The simple statements, “what a day” and “what a club”, seem understated compared to the actual atmosphere at Mallorie Park this weekend. A break in the weather so as to reduce the inclemency down to a gentle breeze, an above average temperature and a low hanging sun that required eyes to be shielded from time to time, helped somewhat. A remarkable achievement repeated barely a handful of times a season and not at all in many previous years, of three full squads of adult players taking to the field on the same day helped somewhat. The 3rd XV of particular note, as it contained two more debutants to senior Rugby and a memorable father and two sons playing together moment, not often replicated in this times of intense competition and scant opportunities for social games for the less strenuously minded, helped somewhat. Remarkable too, in that all three of the Ripon teams fielded on the day, not only won by considerable margins, but also gave 55 Ripon players a game, scored 25 Tries and amassed 148 points across the games also helped somewhat. There’s more – some 80 odd ex-players, well not all of them odd, gathered to swap stories of their legendary “daring-do”, rekindle ancient acquaintances, provide much needed sponsorship support to the club and offer the inevitable sage advice to this generation of players and line the touchline to call on The Blues with every breath they had, helped a great deal. It’s not over yet – the whole ensemble, players from all home sides together - gathered to touchingly and respectfully remain silent to mark the tragic loss of current and influential playing member Ashley Plant, cruelly taken before his time, ahead of the kick-off, was poignant and helped very much too. And finally, noting that all the Ripon sides achieved a dramatic “Blue Rinse” on this memorable day, the 1st XV weathered a tough storm on the pitch to secure a Try Bonus Point victory over struggling Bramley Phoenix and run out worthy winners to maintain their position at 5th in the increasingly more competitive Counties 2 Yorkshire Division, helped immensely. If that’s not close to a perfect day, not sure what is…

A playing performance almost, but not quite out of the top drawer, but considering the plethora of changes to the squad line up disrupting The Blues’ flow; the whistle-happiness of the day’s match official and their seemingly pathological intolerance of anything in blue hoops and the emotions of the day, which to be fair could have played out in a number of ways; a win is a win. The compounding factor was the opposition’s clear and unobstructed focus on playing their hearts out. Desperate for a win, desperate for league points and desperate for survival in this division, Bramley competed fiercely in all phases of the game and gave Ripon a good run for their money, particularly in a second half in which the visitors threatened the home line repeatedly and for lengthy periods and despite their two well-crafted Tries, couldn’t quite break down the “Big Blue Wall” enough to take the game.

Ripon will again have much to reflect on, particularly around how to manage relationships with the man in the middle and reduce the instances likely to draw their disapproval. Again, that understanding should reduce the instances of losing players to Yellow Card offences and putting the team under pressure. Down to 13 men at one point, Ripon did however, show complete composure in the face of misunderstanding the laws and yet trying to actually play the game. There were, flashes of brilliance, excellent examples of team cohesion and perhaps the Try of the season to boot, as well as a handful of avoidable errors. The whole however, being a solid Blues win on home turf and a reason to celebrate well into the evening for many.

This week’s selection took on a different dimension, as the focus on league and merit table success had to be the priority but also the need to balance the fulfilment of three fixtures, none of them easy on paper and field three teams, all able to compete on their own terms.
Starting in the backs this week, Mikey Bray dropped back to his second-choice position of Full Back, to control the defence ably and commendably with a couple of crucial Try avoiding interventions and three out of five Conversion attempts. Harvey Hooley also played out of his natural position to grace the Right Wing and used his excellent ball management skills and electrifying pace to add to his Try tally. Tom Graham bolstered the Left Wing ably as usual and as well as his routine Try scoring performance there, undertook some creditable defensive play, plus filling in at Scrum Half for the final quarter. The Centres saw a fresh and exciting look with Ollie Williams back from his studies at Inside, who opened the scoring for The Blues with a rattling Try in the opening moments of the game and used his howitzer-like boot to kick for territory throughout. His diminutive, but just as powerful “man of the match” partner at Outside – Will Barrett, did everything that was expected of him through out the afternoon and much more and crowned one of his better performances with the final Try of the match. At half back Archie Thompson shifted again to the key playmaker position at 10 and provided plenty of go forward personally, through pinpoint handling and clever kicking when needed. Last but not least, Max Marston lined up in the Scrum Half jersey for the ninth consecutive game and the most times anyone has done so in the same position this season. Another sniping and selfless performance that kept play flowing and bravely defending when the close combat tactics of the opposition were starting to tell.

In the pack, George Evans brought some continuity to the front row at Loose Head and between rest periods and yellow card absences, gave his all, predominantly in the set piece where there was considerable pressure. James Pearce slotted back in to Hooker and as the smallest player on the field, caused much head scratching from the opposition as to why he was wearing lifting blocks. Some say it was to help him up into the scrums. Adam Newcombe obligingly guested at Tight Head, not his favoured way of getting squished but made up with some tantalising runs with ball in hand and solid defence without. The second row saw the enduring pairing of Tom Roebuck with Skipper Barker. The former giving another salmon-like performance at the line out and getting on with the graft modestly and effectively. Barker, whilst adding the odd glimpse of magic with ball in hand, did spend most of his game distracted by managing diplomatic relations with the Referee, mostly without success. The back row saw another mix it up with Harry Veitch at Blind Side and Freddy Wharton at Open side, vying for the hippest name and most influence on the game. Two very effective players in their own right and whilst of slight stature, both have big hearts and bright futures. Nick Perez brought the back row grandeur soundly back to earth with a solid and mature performance at the base of the scrum, carrying and smashing the tackles like there was no tomorrow.

