Ashington vs Ripon - Saturday 20th April - PPJ's Cup Round 2

What better way to burst onto the adult rugby scene than that of Charlie Borchard’s debut 1st XV four try contribution to Ripon’s rout of Ashington in the second round of the Papa John Community Cup? Whilst presenting a somewhat diminutive figure on the field, young Charlie, another successful product of The Blues’ age grade system, put in a powerhouse performance straight out of the top drawer. On his way to winning acclaim as the Man of the Match, Borchard dominated the base of the breakdown in attack and defence, fired precision passes like laser guided missiles and looked every inch the commensurate “Petit General”, with a great future ahead of him. Noteworthy too was Mikey Bray’s commendable nine out of eleven conversion attempts to rack up another 18 points to take his tally for the season to a creditable 253 in all competitions.

What better day out for the travelling Ripon faithful to journey up into the heart of “Geordie Land” in bright but breezy conditions, to watch their team notch up a massive twelve try victory and put a marker down as to the quality of Yorkshire Rugby compared to their northern counterparts? For the second week on the trot, The Blues have summarily dismissed two of the top three teams in the comparable Durham & Northumberland league and shown just how big the gulf is between the two divisions geographically. Respectful of the warm welcome and convivial pre- and post-match hospitality, Ripon were content with magnanimity in victory and letting the scoreboard do the talking for the result.

What better reason than a brilliant on-field performance, for the Ripon players and supporters to let their hair down and break up the long journey home, to take in the cultural mores of the historic city of Newcastle. Another exercise executed with military precision, in which everyone was counted out and back in again, no-one was left behind and no casualties were sustained. There were however, a few cases of acute eye-strain reported due to the scanty apparel of some of the local party goers, but nothing untoward or long lasting.

This week’s selection was a natural progression from the last outing, with an unchanged back line apart from Borchard coming in for his debut and confining Matt Binks to the bench to do some damage later on. With two games under their belts together, this line up promised to provide excitement, raw power and guile, with some considerable pace and ingenuity. With ten out of the twelve tries scored by the backs, all of which involved significant interplay, this was some testament to a young and creative set of lads. The 0 – 45 scoreline at half time was also testament to their defensive capabilities in all phases of play to score seven first half tries to no reply.

The pack saw some reconditioning, with “Mack” Koroiyadi first choice starter at Loose Head, replacing Evans now sidelined for the rest of the season though injury. Jordan Payne was favoured to start at Hooker, to enable Pearce’s pace to be introduced to the back row. The bench had a familiar line up to last week’s with the exception of the call up of Jacob Drane as a back row finisher.

What better way to start a game than to score a try within the opening minute and that’s what The Blues just went and did. The dream start came from an Ashington knock on from the Ripon kick off and the quickly set first scrum of the day. Not wanting to mince words with the heavier home pack, Roebuck picked up at Number 8 to feed straight out to Thompson. Archie Thompson then swiftly fed Bray floating into the line to exploit the gap in defence and feed “Abo” Sovatabua to outpace the defence and touch down with a mere 52 seconds played. The touchline conversion attempt was just beyond Bray but he did go on to convert 75% of his later opportunities and assist so much in the other tries scored.

The weather conditions suited Ripon in the first half and with a stiff breeze behind them and a slight slope, any opportunity to use the elements worked well for them. With the mighty boots of Bray and Williams and the cheeky chips of Thompson and Borchard, the hosts were kept very much on the back foot for the majority of the half. Ashington did have a meaty scrum, which put Ripon under pressure a few times and even had them back-pedalling or wheeling on occasion and when they got some ball, did look dangerous in attack as the more evenly balanced second half showed.

The rest of the Ripon set piece didn’t go as well as predicted for either side, with the breeze playing more of an influence that accurate throwing and the outcomes of line outs being pretty much a lottery. That said, Wharton and Roebuck showed great agility and composure in the air and Pearce and Payne made much of the opportunities from overthrows and misjudged bounces.

The Blues’ next score came fairly quicky and bode well for the tone of the rest of the half. With a try scored after an average of every five minutes, there was scant opportunity to reset between scores and so much of Ripon’s scoreboard success came from open play. Will Barrett was second up on six minutes after Payne tidied up a home line out. Thompson shifted quickly to the right and on to Bray again, who released the “G Man” Tommy for a 40-metre break. Sensing Barrett infield, Graham fed his Centre teammate to score. Bray converted for 0 – 12.

Next up was a powerful run from Graham after Barrett and Williams executed the perfect double tackle and turnover, the ever-present Bray fed Payne then Mack to allow Tommy to cross for Ripon’s third at 12 minutes and without Bray finding his kicking rhythm yet, the score stayed at 0 – 17. The next ten minutes saw the hosts look to exploit their scrum strength by disrupting Ripon’s first phase plans and with the line out not yet fully functioning, looked to edge towards some damage limitation. That was short-lived though, when Tom Austin, guesting in the second row, touched down after a penalty line out and well-executed catch and drive. Bray was on song with the conversion for 0 – 24 with the same amount of minutes played.

Will Barrett made it five straight from the restart after Roebuck’s reception and Austin’s continuation of play. Bray broke loose up the touchline and muscled his way through five tackles to reach open air. With just the Full Back to beat, Bray then unselfishly fed Barrett to finish the move. With Bray’s conversion, the scoreboard moved up to 0 – 31.

