Selby kicked off their 2023/2024 league season with a trip to sunny Bridlington on Saturday, full of youthful energy and excitement whilst the travelling supporters enjoyed the pre match food and entertainment provided by the hosts.

The game started brightly for the visitors as they worked the ball from side to side to keep the Bridlington forwards on the move. Their patience and perseverance were rewarded in the 12th minute after winning a dominant scrum just inside their own half. Slick handling in the backs and good support lines enabled James Bramley to score under the posts with Henry Wright making the simple conversion. Selby were now playing at a tempo that Bridlington struggled to match and after Liam Hogan replaced Sam Broughton in the 23rd Minute Selby scored their second try. A scrappy lineout saw the ball fed along the backs and recycled through several phases until dominant runs by a couple of Selby forwards set up a line break for captain Alex Webster who fed scrum half Archie Bennett the scoring pass to go under the posts. The conversion was missed by Wright, but Selby had a 12 point advantage with just over a quarter of the game gone.

The game then became error ridden with the new tackle laws ensuring penalties were in abundance; however Selby remained dominant up front and in the scrums. Towards the end of the 1st half Bridlington did finally manage to put some phases together and succeeded in crossing the Selby line, only for the try to be disallowed. This seemed to galvanise the visitors who capitalised on a dropped ball in mid field to send their flying winger Dan Reid into the corner after great interplay with Liam Hogan and James Bramley. The conversion from wide out was again missed by Wright and the advantage was now 17-nil in favour of the visitors

Selby extended their lead as the game moved into 1st half injury time when a clean lineout ball was collected by the forwards who drove the ball over the line with Max Wotton claiming the score. Wright added a well struck conversion to make the score 24 points to nil to Selby. As half time approached Selby then dropped their guard and gifted a soft try to Bridlington’s number 6 Thompson as a result of poor tackling and a lack of concentration. The conversion was missed by Stanyon but the home side went into the break with some momentum.

Joe Ramsay was brought on at the start of the second half, replacing full back Reuben Callau. Selby regained the upper hand and were first on the scoreboard in the second half after a long passage of play where both sides had difficulty holding on to hard won possession. Eventually Selby were able to seize on a loose ball and set winger Bob Robinson free to score in the far right corner. Although the conversion was missed by Wright, the 24 point cushion had been re-established at 29 points to 5.

Selby then produced their best try of the afternoon after Bridlington failed to find touch with a kick out of defence. Selby quickly took advantage sending the ball down the back line and setting up a couple of dynamic forward drives from new boy Joey Reid that enabled man of the match Ben Lodge to run round to score under the posts. Wright was again unsuccessful with the conversion as Selby’s lead was stretched to 34 points to 5.

For the next 10 minutes Selby enjoyed the majority of possession and were camped in Bridlington’s half, but forward passes and exposure at the ruck ensured Bridlington kept them out and, gradually the home side began to come into the game more. After a series of penalty infringements by Selby, Bridlington finally managed to score in the 58th minute when Towse crossed in the far left corner but Stanyon was again unable to add the extras

The game then went into a period of stop start rugby as both sides suffered as fatigue and interpretation of the new tackle laws began to take their toll. Selby’s ill-discipline during this period saw them reduced in number courtesy of a couple of yellow cards, however the remaining Selby players were able to keep the home side at bay and the game ended with the score board 10 – 34 to Selby

This was a notable early season victory for Selby who collect 5 points thanks to a 6 try scoring bonus point and who played well in patches. They were generally dominant upfront and in the scrum and the backs showed both ambition and pace, but ultimately, they will be disappointed with their second half performance which dropped below the levels shown in the opening 40 minutes