SELBY 12 BRIDLINGTON 16
YORKSHIRE SHIELD FINAL.

PLAYED AT HULL RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB.

Despite outscoring their higher ranked opposition by two tries to one, the fairy tale ending to the Swan’s season was not to be & was kicked into touch by the experienced boot of Kiwi off half Jamie Muru, playing probably his last game for the Seagulls.
Effort and application were just not enough as a strong Bridlington forward pack retained possession & controlled the game for long periods of time & Selby were unfortunate to incur the displeasure of the referee at scrum time and at the breakdown, but with the match well controlled by the three officials.
But it was Muru pulling the strings with clever distribution & superb kicking to bring Brid’s other import, South African Siswe Zondo into the game to cause problems with his power & pace, with home grown Gareth Roberts always a threat on the wing.
It was Selby who opened the scoring with a superb try by that fantastic finisher Ben Lunt following an excellent break from full back Dan Porter with Selby’s young pretender Josh Cruise falling just short with the conversion, but the Swans were forced on the defensive which was not found wanting as Muru spurned two kickable penalties to go for the jugular.
With Selby front row of Duncan Hardy, Tom Bell & Andrew Pocklington just edging the set scrum, Jason Cicero & Brendan Lanaghan, secure in the lineout and strong in the tackle with the back row of Jay Robinson, James Blaymire & Matty Wood outstanding the line did not feel under threat but the pressure told with a player from each side in the bin, as Muru’s penalty brought his side closer to the lead.
Then on the stroke of half time Muru pulled in two defenders & with a deft one handed pass off loaded for centre Ryan Girking to exploit the gap & sail in under the posts to give Muru an easy conversion, and worse was to follow as another penalty seemed to move the game away from Sandhill Lane.

The second half followed the same pattern with Selby forced to defend, and with centre Alex Arthur & replacement No 8 Martin Protheroe always likely to break out, but it was Muru who added the next points with another penalty.
But the Swans were not finished and showed the character which has been on display all season as they upped their game in the final quarter and the Gulls were forced into frantic defence. First Arthur, then Protheroe smashed into the line, but it was Selby’s Antipodean guest, Hardy who finished near the posts and for Cruise to bring his side right back into the game with a superb conversion.
Cruise, who did not look out of place against his vastly experienced opposite number, was then just short with another penalty as his side built up wave after wave of attack with Ollie Saunders running strongly on the wing.
But as coach Richard Nicholson rang the changes with Jack Daniels replacing Joe Butcher at scrum half & Ben Booth coming on for Wood their team’s frenetic display resulted in their attacks breaking down in a series of penalties allowing Brid to relieve the pressure and to breathe a sigh of relief at the final whistle.

Selby can take great comfort at this display against a side who occupied top spot in Yorkshire One for a good part of the season, and with victories against two other division one opponents have shown that with a little more consistency they have the talent to not only get out of division two and flourish in a higher division.
With the fantastic support displayed at this game & throughout the season totally grateful for the team’s commitment & effort, we look forward to September 2012.

.
SELBY LINE-UP:

15 Full Back Porter D
14 Wing Saunders O
13 Centre Townend C
12 Centre Arthur A
11 Wing Lunt B
10 Stand Off Cruise J
9 Scrum Half Butcher J
1 Prop Pocklington A
2 Hooker Hardy D
3 Prop Bell T
4 Lock Lanaghan B
5 Lock Cicero J
6 Flanker Blaymire J
7 Flanker Robinson J
8 No 8 Wood M

Substitutes

Protheroe M (For Lanaghan – 28 Minutes)
Randell P (Captain) (For Bell T – 53 Minutes)
Daniels J (For Butcher J – 73 Minutes)
Booth B (For Wood M – 75 Minutes)
O’Brien O – Not Used
Clark E – Not Used
Bourke R – Not Used

REFEREE: MR. WILLIAM OLIVER – SOUTH YORKSHIRE SOCIETY.
ASSISTANT REFEREES: MR. JOHN CLAYTON (EAST YORKSHIRE SOCIETY) & MR. NEIL READMAN (EAST YORKSHIRE SOCIETY).