Ripon enjoyed the benefit of playing at home for a change and entertained local friends and rivals Northallerton, in a proper North Yorkshire Derby, which saw the hosts run out emphatic winners. Whilst the score line and seven tries to Ripon implies a bit of a romp in the park, Northallerton made the going tough for The Blues for lengthy periods of the game and as well as having a solid scrum and some hefty runners who took some stopping, threatened the home line on a handful of occasions.

With some 13 alterations from last week’s squad line up, it was all change again for Ripon, with a focus on building on experience and converting pressure into points and winning ways. That was certainly the outcome and with more changes to the squad, including impact backs James Woolfenden on the Wing and Dom Butler at Outside Centre, the writing was on the wall for creative and penetrating attack moves. Sadly the latter succumbed to a catastrophic pelvic injury that removed him from play and caused the match to be discontinued and reinstated on a different pitch to clear the way for the ambulance arrival. Credit to Ripon’s pitch side aid professionalism and club organisation to make the care for the injured Butler second to none and resumption of playing matters seamless. We wish Dom a speedy and full recovery.

Selection this week was again a significant challenge, with further injuries and other reasons for absence, the squad had a very different look and feel to it. Within those thirteen changes overall, there were eight recalls, with notable returns for Woolfenden and Butler in the back division and the olden but golden second row pairing of Barker and Joe Middlemiss in the second row. A welcome return to the freedom of Mallorie Park was also celebrated by “Koms” Komaitai as back replacement. Further impact was brought to the back line with the return of Koms, with his Polynesian flair and rigid discipline.

The full line up saw only two forwards retain their starting position from the previous week, in Keith Anderson at Loose Head, expecting a stern test at scrum time and Elliot Davies-Taylor looking for another rampaging outing at Number 8. Skipper James Pearce returned to the fold after a week off nursing a back injury and Adam “Mr 1, 2, 3” Newcombe completed the front row trio at Tight Head. Iain Barker and Joe Middlemiss, the Pizza Cup winning second row pair beefed up the scrum, the former selected for his “Trump-esque” peace-making properties, the latter for his all-round grit. The remainder of the back row saw Jordan Layne drop back to his favoured position at Blind Side and Allan “Play anywhere” Hudson at Open Side. Sam “Two stroke” Stoddart offered moral support for the front row from the bench.

In the backs, Harry Drane retained his place at Scrum half, as did Morgan Clark at Number 10, both adding an exciting dimension to broken play and of course, bringing solid place kicking potential to the side. Clark bagging a creditable 85% success rate on the day with six out of seven conversions and a season tally to date of 52 points.

The Wings saw Tom Graham drop back out after a week in the Centres and looking to exploit the space available to him. James Woolfenden made a welcome return to the opposite side, offering his vast experience, power and pace. The Centres saw the familiar face of Jacob Drane looking to make the 12 jersey his own and the apocalyptic but short-lived return to the squad for former club captain and chief socialite Dom Butler at Number 13. Alex Riley retained the Full Back position from last week after an effective display of defensive play, though hopefully not to be as troubled as he was last week. The final bench position was taken up by Will Barrett as utility back replacement.

Elsewhere in the squad, James Pearce returned after a brief injury lay off to lead the side at Hooker and the “Old Contemptibles” Iain Barker and Joe Middlemiss recreated their Papa John Cup winning partnership in the second row after two years to great effect.

In chill, dull and still conditions and in front of a huge crowd courtesy of KA Anderson’s sponsorship arrangements, Northallerton kicked off in to the waiting arms of “Young Keith” Anderson. Early exchanges saw Ripon play their familiar pattern and make good progress working through phases. The scoreboard kicked into action on nine minutes for Ripon when Newcombe appeared out of nowhere to support a break by Jacob Drane and touch down. Morgan Clark added the conversion, his first of six from seven attempts to make it 7 – 0 to Ripon.

A full five minutes of play transpired before “The Wolfman” shook the game into action with a 60 metre sprint for the line after Clark picked up a loose ball in midfield. In covering over half the length of the pitch, Woolfenden ran round two and over a further two defenders to show he remains a force to be reckoned with. Clark’s conversion made it 14 – 0. The home lead was extended by similar action on the opposite wing as Tom Graham, on 26 minutes, followed up a powerful Davies-Taylor 50 metre dash up the midfield. Graham was on hand at the final tackle to maintain momentum after leaving his opposite number standing. Clark added again for 21 – 0. Newcombe closed the first half line-crossing for Ripon, with a text book “tail end Charlie” control of a driving maul from a penalty touch kick line out and his second of the day and third try in two weeks. Plenty of life in the old dog yet. Clark’s metronomic kicking performance added the conversion for a half time lead of 28 – 0.

The second half started better for Northallerton, with their pack doing some sterling work at scrum time and keeping Ripon on their toes around the edges. The disruption of the loss of Butler and change of pitches seemed to favour the visitors more and they got into a good post-break stride. No scores were forthcoming though and after a barren third quarter, on 62 minutes, Newcombe again was instrumental in steering a driving line out maul to the visitors’ line. Davies-Taylor was on hand at the finish to plunge over for Ripon’s fifth try. Clark uncharacteristically missed the conversion, but 33 – 0 was looking very comfortable for Ripon.

Despite Northallerton’s best endeavours at throwing their copious bodies on the line, Ripon maintained a clean sheet and repelled all boarders. As the game was entering its dying moments, yet more flashes of brilliance were to emerge from this buoyant Ripon crew. At 78 minutes, an attack up the left touch saw Jacob Drane smash and then weave his way through the defence. Will Barrett was on hand to see off the move and touch down. Clark added the extras to make it 40 – 0. To add insult to injury, from the restart, a mistimed reception gifted Northallerton the ball and they set off in earnest to try and gain some credibility in attack. A lofted pass in midfield gave “Man of the match” Allan Hudson for the second week running a free ball to sprint in 60 metres to touch down for Ripon’s seventh try. Clark made no mistake of this conversion for the final score line of 47 – 0.

The final whistle blew to the joy of Ripon, winning at last in front of a loyal home crowd, to the relief of Northallerton to end the trial they were facing and the celebration of the eventual arrival of the ambulance to tend to Butler, who had been lying patiently and in considerable pain, on the original pitch for just short of an hour.

In summary, this was a Ripon squad selected to win the game and with the league season hanging tenuously in the balance and two cup runs very much alive, keeping an open mind to selecting potential match winners and in form and developing players will requires some ingenuity. What is evident, is the continual focus on discipline and fitness. Hopefully the tally of double-figure penalties again, will resonate with the players?

Next week, Ripon are back on the road again in RFU National Cup Round Two action at Ashington on 25 October. A repeat of the successful outing of two seasons ago is hoped for, in which The Blues summarily despatched the hosts on their way to winning the Papa John Community Trophy. All travelling support for the 3.00pm kick off will be very welcome.