Yarnbury vs Ripon - Saturday 23rd September

The air was chill and fairly still, interrupted periodically by the incoming arrivals to Leeds Bradford Airport next door. What the casual observer from on high might have made of the game, one will never know. Those present however, were witness to an interesting example of two very different playing styles coming together in the same place at the same time, with very different outcomes from those expected, by Ripon at least. The Blues played with composure and structure and through a dominant set piece, established numerous territorial and possessional advantages. The hosts on the contrary, were opportunist and made more of attacking options from the back foot and literally played fast and loose, with exemplary support play and ran in seven Tries to The Blues’ three.

The rigid adherence to The Blue’s game plan was simple and effective and everyone in the squad knew exactly what their role was and where their place was at any given time. Over produced, over choreographed? Time will tell when the plan is tested against other opposition. Granted, Ripon were reliant on a dominant set piece and well-structured play from that platform and nine times out of ten, that should work. The x-factors in this case: were Yarnbury’s total disregard for the visitors’ forward dominance and shape; the hosts’ ability to create something out of anything and again, a Ripon side that for the second week running, failed to gain the confidence of the referee.

Superstitions and omens bring a sense of unreality to sporting performances and successes at times and one can be forgiven for reading too much into the simplest of signs. Thus when faced with the menu options for a pre-match snack and noting the aptly named “Blue Rinse Burger,” it would have been rude not to indulge. The burger in itself was very tasty. The portent however, less effective, as the club ironically failed to “do the double” over the opposition. Noting the “Blue Rinse Cocktail” on the bar menu after the match wasn’t helpful either and just seemed to rub salt in the wounds.

Selection this week, saw the changes encouragingly down to single figures, which augured well for some long-awaited continuity and consistency in the squad. In total, three players were reshuffled from last week’s line up, five were recalled and a long-awaited debut for ex-Colt, Oscar Groundwater.

At Full Back, Mikey Bray had a challenging afternoon defensively, with the hosts’ unstructured attacking play and couldn’t quite exorcise the bad spirits of the last two outings at Brownberrie Lane with his place kicking, which eventually yielded six points from two Penalty Goals and left three Conversion attempts rolling on the astroturf. The Wings saw a half-shuffle, with Harvey Hooley making the number 14 shirt his own with a second Try scoring shift in two games. Max Burt was recalled to cover the other side and promised to excite with his pace and defensive capability. The Centres saw a consistent pick with “lofty” Liam Wood at Inside, a solid performance marred by a Yellow Card for a slightly mist-timed tackle and “chunky” Tom Graham at Outside. Graham bravely working through an early injury to be a force to be reckoned with in the latter stages of the game. Archie “70 minutes is all I need” Thomson managed the control centre at 10 and Max “Marzi 2” Marston was recalled to Scrum Half, with the benefit of his personal trainer to steer him through the game from the sidelines.

Up front, George Evans made it three in a row at Loose Head and put in a sterling performance with and without ball in hand. James Pearce adopted the captain’s mantle for the day and perhaps understanding the refereeing decisions took more of a toll of him in a quieter than normal outing. The perpetual player that is Adam Newcombe guested at Tight Head this week and with his fellow “front row union” buddies, made mincemeat of the opposition scrum and set a new standard in big boy carrying forward, with a second half Try for his endeavours. It was all change in the boiler house, with protégé club executive committee members: Henry Fletcher and Keith Anderson recalled at Lock, the former reigning supreme in the line out and the latter putting in some rampaging forward drives.

This week’s back row was only compromised by one change, with Billy Burgin called up from last week’s bench to Open Side and teenagers Harry Veitch and Tom Roebuck at Blind side and Number 8 respectively. A trio with pace, guile and tenacity, the reader can work out which applies to whom. Veitch notched up his second Try in senior outings and definitely showed how to punch above his weight.

This week’s bench saw another opportunity for emerging front row star Noah Whitely and another week to test his injury recovery for Freddy Wharton. Looking to excite as the squad’s back replacement was debutant Oscar Groundwater, keen to show off his blistering pace and elusive running style.

Before a modest crowd and in near perfect weather conditions, the hosts kicked off and Ripon fielded well through Anderson, who made some yards before the feed Bray to kick play deep into the home 22. The momentum was lost when the first line out of the game went awry for Ripon and Yarnbury recovered sufficiently to dispose of the threat. An exchange of Penalty touch kicks saw Ripon back in attack and after just five minutes, from a scrum, young Hooley tore up the touchline to touch down for The Blues. From the scrum on the Ripon 22, Marston missed Thompson to hit Wood out wide and then onto Bray coming into the line at pace. Bray then fed speedster Hooley, who on switching on the after burners, had a simple run in over the last 30 metres. Bray’s Conversion attempt hit the crossbar before bouncing the wrong way and left Ripon in the lead 0 – 5.

