No hat required at Ilkley on Saturday as The Blues turned in another double bonus point winning performance on the road. Close, but no cigar for the purist as far as a near perfect display was concerned, but the power of Ripon’s pack and the squad’s commitment to close support play, won the day and banked another five league points for the fourth match in succession and secured a dizzy third place in the league.

Bolstered by the addition of the club’s Head Coach Adam Scott Paul guesting at Tight Head, Ripon dominated the set piece from start to finish and provided shed loads of super quick and high quality ball for the backs to enjoy the wide open spaces of Stack’s Field. Despite the forward dominance and lion’s share of possession, Ripon did succumb to the temptation to kick for territorial advantage to the detriment of their possessional continuity at times. The Ilkley back line were young, fit and fast and hungry to live off scraps and counter effectively. Thankfully the Ripon defensive plans worked to their advantage and eventually stifled the hosts’ attempts to fight back.

The real power behind The Blues’ emphatic success however, came in the seemingly innocuous form of Freddy “Krueger” Wharton, who delivered another top notch performance at Open Side Flanker, and bagged his second hat-trick of tries in two weeks. The work rate of this young man, to be integral to attacks and stoic in defence, is incredible. With six tries in a fortnight, how the guy hasn’t won a man of the match award is beyond belief. It is however, testament to Freddy’s humility and modesty, that he takes the accolades in his stride and has finally agreed a payment plan for the several jugs of beer he now owes his fellow squad members.

Ilkley’s nightmare was however, Ripon’s sweet dream, as The Blues cruised ahead to another comfortable win, without getting out of third, maybe fourth gear, but making a few ill-informed choices as far as kicking possession away was concerned and reverting to a poor disciplinary record again. Conceding fifteen penalties, eleven of which were in the second half, is not the way Ripon should be playing and again, reading the referee and meeting their expectations, has to be a consistent part of the game plan. That aside, Ripon’s powerful pack dominated the set piece again and as well as making great inroads from driving mauls and unstoppable scrums, provided quality ball a-plenty for the backs to run freely. To Ilkley’s credit, they never gave up and despite not getting close to scoring in the second half, put up a good fight throughout.
Key to a successful side is undoubtedly consistent selection and picking the same players week in week out is delivering the right results on the pitch. For the fourth week running, the changes to the starting line up were minimal, with just Adam Scott Paul stepping into cover the big gap left in the front row by the injured Evans. A last minute change saw Olly Lang-Burns step into the Wing to cover for Tom Graham, the latter starting on the bench. The rest of the squad had a familiar look to it with Morgan Clark and Callum Burton adding another dimension to the bench.

In cool, still and slightly damp conditions, Ripon received the kick off through Austin and Marston box kicked for territory. The Ilkley counter attack faltered with a knock on and Ripon’s first scrum on two minutes threw down a marker for the rest of the afternoon as the Ilkley pack quickly found reverse gear.

The first of The Blues’ six tries came from a penalty touch kick to just inside the home 22. The line out went like clockwork and the subsequent driving maul saw Newcombe at the tail steering all the way to touch down. Cooper added the conversion for the first of his eleven points on the day and 0 – 7 to The Blues.

Ilkley fought their way back into the game with some enterprising back play and their young speedsters looked dangerous in space. Solid Ripon defence and superior fitness worked well, though a lucky break on twenty minutes allowed the hosts in for an unconverted try for 5 – 7. With their tails up for another few minutes, Ilkley played through the best parts of their repertoire and eventually took the lead with a penalty goal for 8 – 7.

Wharton soon burst their bubble after the restart kick was fumbled by the hosts and Pearce pounced on the loose ball to break clear. Freddy Wharton was on the skipper’s shoulder to finish the move and touch down for the first of his hat-trick. Cooper nudged the conversion neatly to regain the lead 8 – 14. Just two minutes later, Ripon were back in control again and after a series of close order strikes by the pack, Drane let the ball loose out to the right. Swift hands from Fletcher and Barrett put Lang-Burns into space to cover some thirty metres and James Cooper was on hand to saunter in unopposed. Cooper couldn’t quite add the conversion but the gap started opening up at 8 -19.

Ripon dominated the final passages of the first half, with powerful strike running from Pearce, Hudson and Drane. Wharton ended the half on a high note with his second try after a Blues scrum deep in the home half. Hudson broke from the base before offloading to Fletcher to break the line. Barrett accelerated through the gap and the ever-present Wharton was on hand to finish the move. Cooper converted for 8 – 26 and the half time whistle.

The second half was pretty much all one way traffic for Ripon, stifled only by their indiscipline, otherwise the score would have been even more flattering. Conceding some eleven penalties put Ripon off their flow somewhat, but they did manage to keep scoring and shut out the opposition despite their possession from all the penalties. The tactic of using all three replacements in one go may have led to some of the disruption, but the injection of pace and power from Burton, Clark and Graham, certainly added a strong dimension to Ripon’s second half performance.

The Blues finally found their second wind at the end of the third quarter when Hudson touched down. From a penalty advantage, the Ripon pack made some initial inroads through Wharton and Layne carrying strongly. Tom Graham joined the fray to carry for a further thirty metres before releasing man of the match Hudson for Ripon’s fifth. Clark took over the kicking duties and slotted the conversion for 8 – 33.

Ilkley fought back momentarily but their efforts soon fizzled out and The Blues had the last word after Pearce made a speedy break up the middle. Fletcher and Barrett carried on the attack a further forty metres before, you guessed it – Wharton was on hand to dab down again for his third and Ripon’s sixth try of the day. Clark added the extras for 8 – 40. Ilkley finished strongly from a further couple of penalty opportunities, but couldn’t break the mighty Blues defence and weren’t able to add to their score. The final whistle blew to Ilkley’s relief and Ripon celebrating yet another five point victory.

Next weekend Ripon are back in action at Fortress Mallorie Park to entertain Harrogate Georgians in another league encounter on Saturday 7th November. The Blues will be looking to build on their recent run of successes to make it five on the trot and notch up another five league points in what promises to be a sparkling encounter.

Let’s get all local support behind The Blues for what promises to be a high octane and thrilling encounter with local rivals. Note that kick offs have now moved to the earlier time of 2.15pm unless notified otherwise.