Northern author, Alfred Wainwright was attributed to have said: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing”. Under the sweltering skies of Mallorie Park this week the fewer clothes, the better was the order of the day and whilst the spectators relished the unseasonal heatwave in varying degrees of attire better suited to tropical climes or even the beach; one had to spare a thought for the players, who slogged it out for the best part of 90 minutes, in outfits and footwear, purposed for a winter sport. No lightweight designer world cup kit on offer here and so added to the dimension of a tough enough fixture in which both sides gave and asked no quarter and sought to run the ball as much as possible; avoiding heatstroke, sunstroke and dehydration was an added pressure.

Credit where it’s due and both sides adapted to the conditions well and with strategically planned water breaks and an empathetic Referee, keeping play on the shady side of the pitch as much as possible, all came away from the event unscathed.

In a game in which Ripon held the lead on three occasions and lost it twice, what started out looking like a forgone conclusion, with The Blues’ opening Try scored within 28 seconds of the kick off, soon turned into an entertaining affair with end-to-end play and a nail-biting conclusion. For Roundhegians the visitors of the day, to feel somewhat miffed or even cheated, by having the lead snatched from their grasp in the last play of the game is quite understandable. It is a game that has to be played over 80 minutes and like the visitors caught the hosts napping on a couple of occasions, it was The Blues, who were wide awake at the end and through sustained pressure and patience, came out worthy winners with a bonus point home win. Ripon, however, can be forgiven for a certain smugness in opening and closing the game with a bang and lulling the opposition into a false send of security by squandering a half time lead and letting them run in five Tries, four of which were converted. A win was always in the Ripon masterplan, it just wasn’t clear at times how it was going to come about.

Apart from the obvious glitch in the plan that allowed The Blues to lose concentration to the extent they let the visitors into the game to take the lead twice and almost win, the team performance that pulled it out of the bag in the end, did so with style and energy which belittled the sapping and exhausting conditions. Discipline was also critical on this occasion and here Ripon put in perhaps their best example of self-control in many months, conceding a total of just six penalties, three in each half, with Roundhegians offending at twice that level. Plus with 21 of Ripon’s points arising either directly or indirectly from Penalty situations, the leadership of Skipper Barker and Mikey Bray’s in form right boot, punished the opposition mercilessly for their transgressions.

Selection this week was a challenge again, with more injuries and unavailabilities from the previous week and committing to fielding a near full-strength 2nd XV. A total of 11 changes were made from last week’s line up, with five recalls to the squad and six positional changes to get the best combination possible.

Up front, George “Safe Hands” Evans returned from a week off, to Loose Head and James Pearce and Nick Perez kept their places at Hooker and Tight Head respectively. All three making a significant impact at set piece and in loose play, with Perez adding a late first half Try to his tally. The Second Row was all change from last week, with the recall of Iain Barker to steer the ship from the engine room and his familiar buddy for much of last season, Joe Middlemiss, wreaking havoc as usual at the breakdowns. A front five that packed a punch in attack and defence and produced a solid set piece platform for most of the game and sustained the mobility to support the squad’s creative style of play.
The back row saw a start for Billy “Tooth Fairy” Burgin at Blind Side and Freddie Wharton maintaining his claim at Open Side. Completing the line-up was Tom Austin at Number 8, delivering another grafting performance.

The backs saw just four changes from last week, with Mikey Bray starting at Full Back and Morgan Clark and Tom Graham matching the weather conditions and setting the world on fire on the Wings. With a Try apiece, Clark and Graham showed great pace, energy and creativity in attack and solid finishing, with Bray racking up 14 points with his boot, from three Penalty Goals and three Conversions. The Centres were perhaps the most unsettled part of the squad with the late recall of George Prewett at Inside and Will Barrett at Outside, both were stifled from playing their usual free running game, so unable to break loose as expected.

At half back, Archie Thompson stepped in one place to Number 10 and through his fearless defensive play and command of the midfield with ball in hand and tactical kicking, put in a top notch “Man of the Match” display. Last but not least, well apart from being the smallest player on the field, was the recalled Max Marston, to put in another sniping performance and snapping at the heels of the pack at the breakdown. The bench saw Keith Anderson and Harvey Hooley selected for finishing roles and Harry Veitch gaining experience as an impact player and bagging Ripon’s final and winning Try for his efforts. One to watch for a future starting position.

Electing to kick off, Ripon were given the downhill end for the first half and in 28⁰C heat and a barely perceptible Northerly breeze, Bray kicked deep for the visitors to clear. The aspirational cross field touch kick found the welcoming arms of Clark who set off at pace into the sunny side and lofted a pass across to Bray. Next up were Prewett and Barrett to hit the left 15 metre channel at pace and Barrett’s feed to Tom Graham was perfectly timed and weighted for the Juggernaut Winger to bounce through two would be tacklers before completing the 40-metre dash to touch down with just 28 seconds on the clock. Bray added the Conversion to put The Blues into the lead at 7 – 0 with less than a minute played.

A few exchanged kicks between the sides probed for errors of handling and positioning, but none were forthcoming until Ripon shifted up a gear after a Perez break on 11 minutes. The move took the hosts up the right touchline and from quick recycling, Marston put in a cheeky chip over the opposition defence. Clark weaved through the debris to take the descending ball on the full and outpaced the stragglers to touch down in the corner. Bray’s Conversion from 45 metres, had the range and accuracy and took the Ripon lead to 14 – 0.