A further 10 minutes passed before the hosts got back in their stride and from a backpedalling scrum, opted to chip the defence. Yarnbury were quicker to the catch than Ripon and with a favourable bounce wrong footed the visitors’ defence and ran in for a Converted Try to take the lead at 7 – 5.

Maintaining their momentum, Yarnbury stepped up their pace and stifled Ripon’s attacks well and through a combination of slick handling and poor tackling, ran in a further two Tries, one of which was Converted, within two minutes of each other. With the score at 19 – 5 going into the second quarter, Ripon started to look a bit all at sea, though with two late Penalty Goals from Bray in the final couple of minutes of the half, the break came with a less emphatic lead for Yarnbury of 19 – 11.

The second half started with Yarnbury quickly out of the blocks and a flurry of Penalties conceded by Ripon in rapid succession and the referee clearly paying more attention to The Blues than their hosts. The fourth indiscretion committed by Ripon after only seven minutes of the half played, dealt a doubly cruel blow as Thompson was despatched to the sin bin for a breakdown offence and the hosts took the points option with a Penalty Goal to increase their lead to 22 – 11.

More angst came Ripon’s way when the hosts ran in their fourth and Bonus Point winning Converted Try at 12 minutes into the half, to increase their lead to 29 – 11. Further insult was then added to injury with the loss of Wood, yellow carded for a slightly early tackle on a kick receipt and reducing the Ripon contingent to 13 men for five minutes. Seeking the opportunity to stretch Ripon’s defence with so many vacancies, the hosts again used pace and sleight of hand to run in their fifth Try and with the Conversion, took their points to 36 – 11.

The third quarter ended as well as it started for Yarnbury, with perhaps the softest Try of the game, if not the season so far. With a line out throw on the Ripon 5 metre line, the visitors braced themselves for the inevitable catch and drive. The simple front peel, however, was so well executed everyone stood still staring as the scorer ambled over the line unopposed. With the conversion, the score nudged up to 43 – 11 and left Ripon gazing into the sky for divine inspiration, or perhaps the next flight out of this mess.

As the game went into its final ten minutes, something quite remarkable happened and suddenly the hosts were being penalised for transgressions rather than Ripon. Seizing the initiative from a quickly taken tap, The Blues pressed towards the home line in well worked phases. Wood and then Thompson back on the pitch and eager to make amends, made good ground between them and handed on to Evans steaming full speed ahead up the middle. Brushing aside the contact, Evans slipped the sweetest of offloads to the ever-present Newcombe to touch down for Ripon’s second Try. Bray was wide with the Conversion attempt but the points difference narrowed to 43 – 16.

Not wanting to roll over, Yarnbury came back again more strongly and through more speedy inter-play and more missed tackles, crossed the whitewash for their seventh Try and with the Conversion, put the score to an insurmountable 50 – 16. This spurred Ripon into finishing the game on a high and saw Veitch bag his second Try of the season through a fine display of effort and determination after a 30-metre dash up the touchline. The Conversion attempt from out wide was just beyond Bray but the final score of 50 – 21 gave Ripon an air of respectability, but which under-stated the amount of effort the team put into the game.

A late flurry of three successive Penalties to Ripon wasn’t sufficient to worry the hosts and despite best efforts all round, The Blues just couldn’t do enough to score again. And so the game came to an abrupt ending, with Ripon firing on all cylinders, but just not getting the right result for their efforts.

Some questions to ask of the defence. The previously impregnable “Blue Wall” showed a few cracks and the stats will no doubt show a lack of finesse in finishing, particularly when scoring chances deep in enemy territory go begging. Many positives to take away though, with much to congratulate for ball winning and retention and maintaining composure in attack to build up phases. Back to the drawing board though for tackling and finishing.

Next Saturday 30th September, Ripon are at home at last, to entertain current league leaders Wath Upon Dearne. An opportunity for The Blues to defend their 100% home win record at Mallorie Park this season to date and perhaps avenge the outcome of last season’s Papa John Cup Final, in which they came a close second. The kick off will be 3.00pm and all supporters will be very welcome.