The bench accommodated Dom Dalby looking to come on for maximum impact up front and Tom Austin to add his wisdom and experience wherever needed. Completing the line up was the welcome reinstatement of Charles Richardson, looking to be unleashed wherever the back line needed him. A truly mercurial and enigmatic player with ball in hand and just what was needed to set the second half on fire with his much-needed opening Try.

Following the sombre moment of the pre-match reflection, the game was kicked off by Ripon in quite gloomy atmospheric conditions, with the sun looking to break through and the gentlest of cross field breezes. The failed reception clearance by Bramley offered a counter attacking option for Hooley, who linked up neatly with Newcombe, Williams and then Barker. As the phases built up with quality recycling, Barker and Newcombe joined the moves again and again before Bray released Ollie Williams to scamper in and open the scoring. Mikey Bray just missed the Conversion for 5 – 0.

The next 10 minutes saw the opposition get into their groove and win a succession of Penalties for Ripon breakdown offences. Some close exchanges, pacy and incisive back moves and great offloading, just weren’t enough to get the visitors on the scoreboard yet. At 7 minutes, a held-up attack gifted The Blues a goal line dropout to ease the pressure. Ripon further increased their better success rate with ball in hand when Tom Graham crashed over after 13 minutes. From a Penalty touch kick the line out saw Roebuck produce quick ball to the left. Perez carried hard up the middle for some 30 metres before Bray lobbed a long pass out to Graham. Faced with only three players to beat, to cries of “is this the best you’ve got”, Tommy G smashed his way over and Bray Converted for 12 – 0.

As the game entered the second quarter, so Bramley upped their game and competed well at the set piece and put together some penetrative moves and sterling defence. Clinical finishing was their weakness however and scoring opportunities for them went begging. After 28 minutes, Ripon’s luck in interpreting the refereeing decisions ran out and for a breakdown offence, Graham was evicted from play for 10 minutes. Swiftly joining him was Wharton for a similar harmless misunderstanding and so for much of the final ten minutes of the half, The Blues were down to 13 men. Try as they could, Bramley just simply weren’t able to make headway. The restructured Ripon scrum held firm and the defence kept out all invaders. The icing on the cake for Ripon’s tenacity, was the injury time Penalty scrum option in front of the visitors’ posts. Many would have gone for goal but The Blues wanted to finish on a high and so when the attempted pushover Try didn’t come off, Perez broke left from the base. Bray entered the line to take the feed from Marston and lofted a 20 metre pass out to Hooley to run onto and touch down in the corner. Bray added the Conversion to take the score to 19 – 0 at the break.

The second half began in similar style with Barker receiving the kick off on the full to make some 20 metres before being hauled down. The ball lost in the ensuing melee, gave Bramley the advantage but not for long. Ripon benefitted from disarray amongst the visitors with two quickly taken Penalties, but again fell foul of the Referee and transgressed themselves. The points were taken from the Penalty Goal and Bramley were in the game at 19 – 3.

Changes were made in the Ripon line up and Austin came on for Veitch and Robinson for Hooley. Some lack of cohesion in midfield gave the visitors another advantage and a further Penalty Goal narrowed the deficit to 19 – 6. Soon after and with Ripon’s third Yellow Card for Evans’ alleged high tackle, Bramley started to put some clever plays together and really put Ripon under pressure. A let off came whilst down to 14 men and Ripon benefitted from a Penalty for foul play by Bramley, which oddly didn’t attract a Yellow Card. The touch kick and line out win from Wharton saw Perez charging on the peel. Recycling right, Thompson fed Williams and then on to Barrett who continued out wide. Robinson joined in the fun and did what he does best, by dancing his way through the opposition, feet barely touching the ground, to touch down for his second Try in successive games since his return and Ripon’s much valued bonus point. Bray’s Conversion took the score to 26 – 6 and Ripon looking out of sight.

Further hopes of Ripon’s line remaining uncrossed came towards the end of the third quarter, when from another Penalty line out, Wharton produced the perfect quick ball. Robinson again worked his magic through myriad defenders before getting caught and recycling for Williams to take on the attack. Barrett carried on strongly and linked again with Robinson appearing from nowhere on his opposite wing. Slick inter-passing between the sprightly youngsters wrong-footed the remaining defence and Barrett crossed unopposed for Ripon’s fifth and final Try. Bray just missed the conversion attempt to leave the score at 31 – 6 with 20 minutes to go.

Many sides would lie down at that point, but not Bramley. They worked their way back into a string of attacking moves that threatened Ripon’s line significantly. A Converted Try on 67 minutes reduced the gap to 31 – 13 and still Bramley soldiered on. More intense pressure on the Ripon line led to a further unconverted Try on 74 minutes for 31 – 18 and that’s where the scoreboard froze.

The Blues tightened up their act in the final few minutes to keep the opposition out and take the attacking advantage again. No further scores were forthcoming but Ripon breathed a sigh of relief that they survived the onslaught to no further loss and whilst not scoring again themselves, finished on a high note.

The festive season lay off will offer Ripon the opportunity to take stock, recover from injuries and look at how to close games down when ahead. Good performances lead to great results and this was another step towards consistent winning ways for a Ripon side that still acknowledges it has much to learn and plenty of potential left to exploit.

Ripon 1st XV are next back in action on home territory at Mallorie Park on Saturday 6th January and looking to build on the current run of success by hosting high flyers Yarnbury. Hopefully rested and fit to go after the Christmas break, The Blues will be keen to put the memory of the clubs’ last game together, well behind them. Kick off will be at 2.15, all supporters very welcome. A very Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year to all.