After a two-hour journey to the other side of the Pennines, Ripon faced a lively and successful Littleborough side, who had only lost two games this season so far. Such are the challenges and disappointments of cup competitions, sadly Ripon couldn’t quite find the “go” button and, with the defeat, Yorkshire’s hopes in this corner of the cup went the way of the bus timetable.

The joys of a bus trip into the unknown, include a chance to bond with fellow players and officials and gaze longingly at the wonderful countryside passed along the way. Plenty of time to mull over the whereabouts of the hostelries targeted for Riponian Colonisation post-match, or was there enough beer on the bus to cover the hydration needs of the players across the bleak moorland of the M62?

Not so much a magical mystery tour then where the… are we? The planned arrival of the coach eventually coincided with the car travellers who set off some 45 minutes later! Some constructive feedback to the transit company may avoid further stressful journeys. No harm done and certainly not as stressful as the first sight of the broom cupboard that awaited Ripon’s finest, which prompted a lot of stomach churning sinking feelings and the odd murmuring of: “It was never like this at Leeds/York, Hull Ionians”, what have we descended to? The attempt to strategically place Emily in the one remaining vacant room and start her player reconstruction duties failed, when a very angry local evicted her and her K Tape in favour of local visitors from Burnley. Looking at the size of that team, they were just as uncomfortable in a room twice the size of Ripon’s.

Selection this week saw recalls for six players including a timely welcome to serious Rugby for Lewis Simpkin at Full Back and another Flying Fijian comeback in Saula Take on the Right Wing; Zak Kirby came back into the squad on the Left Wing. Iain “The Enforcer” Barker was recalled to boost the pack and Sam “The Snitch” Stoddart and Harry Drane were recalled to beef up the bench. Two 1st XV debuts saw a welcome first outing for young forwards Will Mountford at utility and Otto Cockcroft starting at Lock, the latter bringing his substantial presence to good effect throughout. There were three further positional changes to add to the mix and presented a quite different line up from the previous week’s victorious squad.

For those not already mentioned, Jacob Drane started at Inside Centre, with “Abo” Sovatabua outside him. “Guten” Morgan Clark led the backs from Number 10 and Alex Riley relished the prospect of the second game on the trot in his preferred position at Scrum Half. In the pack, the “Ripon Cong” triumvirate of Keith Anderson at Loose Head, Skipper James “Wing Ting” Pearce at Hooker and the un-carbon datable Adam Newcombe at Tight Head, gave as good as they got in the front row for the fourth week in succession. Accompanying Barker in the second row was Joe Middlemiss and the back row saw Billy Fletcher at Blind Side, Jordan Layne at Number 8 and Allan “Not again” Hudson, winning his twentieth man of the match award in just nine games. Somebody stop him please…

In dull, cold and breezy conditions and with a typically Lancashire “character-building” sticky pitch, Ripon drew even honours at the set piece eventually, though the line out took some time to get going, but were simply unable to deal with the fast paced precision attacking of the hosts. Despite showing strong discipline throughout and conceding half the penalties than their opposition, Ripon weren’t able to gain the cohesion they are used to, whilst the repeated line out originated driving mauls gained impressive territory. In fact it was from one such drive on the half hour that after repeated pulses on the home line, Anderson crashed over for Ripon’s sole try. Clark converted for his 125th points of the season and the lead for The Blues momentarily.

After an early unconverted try by the hosts after just six minutes, Ripon spent much of the first half either defending or seeking to find their usual structure and composure. The Anderson-Clark inspired points were a welcome relief but soon tarnished by a penalty goal to ‘Borough for a tackle offence. The remainder of the first half played out with the hosts holding on to their tenuous lead and Ripon piling on the pressure. A concerted effort in the dying moments saw Ripon drive for the home line again after a penalty touch kick and line out win by Hudson. Repeated thrusts saw Barker eventually cross the line and held up. With penalty advantage for the defence collapsing the maul, the referee bizarrely blew for half time, leaving the hosts relieved and Ripon scratching their heads. The half time score of 8 – 7 left much hope for both sides.

Playing uphill into the wind in the second half – maybe should’ve thought that one through, Ripon found matters tougher than they predicted. A further penalty goal to ‘Borough extended their lead to 11 – 7. Insult was added to injury after a further four minutes when the hosts set off on another of their characteristic pacey interplays to run in another converted try for 18 – 7 and Ripon literally with a mountain to climb.
As the game entered its final quarter, Ripon’s fortunes started to improve and gradually they put together some penetrating moves. With the addition of three penalties in quick succession, The Blues made good ground with driving mauls but just couldn’t get close enough to score. The hosts worked their way back into contention in the dying moments in much the same way as Ripon had ended the first half. Catching the Ripon backs off side within sight of the posts, ‘Borough were expected to go for goal. However, not satisfied with the three point opportunity, the hosts opted for a scrum and from it launched a speedy attack to left field and scored their third try. The conversion attempt fell short and with time out, the final whistle blew for a home win of 23 – 7.

A long way to go for a negative result, but a useful opportunity to explore different opposition and styles of play, as well as continue to try out new combinations of players. Including today’s two debuts, Ripon has used a total of forty eight players in this season’s 1st XV squad. Someday soon, a consistently winning formula must be inevitable. It’s these little things that are sent to try us… Ripon still have a chance at silverware in the form of the Yorkshire Shield however, and will be working towards a positive outcome from their semi-final tie against Harrogate Pythons in a few weeks’ time.

Ripon are back in what promises to be intense league action on Saturday 7 February with a home fixture versus first placed Bridlington. All supporters are very welcome to Mallorie Park for the 2:15 pm kick-off.