Memorable Away Win @ Old Brods

Selby’s 1st team were on the road again this week after their hard fought win over at Scarborough the previous week. This time it involved a trip to Halifax to play Old Brodleians on their infamous sloping pitch.

Selby kicked off playing down the slope and immediately set about trying to score as many points as possible. From the off, they were camped in the Brods half but, try as they might, Selby could not get the break through they desperately sought. The first 10 minutes saw Selby repeatedly attacking the Brods line only for solid defence by the home team to prevent Selby opening the score. This certainly helped to galvanise the home side and when they gained possession around the halfway mark they proceeded to slowly march up the hill. Phase after phase got them to within 5 metres of the Selby line and it was suddenly Selby’s turn to defend and they didn’t disappoint. Brods were hammering the Selby line for a good 5 minutes but Selby’s defence held firm and more importantly so did their discipline. Selby eventually managed to turn possession over and clear their line with a big clearance down field.

Selby were able to go through the phases and with a noticeable advantage in the scrum things were looking good. But, despite numerous drives at the line, again Brods somehow managed to keep their line intact.

It was on the 20 Minute mark that Selby finally put some points on the board with an excellent penalty kicked by Henry Wright after a Brods centre was penalised for a dangerous tackle which also saw him yellow carded

From the restart Selby set about camping down in the Brods 22,but lack of concentration and good defence by the Brods Forwards saw the visitors lose a couple of line-outs in key positions. After 25 minutes a missed kick to touch allowed Selby to again put numerous phases together with the forwards and backs combining well to create the space which put Adam Leatham through a gap with a lovely pop ball to cross to the left of the sticks. Wright’s well struck conversion opened up a 10 point advantage in Selby’s favour.

The break through try seemed to settle the Selby nerves and they were straight back on the attack. The forwards and backs continued combining well and making excellent yards. Brods were under real pressure now and following a clean take at a line-out on halfway slick handling allowed speedster Ramsay to receive the ball in a bit of space wide out on the left wing. A little shimmy and a perfectly timed step saw him beat 3 defenders in his run to the line for a try which he finished with a flourish as he swallow dived under the posts for Selbys 2nd try of the half. The easy conversion by Wright stretched the lead to 17 points which many knowledgable supporters considered to be the minimum needed to defend, given the enormous advantage offered by the slope and weather conditions

It was Selby’s turn to defend when the Brods kick-off was collected by the home side forwards who held onto possession well as they slowly crept towards the Selby line. The home crowd thought they had their first score when their Centre broke through 5 metres from the line only for the referee to judge that the pass was forward, eventually allowing Selby to again clear the ball downfield

As the half moved towards injury time, Selby forced the home side to concede another penalty at the breakdown which Wright duly slotted to give his side a 20 point advantage before turning to face the elements.

Brods kicked off the second half and straight away showed a different level of intensity than they had shown in the 1st half. With good possession they set about pinning Selby back on their line and with clever kicks to the corners it seemed it was only a matter of time before they would break Selby’s line. This came after barely a couple of minutes following a good catch from the line out which saw them make yards in midfield, quick ball

from the ruck set up the chance for them to break down the left hand side and with numbers over they scored wide out. An excellent conversion reduced the deficit to 20-7 in Selby’s favour and things quickly changed to pile pressure on Selby’s youngsters.

Old Brods soon regained possession after a Selby clearance failed to find touch and again they pinned Selby back onto their own line with a couple of clever kicks. Good line-out ball saw them launch their big back row forwards down the middle channel. Good defence from Selby stopped the initial surge but the second wave proved too much as Brods piled over the line to score a second try in little more than 2 minutes. Although the conversion was unsuccessful the home support were delighted that their team had reduced the difference to 8 points with less than 10 minutes of the second half gone.

To their credit the young Swans did not panic and when they managed to get possession in midfield they worked hard to keep control of the ball, changing their playing style to suit conditions as they attacked closer to the ruck. With the forwards putting in a massive shift they slowly edged closer to the Brods line. Unfortunately, as fatigue set in the ball was spilled which enabled Brods to clear their line with a massive clearance kick into the bottom corner. For the next 10 minutes Selby’s defence was severely tested but somehow they found a way to regain possession and clear their lines. On the 34 minute mark Selby eventually conceded a penalty at the ruck which seemed pretty inevitable after Brods sustained pressure. Needing to score twice to claim victory, Brods decided to take the points and duly kicked them to make the score 15-20 with under 5 minutes to go.

Nerves were shredded amongst the Selby faithful as Brods once again gained possession and kicked to the bottom left corner. Further excellent defence from the Selby pack thwarted the initial advance at the line-out but an infringement at the ruck gave Brods the penalty. With the clock ticking down they had little option but to go for the corner to set up a Line-out 5 metres out with barely 2 minutes to go.

As Brods line-out had been almost faultless all afternoon this spelled real danger for Selby. As the home hooker set up to throw the ball in, it appeared to slip from his grasp. The referee correctly deemed the throw to be not straight and awarded the scrum to Selby. Another solid scrum ensured that the ball was won cleanly and Selby cleared their line with the sound of the referees whistle signalling full time and bringing a huge sigh of relief from the Selby support.

Winning away to Old Brods is always a memorable occasion, but the manner in which these young Swans played was outstanding. They defended for each other, executed the game plan flawlessly and kept their discipline for most of the game. There were excellent performances all around, but a special mention must go to Selby’s man of the match Max Wotton who was outstanding in leading the defensive effort and attacking the scrum at every opportunity.