A far cry from the recent drought conditions, Ripon played out their inaugural match of the RFU National Cup Competition at a very soggy Mallorie Park and the sizeable crowd benefitted immensely from the cover and comfort of the Tim Wray Stand. After a slow and at times, shaky start and in appallingly wet and cool conditions, Ripon systematically disposed of their northern opposition in this first round of the newly badged RFU national cup competition, formerly and affectionately known as the “Pizza Cup”.

With some thirteen changes from the previous week’s squad line up, Ripon played the conditions admirably and with considerable composure, to rack up a seven tries to one victory and a pass through to the next round of this competition that they won two seasons ago. A downside to the Ripon performance was the adjudged indiscipline by the match official who penalised the hosts on some fifteen occasions, including a yellow card sending off, to just three infractions against the visitors. An imbalance never seen before and ironically, completely disproportionate to Ripon’s grip, control and dominance of the game, particularly in the second half.

Changes to the squad line up saw eight recalls in total, including for Elliot Taylor at Number 8, who was omnipresent in attack and impregnable in defence. Settling well into the squad, new signing Taylor made a huge difference to all aspects of play, with a second half try for his efforts. Notable too, in his first outing in the starting line-up was promising youngster Max Webster at Open Side, who was full of energy and aggression, scoring two tries into the bargain. With a very much experimental look to the team due to unavailability, the gamble of playing two flankers in the Centres with Jacob Drane and Tom Roebuck, the casual observer would have said they were naturals. Though later on in the game, the former was despatched to the sin bin for some more forward oriented footwork. The gamble paid off, with strong carries and slick handling from the pair.

Elsewhere in the squad, the starting from row saw the indefatigable Newcombe at Loose Head and Stoddart at Tight, to provide a firm and stable platform, with Skipper Pearce adding his usually abrasive impact at Hooker. The second row saw a Rayner and Britton pairing, that not only looked a powerful combination together, but both added considerable go forward with ball in hand and rock solid defence. The final back row berth went to Billy Fletcher at Blind Side, putting in a typical workmanlike shift.

The backs saw Riley and Clark pairing up for their third successive competitive outing together at Scrum Half and Number 10 respectively; the former bagging a first half try and the latter having a better day with the boot for a creditable 13 points. The Wings saw the old and new, ying and yang pairing of the antediluvian Jason Bell enjoying his obligatory single 1st XV outing of the season and adding bucket loads of sage wisdom, with young speedster Zak Kirby, hungry for possession. James “Grizzly” Cooper completed the line up at Full Back and put in a noteworthy shift in defence, safely fielding a multitude of slippery balls with confidence.

The bench saw Anderson raring to go after a rapid recovery from his finger trouble, utility forward Niall Maddock and Harry Drane to add impact later on.

The first half saw some measured exchanges between both sides, mindful of the torrential rain and its impact on trying to be too to expansive. The first score for Ripon came on 12 minutes, when after Taylor broke for some 50 metres in midfield, Newcombe backed up to feed young Zak Kirby to dart over. Kirby went on to take the man of the match award for his involvement in so many Ripon attacks. Clark continued his skill of hitting the upright for no conversion but a lead of 5 – 0.

From the restart, Roebuck claimed possession and as the opposition parted, made his way up field to unselfishly offload to Riley to touch down. Morgan Clark converted for 12 – 0 and Ripon getting very excited. A series of penalties against Ripon gave the visitors possession, though not much territorial advantage, but the hosts managed to shrug off the challenge and Clark nudged The Blues further in front with a penalty goal on 21 minutes for 15 – 0.

It wasn’t all the host’s way however and when a Whitley Bay penalty touch kick to the corner gave them a mouthwatering prospect of points, Taylor snatched the line out ball and Ripon looked to clear out of defence. Ironically the attempted clearance from Riley didn’t go the distance, traveling further vertically than horizontally and a visiting forward pounced to receive the kick at close range and flop over to open their scoring in the midst of a bemused Ripon pack. The memorable moment will haunt Riley mercilessly, as will the taunts of his teammates. The conversion took it to 15 – 7 and a different dynamic to the game. Whilst the visitors played with more spirit, the remainder of the half played out scoreless. However, with five further penalties awarded to the visitors, their possession could have let them in for more, were it not for the steadfast Ripon defence.

The second half, despite a further penalty count of five to one in favour of the opposition, saw Ripon find their groove and run in a further five tries, four of which were converted by Clark.

Max Webster did the double with two tries from intensive support play and Elliot Taylor made the scoreboard as just reward for his huge endeavours in the set piece and around the park. Tries also came to Chazza Britton, again a just dessert for his efforts in carrying strongly and being a force to be reckoned with in defence. Niall Maddock added to the try count with a “right place, right time” score immediately following him coming off the bench and there ended Ripon’s hard fought initially, but well-deserved win.
Some learning to take back to the training paddock in terms of managing discipline and refereeing interpretations, especially in games where the official’s opinion was so clearly one sided to Ripon’s detriment.

Overall, a much better Ripon team performance, in which they kept things simple, played to their shape and strengths and pretty much ignored the torrential rain.

Next week, Ripon are back in cup action in the Yorkshire Shield Competition on Saturday 27th September. This time The Blues are away at Queen’s Terrace, Ossett, for what promises to be a more demanding fixture. All traveling support will be very welcome for the 3.00pm kick off.