With two buses full of players, spectators and other well-wishers and glorious spring sunshine, this was destined to be a great occasion for the club and whatever the outcome, a fitting end to a memorable season that has firmly reinstated quality Rugby in the heart of Ripon. The short hop up the A1 was soon over and the spectacle of the Darlington Northern Echo Arena, a cup final game at the former home of “The Quakers” a reality. Excellent hospitality and organisation from the RFU administration team made this momentous occasion for the club a slick and memorable event.

Nobody was under any illusions as to the toughness of the game in hand or the ask of the squad against their gritty opponents from South Yorkshire. With honours even from the two league games so far played this season, this was always going to be a tight contest and one in which the two team’s vastly contrasting styles of play were going to play such a critical role. Wath, with a big, heavy pack tend to favour the forward oriented game, with straight runners and using the set piece to good effect. Ripon’s challenge was to compete as best up front, weather the storm and seek options to unleash their exciting back line. That’s not to say The Blues couldn’t match the opposition in every phase, but looked to use their speed and talent out wide rather than getting drawn into an arm wrestle.

In definitely a game of two halves, both teams threw so much into the fray in the opening few minutes, the pace of the game looked impossible to live with. With Wath scoring three Tries to Ripon’s two, it was the accuracy of Bray’s place kicking that kept The Blues in the game and with two Conversions and three Penalty Goals, it was those vital points that gave Ripon the slenderest of half time leads at 19 – 20. The second half saw a much closer contest with perhaps Wath gaining the lion’s share of possession and pressuring the Ripon line for lengthy periods. Try as they could, The Blues couldn’t break the strangle hold and with a second half score line of two Penalties to Wath versus one from Ripon, the final result of only two points difference between the teams was a fair reflection of the intensity of the fight.

A sterling performance from Ripon throughout, marred somewhat by ill-discipline and with two players sin-binned in the second half for interfering with play, the cause wasn’t helped at all. Testament however, to the bravado of those who played out of their skins when down to thirteen men for nearly ten minutes and kept the opposition out of scoring range. Who knows what might have been, had all players remained for the duration, perhaps a chance to score again and even put the game beyond doubt for Ripon. Alas we will never know. What is evident, is that discipline is key and avoiding dismissals, vital to maintain momentum.

For the first time this season and perhaps in many preceding, the starting line-up was unchanged from the 15 who kicked off in the semi-final against Yarnbury two weeks ago. No contest really for the selection decisions and no disrespect intended to the many, 54 squad members in total in all competitions, who have turned out for The Blues over the past eight months, but an indication as to how well this team has gelled and fought for each other over the past few weeks.

Starting up front, the new “go faster” hairdos for the front row of Evans, Pearce and Slator, made them vaguely reminiscent of some sort of celestial line up. The bald pates clearly designed to twinkle and dazzle all when the sun shone and the neatly waxed beards making them equally slippery to get hold of. All three played a tremendous part in the game from start to finish and for George Evans in particular, the magical moment of a Try after determined support play. Locking the scrum were skipper of the day again Iain Barker, a tower of strength in all phases of the game and an inspirational leader around the park and his well-established side-kick Joe Middlemiss. An understated character, “Midd”, whilst not the biggest of front five players, put in a tireless display of rugged defence and immense stamina to just keep motoring on, smashing down the bigger opponents like nine pins. The back row was the familiar faces of youngsters Lees and Wharton on the Flanks, harrying, carrying and parrying everything that came their way, in a stunning display of fitness and application. Bringing up the rear of the pack, was man of the match, if not the season, Nick Perez, who the consummate skilled practitioner that he is, didn’t miss the opportunity to crunch the opposition at tackle time and carried hard in possession. Perez’s efforts in the line out too, took on an extra dimension, when leaping “salmon-like” to claim almost impossible balls in the air and securing excellent go forward ball from the set piece.

Absolute credit does have to go to the whole pack for their resolution in the face of at time seriously difficult and weighty pressure, particularly at scrum time. With amply well-qualified replacements on tap to maintain energy and continuation of the game plan, this was well and truly a team effort and however long players spent on the pitch, or not as the case may be, everyone’s contribution was equally as valid and valued.
In the backs, Haimish Mainey slotted in neatly at Scrum Half, to make the most of his long pass, box kicking expertise and grit in the close quarters work. Archie Thompson again gave a virtuoso performance at Number 10, with some clever kicking, sleight of hand to get the back line moving and rigorous defensive commitment.