After the next restart, it was Borchard’s time to play a less unselfish role in the game and start to exploit the gaps that were appearing every time the Ripon backs broke free. On 29 minutes, Charlie followed up from a Bray break, chip and chase. Wharton challenged the receiving Full Back at the bounce and Borchard took his chance with the bouncing ball to touch down. Bray converted for 0 – 38.

After some spirited play from Ashington in the dying moments of the half, Borchard cropped up again to complete a move started from a scrum. Thompson fed Bray coming into the line again to feed Abo. The Flying Fijian made good ground before succumbing to the defence. Bray and Abo got back in the action again, with the latter making 30 metres before popping to Borchard to complete. Bray’s conversion ended the scoring and the half at 0 – 45 and some considerable excitement in the Ripon camp at what the second half might bring.
The second half started with Ripon playing into the stiffening breeze and up the slight incline. Not insurmountable conditions, but enough to give the hosts some much needed momentum after their nightmare first half. Despite their managing to create enough out of their limited possession, Ashington scored their three consolation tries, but they did fail to capitalise on the favourable elements and let Ripon in for a further five tries to seal their fate.

Barker caught the restart kick on the full and ploughed into the opposition to get into their half and set up a string of attacking phases. With six minutes played, a scrum on half way saw a switch move from Borchard to Bray on the blind side and running into traffic, Bray chipped the opposition. With two or three defenders contenting themselves with impeding Bray’s progress to the follow up, Borchard jinked through the throng to hack on and with a beautiful bounce, gathered to run in for his hat trick. Bray’s conversion made it 0 – 52 and Ripon ready to declare.
Ashington got the bit between their teeth after ten minutes and with some impetus from a couple of tapped penalties, built up sufficient phases to stretch Ripon’s hitherto rock-solid defence for their first converted try and 7 – 52. Undeterred, The Blues snapped back in action and after a Wharton turnover, Ripon secured a penalty touch kick for a catch and drive. The Ripon organisation and ball retention was well executed and too much for the opposition, allowing Dalby to find himself in space to complete the movement with his now characteristic two-metre dash for the line. Bray’s conversion took the score to 7 – 59 and more daylight appearing between the two sides.

After a further three minutes, The Blues were in the driving seat again and from another brilliant line out take by Roebuck, Borchard broke free to feed Williams on the blind side. In almost a carbon copy of his last score, Borchard chased up the Williams chip by darting through the defence, gathered and ran in his fourth try to rapturous applause. Bray made no mistake of the conversion for 7 – 66 and Ripon getting almost out of sight. Adding insult to injury, some home indignation offended the referee to the extent that he awarded Ripon a penalty from the halfway line rather than a restart kick to the hosts. Despite a mighty kick into the wind from Williams, some uncharacteristically robust home defence repulsed Ripon from the line out and pressed them back to half way again.

From there, the hosts momentarily gained the upper hand when Austin was despatched with a yellow card for an alleged indiscretion off the ball. Seizing the advantage, Ashington set into Ripon and through some rapid recycling crossed the visitors’ line for their second try which went unconverted for 12 – 66 with 27 minutes of the half played. A kind voice in the crowd was heard to say at this point; “They are pretty good after all; they’ve had it in them all game”. Any further justification of the comment was of course drowned out by the surrounding guffaws.

Back in gear again, Ripon pressed back into home territory and from an athletic line out take by Wharton, the ball was spun quickly out to Bray to make some ground. Abo was on his inside shoulder to take the slip pass into space and cover the remaining 60 metres up field, dodging the odd defender along the way to touch down for his second try. Bray finished what he started with the conversion for 12 – 73.
Into the final ten minutes, Ashington were down but not out. A further quickly taken penalty caught Ripon napping again and allowed the opposition in for their third try. Unlucky for them, the wind assistance wasn’t quite strong enough to carry the conversion attempt and their final contribution to the scoreboard was 17 points against Ripon’s 73.

Keen to finish on a high note, Ripon stepped up again and found their third or fourth wind to set up a series of phases towards the opposition line. From a Blues scrum on the halfway line, the quick ball fed out to Abo to strut his stuff down the wing and cross the line. Fearful of stealing Borchard’s thunder by scoring a hat trick, Abo selflessly encouraged Binks to join him in the in-goal area to touch down for Ripon’s twelfth and final try. Despite everyone in the Ripon camp keeping everything crossed for the conversion to notch up the clean 80 points for The Blues, replacing Bray for the final few minutes, James Cooper’s kick just didn’t have the legs and so the final score settled at 17 – 78.

A scoreline that defined Ripon’s pace, fitness, skills and abilities. The team work and understanding on show from the whole squad were a joy to behold. Fixing the gaps in continuity and clinically excluding the opposition from playing will be the focus of training before the next outing. Not quite the complete team yet, but on the best and most consistent form The Blues have seen in a long time.

Ripon are back at home for quarter final action next week on Saturday 27th April, against a different calibre opposition altogether and host old friends and rivals Yarnbury for what promises to be a nail-biting cup tie. Let’s get the population of Ripon and surrounding areas behind The Blues and fill Mallorie Park in support of the home side. The kick off is at 3.00pm and all supporters and spectators will be very welcome.