of the second half came from a testing Harry Hill kick inside his own half, to the left wing. Titus Baker stormed after the kick and tackled the Pocklington player who gathered the ball. Harry Hill also chasing his own kick jackled for the ball and did well to secure it and offload to Evan Rees in support, who showed good speed to beat the defence and run in from 25 meters.

Pocklington didn't give up and Ripon had to defend well - Michael Sorby, Ted Wainwright, Max Bridge and Cole Potts put some big tackles in. However the home team were rewarded with an impressive try of their own after a lapse in concentration from Ripon defenders.

Ripon had the final word though following a good team effort. With the forwards securing a ruck on the half way line, the ball was moved through the backs, Hamish Mainey showing good footwork and timing to release Titus Baker on the left wing. Titus was tackled well but Soloman Fiengold was in close support to take the ball and used his strength to hold off two defenders and keep the ball away from the touchline. The ball was then moved nicely to the other side of the pitch where Dylan Hudspeth and Cole Potts both made ground before Ted Wainwright finished the move, breaking through a couple of tacklers to score on the right wing.

Despite the conditions, it was a very entertaining game to watch. Both teams showed moments of individual and team skill in defence and attack.

Tries:
Evan Rees (2)
Harry Hill
Ted Wainwright

Conversions:
Harry Hill (2)