The Wings saw Tom (Golden) Graham back in control on the right and put in some just right attacking moves and a rock-solid defensive display. On the other side of the pitch, perhaps Ripon’s most iconic player for the social media crew, James Woolfenden delivered another impressive outing with ball in hand – close, yet no cigar for Try scoring and again noticeable for his brutal and textbook tackling technique.
The Centres saw consistent selection from last week with the all-pervading Ollie Williams at Inside, to add his skills with and without the ball and as back up place kicker. Will Barrett again mastered the midfield at Outside Centre and kept up his powerful attacking prowess throughout the game causing all sorts of bother to the opposition, though was unable to add to his first half Try despite best efforts. Bringing up the rear again was Mikey Bray, with his vision and overall control of the game and a creditable 13-point tally from three Penalty Goals and two Conversions, to add his impressive points haul in his first season with the club.

With a bench that could potentially make up a Sevens team of significant distinction, Ripon opted for a blend of experience, grit, commitment and potential. Looking to take the field as forward replacements were Club elder statesman Adam Newcombe to cover pretty much anywhere in the team and putting in as emotional a performance on and off the pitch as anyone who has a “blue heart” would recognise. Sam Stoddart added enthusiasm and perfectionism to the fray and “Mack” Koroiyadi brought that military precision and South Sea island flair, all in one go. Keith Anderson offered promise in any of the back five positions, with his leadership and Fin Middlemiss, whilst not actually getting into the game, was a well-deserved back up option.

Covering the back line were Max Burt, who after being a regular in this season’s line up could bring a wealth of experience to any of the positions and Harvey Hooley, one to watch for the future, for his blistering pace and bravado in attack and defence.

As is the way of cup draws, Wath were drawn first and so were given home team status and having won the toss, opened the game with the first kick off. Middlemiss fielded strongly and gathered support to drive forward before releasing the ball to Bray to clear out of the Ripon 22. From the line out. Wath looked to run up the middle and Perez set out his stall for the day with two massive tackles in succession, to stifle the attack. Given a scrum put in from the second tackle, Ripon looked to use their hitherto stable set piece to fight back, but the weight of Wath caused all sorts of bother. Perez scrambled the ball away to Mainey however and the backs quickly realigned for Barrett to make some yards looking to release Woolfenden. The latter was in good space, but just couldn’t quite control the pass receipt and The Blues’ first real attack fizzled out.

Next up was a Penalty to Wath after a Ripon scrum misdemeanour and the hosts kicked for touch. From the line out, the heavier pack trundled forward and made some yards before being hauled down and gaining a scrum put in 5 metres out. The Wath attack went left then right and then a cheeky inside one-handed pass from their sage Scrum Half, let their Flanker in to open the score with a Converted Try 7 – 0.

Ripon sought to regain the initiative when offered a Penalty at 6 minutes and Mainey took a quick tap to weave his way through the scattering opposition. Barrett was on hand to carry on the attack with a scything run that took him to the home 5 metre line before being dropped. Wath then conceded a Penalty at the breakdown and Bray stepped up to slot his first Penalty Goal of the afternoon and open the score for Ripon 7 – 3.

The next few minutes saw Ripon use their pace out wide and some strong running by Woolfenden and Graham kept the opposition busy. At 13 minutes, Ripon were offered a second Penalty shot, which Bray narrowly missed. At 16 minutes, Wath gained further advantage from a quickly taken Penalty on the left touchline and out of nowhere broke through the retreating defence to score a further Converted Try to take the score to 14 – 3.

At the start of the second quarter Bray fielded a deep kick out of defence from the opposition and opened play infield with a lengthy pass over to Woolfenden. The latter opened up to take his opposite number on the outside and then pressed through two further tackle attempts, before being pulled up short of the whitewash. The ever-present Mainey was on hand to pick up the final pass and scamper over for The Blues’ first Try. Bray’s conversion took the score to 14 – 10 and gave Ripon an added spring in their step.

