Ripon’s competitive season ended with a very loud bang at The Sycamores in Bramhope last Wednesday evening. Loud in terms of the vociferous and at times partisan support from the Ripon massive, who turned out by the bus load to support The Blues in their Yorkshire Shield semi-final tie. A match rearranged by mutual consent after bad weather and other club commitments prevented it being played earlier in the season. The bang: well it wasn’t the joy of the occasion as the staunch and stoic Ripon supporters and players gave their all on the pitch; it was the bubble bursting, on the dream of the club attracting some Yorkshire silverware, some 49 years since the glory of 1977.

In a competition now greatly underplayed in terms of its importance to many Yorkshire clubs, the route to this semi-final was hardly long and tortuous. With Ripon only winning one first round tie back in September and having byes in the following two rounds, this wasn’t going to be the outcome of a tough campaign; but it was a chance to have a go at local rivals Harrogate Pythons. A club of humble beginnings, now steadfastly competing in division higher than Ripon, Pythons would have made a memorable scalp had the stars been in a certain alignment. The outcome however, was The Blues exiting from the competition after a close first half; marred by the loss of two impactful players and a second half in which the Pythons turned up the pace and physicality to an intensity Ripon found hard to live with. The shining light in the gloom at the end, was the second half hat trick of tries from Olly Lang-Burns, which made the score more respectable for The Blues. The Python’s seven tries probably flattered them somewhat, but they did show consistently clinical form throughout and the win takes them onto the daunting prospect of a final against the powerful and promoted Wath Upon Dearne.

With only one player not available from the previous Saturday’s team and a squad of twenty permitted, selection was relatively straightforward for the starting line-up. The five finishers on the bench were chosen for their ability to add a different dimension to the game and remain competitive for eighty minutes. The final line up saw three recalls, all on the bench and a total of eight positional changes to seek a winning formula from the talent available.

In the backs, Alex Riley stepped back to Full Back and the two Wings were occupied by the speed merchants Zak Kirby and Olly Lang-Burns, the former scoring Ripon’s first try and the latter had the last word with the final three tries. Tom Graham provided his usual composure and stability at Inside Centre and returning Prodigal Son Tom Roebuck at Outside. The latter’s dramatic comeback cruelly cut short by a first half shoulder injury, which removed a vital component from Ripon’s arsenal. At half back, Morgan Clark and Harry Drane rubbed along again like peas and carrots, Clark having his least successful time kicking from the tee in recent weeks with a 66% achievement, but keeping things moving well kicking from hand.

In the pack, a slight refresh saw George Evans start at Loose Head and Pearce and Newcombe retaining their front row berths. The second row saw the increasingly familiar pairing of Iain Barker and Billy Fletcher put in another top notch shift, with Billy rounding off the first half with an audacious 40 metre try in the dying seconds. The back row was going to have heavy demands of them and so Tom Austin at Blind Side and Allan Hudson at Open were natural shoe-ins, as was Elliot Davie-Taylor at Number 8. Hudson’s exit with a head injury in the first half was a seminal point of the game and fuelled a lot of “what if” and If only” conversations, debating what might have been if he’d been able to stay on the park.

The bench accommodated Jack Stiddard and Jordan Layne from last week, with the addition of Ketih Anderson as an additional front row impactor and the two James’s – Cooper to cover 10 and 15 and “Woolfie” Woolfenden to bring his pace and strength to midfield.
The game flowed well for both teams, with honours pretty much even at the set piece and neither side dominating from first phase. The difference became clear later on, that Pythons maintained their shape better in attack and pushed out wide more quickly rather than getting involved in the crash, bang wallop of midfield play. A learning point Ripon may wish to take on board, particularly when many of their midfield thrusts broke down into slower ball than intended. Discipline was also an issue and capitalising on opportunities. Penalties were nearly even at nine awarded to Ripon and ten to Pythons overall and Pythons suffered two yellow cards to Ripon’s one. Pythons however, scored 20 points from their penalties to Ripon’s 5 and that has to be a salutary lesson to use numerical and possession advantages to full effect.

The match started in bright sunlight, with a chill breeze end to end. Ripon received the kick off into the wind, facing the sun and uphill. Things bode well, or should have for the favourable elements the second half promised. Hudson gathered the starting kick strongly and looked to break the gain line. From the tackle, a miscommunication between Drane and Graham offered the opposition a scrum just outside the Ripon 22. The attack from the base fizzled out and The Blues escaped the early pressure.

