In the rarified atmosphere and altitude of Baildon Moor, Ripon finally dispelled the 12 year bogey that stifled recent attempts to win there. In appalling weather conditions that were more akin to January than March and Antarctica than Yorkshire, Ripon took the buffeting from the wind, rain, sleet, hail and Baildon players and a somewhat partisan crowd, to grind out their fifth win in a row, with a hearty five pointer. The four tries and plus seven score difference earned The Blues two well-deserved bonus points and had they remained calmer under pressure, at least two more tries that went begging, would have flattered them more. The hosts were reduced to a solitary penalty goal for their trouble, with one other attempt puling wide and not enough significantly sustained or clinical pressure to threaten the visitors’ line.

Not a great day for kicking from the tee and Clark’s aspirations of hitting the 200 point mark on the day were dashed as he missed all three of his shots at the posts and injury was added to insult, as was removed from play with a broken nose in the second half. That said, Ripon looked good for the most part with ball in hand and put in a solid defensive display to keep the hosts well away from their try line. A mighty effort by the blue pack dominated the home scrum, severely limiting the hosts’ potential to use it as an attacking platform and took two strikes against the head for good measure. The line out functioned well considering the wind and altitude and the ensuing driving mauls set The Blues up for some serious territorial advantage and continuity of possession.

If there was a down side to the Ripon performance, it was perhaps an element of rushing unnecessarily, though whilst confidence was high after four previous wins, this was a place Ripon weren’t used to coming to and doing well. Some late changes also unsettled the side somewhat and with three of the originally picked squad dropping out through injuries at short notice and some reshuffling of what on paper looked to be a settled squad for the first time in weeks.

The starting line up saw James Cooper retained at Full back and put in a solid shift fielding some difficult territorial kicks from the opposition, though setting up a perfectly timed interception for them in the first half nearly ended in disaster. Zak Kirby was retained on the left Wing and exhausted by his first half try, slackened his pace so much as to be caught and tackled by a Baildon Second Row in the second half. The other Wing saw Harry Drane step up from last week’s bench and add his constructive criticism to the event. The Centres were reshuffled from last week, with Tom Graham putting in a man of the match display after the opening try early in the first half. A sniper shot later on preventing him from adding to his score. Henry Hanson guested at Outside Centre and had plenty of opportunities to run free if only he’d been given the ball. The Half Backs saw Morgan Clark and Alex Riley working well in partnership again, with the former using the wind well for territorial kicking in the first half and the latter chivvying the pack on well, into the wind in the second half.

In the pack, George Evans made his first start in a while at Loose Head, owned the scrum from the word go and put in some bullocking carries early on. Skipper James Pearce motivated vociferously from Hooker throughout and the enduring legend that is Adam Newcombe added his customary experience at Tight Head and bagged the last try of the game in the dying seconds. A fitting present for his forthcoming wedding. Iain Barker returned from a family break to the Second Row and celebrated with his third yellow card of the season in the second half. Joe Middlemiss brought calm and sensibility to the pairing. Changes to the back row saw the venerable Tom Austin recalled at Blind Side and Allan Hudson ruling the line out at Open Side. Jordan Layne brought up the rear at Number 8 and despite missing an opportunity to score from a first half five metre scrum, came good with a pushover try in the second.

The bench saw a recall for Keith Anderson as front row replacement and Niall Maddock to add his raw energy and talent pretty much anywhere. Jason Bell completed the bench line up proving that age is just a number and making Newcombe feel like a spring chicken.
Ripon opted to play downhill, with the considerable wind and so Baildon opened the game with a hanging kick for Pearce to collect. Barker and Newcombe were involved in carrying before a forward pass stopped play. The first Baildon scrum crumpled like a house of cards and Ripon’s pack set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. First blood went to Ripon after 10 minutes. From a penalty line out, The Blues pack drove for a bit, then through some six phases, crossed the home line. Spotting a defensive knock on by the Referee, Ripon were awarded a five metre scrum and from the steady base, Riley bypassed the home back row. In a switch move missing out Clark, Riley connected with Tom Graham and with less than 10 metres to go, there was no stopping him. The prevailing wind did everything for Clark’s conversion attempt apart from seeing it through the posts, so the 0 – 5 lead was accepted.

