U13s brave the weather

Ripon U13s were due to play Otley, which would have been an interesting fixture considering the up coming YC semi final in March. However due to Otley having a weakened side, the fixture was cancelled and Ripon made the long journey to Driffield instead.

Arriving at Driffield with the car's outside temperature gauge measuring 3 degrees and the sleet flying in on the wind, most were surprised the game was still on.

The home team pitch however was in exceptional condition and after a very quick warmup the game started.

The conditions were harsh and saw a few uncharacteristic handling mistakes early on. Despite the weather Ripon managed to adjust and move the ball through the hands very well. Connor Stout received the ball on the wing with the try line 45 meters away. Blistering pace allowed him to round the opposition defence and run in to score.

Michael Sorby scored a well earned try shortly after when he broke through the defence in midfield and used his strength and speed to evade the defenders and score under the posts.

Evan Rees scored Ripon's third with an impressive long range run from well inside his own half, breaking through numerous tackles and out pacing the defence.

Ripon's fourth came from Ted Wainwright, playing fly half instead of his usual position of 8. Yet again, strength and speed saw the defence broken.

Half time resulted in a conference regarding the weather. The sleet was coming down hard and many of the boys were really feeling the cold.
Due to the fact that we had travelled so far and with 4 subs, some of the boys had yet to play. We agreed to continue for another 10 minutes.
Oliver Williams came on at fly half and immediately made his mark by hitting a gap and racing in to score from the home team's 22.

The match was then abandoned.

For the lads that started on the bench and didn't get much game time it was very unfortunate especially considering the travel time. We can't control the weather though.

Tries:
Connor Stout
Michael Sorby
Evan Rees
Ted Wainwright
Oliver Williams

Conversions:
Ben Rutter (2)
Oliver Williams