On five minutes, Ripon were in attack and from a deliberate knock on by the defence, took the penalty touch kick. From Hudson’s line out take, the ball was carried on by Fletcher and Davies Taylor towards midfield. Clark switched left to wrong foot the defence and feed Kirby to weave the final 30 metres in to open the scoring. Clark was just short of the conversion for 0 – 5.

Pythons reacted well and built some strong phases of play. A penalty for off side near the Ripon 22 gave Pythons a chance for a quick tap and the line beckoned for a converted try and Pythons taking the lead at 7 – 5. A couple of minutes later, using the wind well for territorial kicking, after a breakdown foul, Pythons added a further penalty goal for 10 – 5.

Ripon fought well to get back in contention and slowed down the opposition attacks well, making great inroads themselves. Catastrophe struck on the half hour however, when a breakdown melee saw both Hudson and Roebuck leave the field with game ending injuries. Even a further penalty to Ripon and yellow card against Pythons for foul play couldn’t repair the damage of the two losses and Pythons went on to attack strongly from a scrum just outside the Ripon 22 to extend their score by a further unconverted try for a lead of 15 – 5. With their tails up, Pythons thrived on a bit more lively possession and on 40 minutes, put a Prop away for a corner try. With the conversion, Python’s lead of 22 – 5 looked unassailable. Billy Fletcher had something to say about that however and from the restart, when Pearce flattened the receiver and there was nobody home to help, Billy picked up the free ball and outpaced what remained of the defence to run in under the posts. Clark converted for 22 – 12 and Ripon not feeling so blue at the break.

The second half, with the addition of floodlights, started with a fine kick off from Clark that put Pythons under pressure. Closing in on a break out from Pythons, Clark received a clearance and chipped for Kirby to chase down the touchline. Gathering well Kirby recycled infield and through Pearce and Clark, released Woolfenden to make some 40 metres with his powerful running. Unselfishly, Woolfenden offloaded to Olly Lang-Burns to finish the move. Clark converted for 22 – 19 and Ripon on the up. Pythons responded well however, and just three minutes later, popped over a penalty goal to extend their lead again to 25 – 19.

After 16 minutes a further penalty for off side gifted Pythons another chance at a tap penalty and again, the opposition showed more sharpness and intent in attack and added a further converted try for 32 – 19. Within just five more minutes, the Pythons were at it again and after repeated phases of possession up the middle, a couple of slack Blues tackles let them in again for another converted try and 39 – 19. Looking a bit down but not out, Ripon were beginning to ask serious questions as to their defence and their until today, attacking prowess. Alas, the questions went unanswered as Pythons dealt another blow with a converted try from broken play for 46 – 19 and Ripon needing a miracle to stay in the game.

Like El Cid riding down onto the beach to relive the siege of Valencia, only a lot more alive, enter young Mr Lang-Burns to attempt to save Ripon single handed. From a Pythons clearance kick the ball was quickly recycled to the right and Lang-Burns outpaced everyone over 50 metres to touch down. Clark added the extras for 46 – 26. No sooner had play settled from the next restart than the ball ended up with young Olly again and again, he made no mistake of shredding the defence for his third try. Clark was on song for the conversion and 46 – 33 with five minutes to go. With this scoring rate, anything seemed possible.

Pythons however, dug deep and fronted up well to reduce Ripon’s attacking options. The cruel final blow for The Blues came a minute into injury time when an opportune break appeared and the Pythons’ Inside Centre barged in for the final try of the game. The conversion took the final score to 53 – 33. Much credit to Pythons for persistence and precision, as well as weathering the storm with 13 players at one point and fair play to Ripon, who stepped up the big occasion and the bigger team and did their best.

Well in the immortal Looney Tunes style: “That’s all folks” for this playing season. With a fun packed line up of social and playing events over the summer, Ripon RUFC will not be a dull place by any means. With the Sportsman’s Lunch on 8 May and Ball on 9 May both sold out already, the next big things will be the world famous annual Beer & Music Festival on 27 June and the soon to become prestigious Ripon 7’s on 11 July. Tickets available via the club website. Be there or be square,