With the original fixture at the start of January deferred due to adverse weather, Ripon finally got to entertain league leaders Bridlington at Mallorie Park and like in the unceremonious disposal of second placed Old Otliensians two weeks ago, The Blues turned the tides on their seasider opposition and showed their true colours again.

Putting last week’s cup loss fairly and squarely out of their minds, Ripon changed tack from their lack lustre performance and set off at a rate of knots that they sustained for the full, nearly ninety minutes of the game. In front of a modest crowd, perhaps unenthused by the continuing damp weather and draw of the Six Nations Championship, Ripon started on an even keel and soon had their opposition in deep water. A sombre mood due to the passing of another club and community legend John Bell, was lifted by this first rate performance from The Blues, that sent out a clear message that they are a force to be reckoned with.

In still, but slightly chilly weather, with a constantly annoying drizzle, Ripon ground out a solid team performance that was for the most part clinically executed but left their esteemed opposition floundering and eventually dead in the water. The five point win, including a try bonus, puts The Blues up to 7th place with 30 points and the opportunity to break into the top half of the division and finish the season more respectably.

Selection this week saw the changes rung yet again, with more players unavailable for various reasons and some further opportunities to explore winning formula combinations. A total of eleven changes were necessary to field the squad, which saw seven recalls and four positional reshuffles. Starting in the backs. Mark Baldwin made a welcome return At Scrum half and as well as cropping up everywhere else in the back line, added maturity and decisiveness to control of the breakdown and efficient distribution from the set piece. Morgan Clark flourished from the clean ball and put in a man of the match performance, which included scoring 7 points for a season tally of 132 so far, before retiring injured in the dying minutes of the game with a shoulder injury. We wish Morgan well and hope that he breaks the habit of sustaining potentially career ending injuries on his birthday.

Outside, the Centre partnership took on a new look with the Ying and Yang of Tom “Wrecking Ball” Graham, a route one specialist and the mercurial James “Deckchair” Collins, who generally evades capture. The former reinstated his top try scorer mantle with a fine second half touchdown. The Wings saw Aborosio “Abo” Sovatabua shift out from last week’s Centre posting and the sole three-quarter to remain in his chosen position from the previous week Zak Kirby. Both Wings proved the value of their investment, not only in shutting down and sinking anything that came their way, but also showing fine finishing form with a try apiece. James “Babyface” Cooper brought up the rear at Full Back and after a shaky re-introduction to the 1st XV combat zone, defended resolutely and cleared the decks whenever danger threatened.

In the pack, confidence remained with Keith “Scrapper” Anderson at Loose Head and Skipper James “Chopper” Pearce at Hooker. Marika “Mack” Koroiyadi the heftier of this week’s Fijian contingent started to put in a sterling shift at Tight Head and opened Ripon’s scoring with their first try after only seven minutes. The second row saw the now happily reinstated Iain Barker, pairing up with Billy Fletcher. The back row saw the recall of Tom Austin to add some grit at Blind Side and Allan Hudson on the Open Side, seeking his third successive man of the match award, which sadly eluded him. Jordan Layne steered the scrum from the rear at Number 8.

The bench was a subtle blend of youth, experience and pace, not necessarily all contained in the same body. The reader can figure out which was which from the trio of Adam Newcombe, Saula Take and Harry Veitch.

Under the now sadly all too familiar club flag flying at half mast in acknowledgement of the passing of John Bell, the game kicked off in earnest, with Ripon making the first move downhill. Clark’s lofted kick off was well received by Brid but their intended clearance was charged down by Pearce, clearly not a very high kick, which sent the Skipper hurtling down the left touchline. The final pass in what could have been a record breaking scoring opportunity went astray and Brid survived the onslaught with a scrum on their 22. Ball effectively cleared and with a visitor penalty for a breakdown infringement, the visitors looked to be escaping the early pressure. A penalty on three minutes for a ruck offence gave Ripon some impetus but the resulting line out didn’t work properly. A high tackle however, gave The Blues the initiative to rework the penalty line out and this time the blue machine got into gear. The driving maul made some 20 metres before being hauled down illegally and a quickly taken tap by Baldwin, showed Koroiyadi the door for Ripon’s first try on seven minutes. Clark hooked the conversion slightly but the 5 – 0 lead was as good as Ripon had hoped for.

Within five minutes, Ripon were in the driving seat again and Brid looking in danger of an early capsize. Hudson took a visitors’ line out ball cleanly and the mini-drive by the pack set off up the clubhouse touchline. Baldwin weighted the box kick perfectly for Kirby to gather and saunter in some 30 metres after stepping his opponent. Clark added the extras for a Ripon lead of 12 – 0 within as many minutes.

Events went Ripon’s way for the rest of the first quarter and some penalty exchanges saw The Blues gaining significant territorial and possession advantages. On the odd occasion Brid had the ball, the home defence held true and sent them back with interest.