At 27 minutes, a Wharton line out steal saw the youngster break clear of the pack and again put Woolfenden away for yet another mercurial run. This time the speedster was just bundled into touch short of the line but the pace and intensity of the Ripon attacks was starting to worry the opposition.

Next up on the half hour, Ripon’s line out delivery from Perez saw Williams break through the futile defence and charge up the middle of the pitch. Again the reshuffled defence gathered sufficiently to slow Williams down with just under 10 metres to go. Enter George Evans at a rate of knots, unstoppable at that distance to run in Ripon’s second Try and with Bray’s Conversion, nudged Ripon into the lead for the first time at 14 – 17.

Things really started to look up within three minutes and from a break down offence, Bray punished the hosts further with another Penalty Goal to extend the lead for Ripon to 14 – 20. Wath had the final honours in the intensely fought final minutes, when from a Penalty from a collapsed line out drive, playing advantage, the hosts quickly broke through the Ripon defence for an unconverted Try and reduce The Blues lead at half time to 19 – 20.

Ripon kicked off the second half with a mighty bomb from Bray and within seconds had the receivers in all sorts of bother. The ensuing Penalty for holding on in the tackle was a gift for Bray to put Ripon further ahead to 19 – 23 with a minute of the half played.

The rest of the third quarter got a bit torrid for The Blues, with Wath piling on the pressure and limiting break out options. The Ripon scrum then started to creak too, with a couple of strikes against the head and a degree of back-pedalling, thus limiting the quality of possession and attacking options. Wath added to their recovery with another Penalty Goal on 14 minutes, to take the score to a teasing 22 – 23. Things then took a bigger turn for the worse when defending close to the Ripon line, Koroiyadi was adjudged to have interfered with a quick Penalty and was dispatched to the sin bin for 10 minutes. Wath piled on the pressure, but the Ripon defence held firm with more massive tackles from Perez and Middlemiss leading the way. Just when The Blues started to get into a decent rhythm again, further insult was added to injury when on 23 minutes, Slator was also sin-binned for a breakdown offence, leaving the side reduced to 13 men.

The onslaught became relentless as Wath threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Ripon line, but still it held firm. The “get out of jail” call came on 25 minutes when a Penalty for holding on gave Ripon the chance to clear their lines.

The final quarter was frantic for both teams and the cacophony in the stadium deafening, with the hearty Ripon contingent by far the most vocal. The dying minutes played out with both sides battering each other mercilessly and with 14 players back in action, Ripon started to make better inroads to hang on to their tenuous lead. The next cruel blow, however, came on the 40th minutes when Wath were offered a Penalty for a breakdown offence and the hushed stadium witnessed the hosts take the lead again 25 – 23.

With some four minutes of stoppage time left on the clock, Ripon attacked the next restart like men possessed and pressured Wath into further errors. So when the Wath scrum was penalised on the 44th minute, you could have heard a pin drop as Bray stepped up coolly to take what could have been the last and winning kick of the game from some 45 metres out. Everyone held their breath as the ball went the distance and then tantalising just fell short of the cross bar. The Wath Full Back gratefully fielded the reception and hoofed the ball into the stand for the final play of the game and the final whistle, which left the Wath team jubilant and the pitch strewn with despondent Ripon players.

A nail-biter from start to finish, but not an ending for those with a weak disposition to witness too often. And so the game ended with a final score of 25 – 23. A game that could have gone either way and could have well been a sweet success if only Ripon had kept their cool throughout. Congratulations to Wath and commiserations to The Blues. Everyone in that squad played their part and everyone will be proud of their contribution and whilst second place may not be pleasing for everyone, comparing the ending of this season to many in the previous years, this is a strong place to launch next season from.

That’s it for now folks. Not quite the ending to the season that everyone with the best interest of the club wished for, but the finale that this “band of brothers” has deserved from the start of pre-season training last summer. That was when the foundations and great expectations of the Club’s most successful season in many a year were laid down and since when, all those 54 players played their part to get the club to this amazing place. Not long to go until we start again for next season and with so many of this band of brothers sticking around, who knows what could be achieved? Have a great summer and come back ready to go bigger and better.