Ripon’s next celebration came on the cusp of the second quarter when Riley took a tap penalty from a breakdown infringement. In followed the heavy mob, with Barker and Evans ploughing on and Hudson adding some finesse. The passage broke down however and as advantage for a knock on was kicked away, the clearance was gathered by Kirby to weave his way some 40 metres downhill to increase The Blues’ lead. Again the wind assistance didn’t go Clark’s way for the conversion attempt and his 200 points started to look a distant dream. Settling for the 0 – 10 lead, Ripon continued to trundle down the slope with no further scores. High spots of the second quarter came from the interception of a Cooper pass by Baildon’s arguably best player, who smashed his way some 40 metres up field before the attack ran out of steam and support. Later on, from a five metre scrum in which the Ripon pack cross the home line within a nanosecond, Layne’s frozen fingers couldn’t quite do the talking and the knock on relieved the pressure.

The second half started inauspiciously for the hosts, with an off side decision from the kick off reception. Clark opted for the posts to ease the burden on the pack playing uphill now, but the wind continued to act in his dis-favour. As play from the deep drop out restart drifted into Ripon territory a breakdown offence gave Baildon a chance to reduce the deficit and the penalty goal made it 3 – 10 after five minutes of the second half. Tails up momentarily, Baildon pushed downhill again and after a foul play penalty offence by Ripon, the next three points for the hosts went begging as the penalty goal attempt drifted wide.

There followed a period of quite attractive open play from both sides as the sun began to shine, the precipitation stopped and the wind dropped. Spring looked to finally be in the air before a late tackle at the turn of the fourth quarter saw Barker despatched with a yellow card for the offence, attempting to settle a long standing score with an ancient adversary. The temporary weight of numbers did nothing to boost Baildon’s performance and despite two further penalties in quick succession, the hosts just couldn’t get into anything like a scoring groove.
Into the final quarter and after a Bell counter attack saw the quinquagenarian scythe through the opposition, with significant support over the final few metres, he crossed the line to be held up. Similarly to the situation in the first half, The Blues’ ball control at the finish didn’t quite connect and with a home knock on, Ripon were offered a five-metre scrum again. The metronomic motion of the Ripon pack was harmonious and this time, once Layne had been reminded by several teammates that the line had been crossed, the Number 8 dotted down. With Clark now sidelined by a nose injury, Cooper attempted the conversion, but again the wind had the last say… 3 – 15 with less than 10 minutes to go, lifted Ripon’s spirits immensely.

Within the closing moments, despite a momentary respite for Baildon from an off side penalty, Ripon looked to turn the screw and advanced uphill with purpose. From successive penalties for desperate high tackles from the hosts, Ripon took taps in quick succession. The final movement, some seven minutes into injury time, saw Riley tap and feed into the baying mob of Ripon’s pack. The melee rumbled up hill and collapsed in a heap over the home line; Newcombe rising triumphantly with ball in hand for his seventh try of the season. Not bad for someone of his tender years and an inspiration to younger forwards around him. Cooper’s missed conversion attempt signaled one of the worst days in place kicking history but a very welcome 3 – 20 scoreline and the end of Ripon’s lean pickings on Baildon Moor.

Not wanting to downplay the significance of the win and the difficulties posed by the weather and spirited opposition, Ripon couldn’t really get into top gear in this game. Some finishing went awry at times and The Blues’ discipline let them down after a few games of keeping penalties into single figures and avoiding cards. Conceding nearly twice as many penalties as the hosts, whilst dominating many phases of the game doesn’t bode well for the run in to the end of the season in terms of potential league and cup success. After Easter, Ripon’s remaining three league games are all against top five placed opposition. Whilst The Blues’ chances of finishing higher than the current sixth place are slim, technically, fourth place is achievable, but that can only happen with more focused application to discipline.

Next week, Ripon will taking a well-earned break from competitive Rugby to host a touring side from Tupton in Derbyshire, an outfit playing in the East Midlands equivalent of Ripon’s Yorkshire league. Hopefully a friendly encounter played in good Easter Holiday spirit. All spectators very welcome to egg The Blues on for the 3.00pm kick off.