Into the second quarter, Brid encroached into home territory and just missed a penalty goal attempt after a breakdown offence. Cooper cleared from the wide kick and when it didn’t make touch and was returned, Sovatabua emphatically ended the counter attack with a typical “Welcome to Suva on Skell” tackle. The Blues picked up from the incentive and pressed deep into visitor territory.

With the game well into injury time before the break, Ripon would have been happy with the status quo, but from a defensive clearance, Tommy G countered up the left touchline again. Shame most of the encouragement was in the stand on the opposite side! When the move broke and Brid cleared; Barker fielded well from deep and fed Baldwin and then Cooper. Making good ground on a looping run, Cooper timed the final pass for Sovatabua to cover the final 20 metres evading four defenders with fancy footwork and launch himself over the line for Ripon’s third try. Clark converted for a 19 – 0 lead as the half time whistle blew.

Nat wanting to underplay Ripon’s first half performance or pile disrespect on Bridlington, but the hosts were expecting more of a fight from their opposition and whilst suitably motivated to keep up the good work, there was some trepidation as to when the “sleeping giant” would awaken.

Sadly for Brid, the awakening was short lived and despite them cunningly exploiting their second half scrum strength with a scrum from a penalty at 5 minutes into the second half, that was all they had to offer. The opportunity arose after Ripon wheeled a scrum illegally and the visitors opted for a bit of the same again. The clean strike saw the Brid attack go quickly and cleanly to the Outside Centre, who completely wrong footed the otherwise resolute defence. An indication of Brid’s ingenuity and ability to turn adversity into strength for an unconverted try and a 19 – 5 scoreline. Sadly not repeated by Brid as Ripon turned the screw further, dug deep and shut their visitors out of the game.

Clark found his feet with a penalty goal at 51 minutes after a breakdown offence for 22 – 5 and Brid looking like they were heading for the rocks. As the game moved towards the final quarter, an unseemly incident occurred in which a Bridlington player broke from a maul and clattered the Referee to the ground. Briefly regaining consciousness enough to blow his whistle to stop play, the unfortunate official was subject to intensive care from pitch side aiders of all persuasions and well wishing players. After a couple of minutes and composure regained, the match continued.

Ripon, whilst slightly challenged at the scrum by the introduction of two of the biggest Props in the world by Brid, endeavoured to continue with their structure and shape. Baldwin was key to maintaining Ripon continuity with his fearless involvement in digging balls out from where angels fear to tread, defending like a bloke twice his size and continually acknowledging his child’s presence on the touchline with friendly waves and blown kisses. What a family guy!

As the final period unfolded another breakdown offence offered Baldwin the opportunity to tap and go. Barker was on hand to lean towards the visitors’ line and when held up, Pearce looked to burrow underneath. Hudson picked up the momentum to make another foot and then Tommy G straightened things up and powered over for Ripon’s fourth and bonus point winning try, his eighth of the season and with Clark’s conversion, an emphatic Ripon lead of 27 – 5.

Undeterred, but somewhat demoralised, Brid played fair in the last few minutes of the game and posed a couple of questions through their strengthening scrum and chunky Centre making good ground. It was however, Ripon’s pace, determination and sheer grit, that kept them going and despite the appalling weather conditions, continued with crisp handling, breakdown dominance and territorial advantage seeking.

With less than 10 minutes to go, Ripon were again in the attack and reducing the opposition to back foot options. After yet another breakdown offence, Ripon took the initiative with a Baldwin tap. Repeated hammers towards the Brid line resulted in Jordan Layne crashing over and rubbing salt in the visitors’ wounds. Clark was just wide with the conversion but at 32 – 5 and with six minutes of normal time to go, this implied Ripon were home and dry.

Nobody thought that the Referee would play not only the rest of the normal game time but also a further six minutes of stoppage time, in which Brid were awarded no less than five penalties. Not exactly nail-biting, but a few chances for Brid to increase their score and avoid their most humiliating defeat of the season. Ripon weren’t however, having any of it and held fast unto the final whistle.

A testament to the potential and actual skills and ability of this squad, to take on the league leaders and second placed teams in two successive league matches and come off winner, this was a remarkable achievement. It also proved that in this division, anyone can beat anyone if they put their hearts, minds and souls into the task. This augurs well for the rest of the season, with some tough games still to play, but a major boost to The Blues’ confidence and their ability to win games, with style.

Next week Ripon take a short hop up the road to local friends and rivals Northallerton on Saturday 14 February. The Blues had a very favourable outcome from their home leg, despite the game being disrupted by the loss of Dom Butler with a catastrophic hip injury, so will be seeking to follow suit up at Brompton Lodge, this time without any disasters. Travelling supporters will be very welcome for the 2:15 pm kick-off.