A remarkable point to note as the game approached the end of the first quarter, the skill levels of both sides were exceptionally high with only one scrum to Roundhegians so far after Ripon’s solitary handling error and no Penalties at all. Ripon then had their first scrum put in at 17 minutes, which was rock solid and from the secondary nudge caught the opposition backs off side and gifted Bray the first of his three successful Penalty Goal attempts. With a score of 17 – 0 with the same amount of time played, Ripon could be forgiven for showing some complacence, but they stuck to their guns and retained their structure, even though the opposition started to look like imploding.
The first scheduled water break at 20 minutes was all it seemed was necessary to perk Roundhegians up and into a more competitive frame of mind. A failed defensive clearance kick from Ripon saw a speedy counter by the visitors’ Left Wing, cutting back inside with some fancy footwork, the link with his nearer Centre was sufficient to flatfoot the home defence and despite Wharton’s attempted ankle tap, the visitor romped in to open their score and with the conversion make the difference more palatable to the guests at 17 – 7.

Back in possession and the driving seat, The Blues pressed again into the visitors’ half and from an off-side infringement, Bray enhanced the home lead with his second Penalty Goal to 20 – 7. Undeterred, Roundhegians stepped up their pace and put together some structured play and started to ask serious questions of the home defence. Another miscommunication in the home backs saw a further break out by the speedy visitors and from a couple of missed tackles ran in their second Converted Try to narrow the gap to 20 – 14.

The final ten minutes saw Ripon regather their composure and build some purposeful movements into the Roundhegians’ territory. The structured plays soon morphed into the home pack battering the visitors’ line and seeing who would crack first. A determined set of drives for the line involving Austin, Pearce and Barker ended in a handling error and a Roundhegians put in to a 5-metre scrum. Getting a good nudge on, the Ripon pack took the ball against the head and in the scramble to reform for a fresh attack, Nick Perez seized the initiative and the ball and crashed over for The Blues third Try. Bray just missed the Conversion but the 25 – 14 scoreline remained static until half time and gave The Blues a decent buffer to go into the break with.

The half time team talk for Ripon focused on sticking with the game plan and retaining shape in attack and defence. The key messages were to keep up the pace, to maintain discipline and to faultlessly execute their plans. It would seem that the Roundhegians team talk was pretty much along the same lines as far as pace and execution were concerned, but a poor display of discipline was what let the visitors down in the end and in conceding eight second half Penalties to Ripon’s three, it was going to be a matter of who took advantage better than the other. This was perhaps where Ripon didn’t fair as well as expected, with only 10 second half points coming from their ten Penalties, there were some missed opportunities. The visitors had a better second half run rate scoring seven points from three Penalties.

From the opening exchanges of the second half, a miscommunication in the fourth minute let the visitors in for their softest Converted Try of the game and allowed them to close the gap to 25 – 21. Seizing the initiative and preventing the hosts from settling, Roundhegians picked up their pace and determination and within five minutes, crossed the Ripon line again and whilst not Converting, took the lead at 25 – 26.
Ripon rapidly regained their composure and started to put some decent plays together, with Clark and Hooley starting to make ground around the edges and Prewett and Barrett pressing up the middle. The pressure was bound to tell soon and after a lean period of no scoring, Bray put Ripon back in front with his third Penalty Goal to retake the lead at 28 – 26. With the clock ticking and the game in the balance, this was a period in which Ripon tightened up their play as best as they could, but the visitors dealt their next cruel blow on 39 minutes, with a further Converted Try out of nowhere to regain the lead again at 28 – 33.

Now was the time for Ripon to dig deep like they’ve never done before and seeing the gap of just one score being closeable, really set to it. Relentless pressure on the visitors line from the Ripon pack saw three Penalties in quick succession and each one resulting in a quick tap and battering ram approach. Ball retention was at a premium here and Ripon held firm, with the marginal gains over a few feet at a time. The pressure finally paid off when young Harry Veitch pick from the base of a ruck and had the right pace, body angle and drive, to squeeze through the defence and score Ripon’s vital fourth Try, a bonus point winning effort that would have drawn the scores had Bray not been on point with the Conversion and taken the final score to 35 – 33. The final whistle shrilled out before the ball landed, thus ending perhaps the most intense period of Rugby at Mallorie Park for a long time.

A delighted Ripon celebrated whole-heartedly at the joy of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and showing superb resilience to absorb a battering and come out worthy winners. Some questions to be asked around defensive awareness and communications, but overall a solid win and one that for the time being, puts Ripon firmly in the middle of the pack for Counties 2 Yorkshire.

Next Saturday 16th September, the league season progresses for Ripon with the 1st XV on the road to the far side of Leeds to be hosted by Bramley Phoenix for their next encounter. The kick off will be 3.00pm and all travelling supporters will be welcome.

For any existing players, or would be new members reading this who have not been party to pre-season training or available for the games so far, it’s never too late to get back into playing ways, so do get in touch and participate. We need as many players as possible to sustain our playing strength and league aspirations. Training continues at the club every Tuesday and Thursday evening and every little helps!