The Fairy Tale ending that all players and members were hoping for following the almost magical transformation in the fortunes of the Selby First Team was spoiled by a determined and physically superior Bridlington in Selby’s first Shield Final appearance for 15 years. The narrowest of margins will remain the subject of many a Clubhouse discussion for some time and could well revolve around the final play of the match. Did Andy Pocklington manage to ground the ball over the try line? Why was Matthew Smith denied a try for diving on the ball which he believed was in the in-goal area?

The answer to both questions was given emphatically by the referee who stood firm to his belief that Selby had not crossed the Bridlington line and, regardless of any contrary views, essentially made the decision which enabled Bridlington to clear to touch and claim the Shield rather than granting the glory to the Selby team.

On balance Bridlington were probably worthy winners in what was a tense, edgy battle from the opening kick off, when Skipper Rob Taylor was penalised for an unfair challenge on the Bridlington receiver. In the opening minutes Bridlington showed an almost uncharacteristic willingness to throw the ball about and reward was immediate with Selby penalised within a minute of the start and presenting Jamie Muru with his first kick at goal. Fortunately the kick was pulled wide. There followed a lengthy passage during which both teams tried to establish territorial advantage, choosing to kick out of hand rather than take a risk on a handling game.

A poor clearance by Bridlington after almost quarter of an hour presented Selby with a chance to run and, after a storming run by Jim Nicholson, play was switched left and then back right and when a long miss pass found Ben Lunt wide on the right he was able to show his devastating finishing skills to cross for the first score, a tremendous try converted with style by Chris Quinn.

The score gave Selby an immediate lift and on their next attack the Bridlington defenders were penalised at a line-out and Quinn was able to maintain his cool and extend the lead to 10 point with his second well struck kick.

The Bridlington response was immediate as they were able to regain the ball from the kick off and drive through the heart of the Selby defence to set up a position from which BJ Hall was able to cross wide on the right. An excellent kick by Muru reduced the deficit to 3 and within a couple of minutes things were all square when Selby were penalised in their own 22 and Muru easily converted the resulting kick.

The rest of the half then returned to the familiar tense kicking battle, the only opportunity for a score being a late penalty which Quinn was unable to convert from wide out on the right.

The first incidents of note in the second half were the enforced substitution of Shaun Austerfield with a recurrent injury and the introduction of Jason Cicero into the Selby second row. However it was Bridlington who were first to make an impact when, following a clean line out take the outstanding full back Sizwe Zondo hit the attacking line at pace and on a perfect angle to allow him to run on the outside of the Selby defence for a try which gave Muru a straightforward conversion and put Bridlington into the lead for the first time.

The see-saw nature of the game continued as Selby drove deep into the Bridlington 22 and the influential Rob Taylor was on hand to crash over wide out to reduce the gap to 2 points, the conversion from the touchline by Quinn falling underneath the bar.

Despite being forced to defend for long spells and repel numerous waves of Bridlington attacks, Selby were able to conjure up a couple of penalty opportunities and on 70 minutes regained the lead when another successful penalty by Quinn gave Selby the narrowest of advantages at 18-17.

As expected Bridlington then threw everything at the Selby defence and when Muru was unsuccessful with a drop goal attempt and a penalty kick some members of the crowd began to hope that it might be Selby’s night after all. When a 22 drop out from Selby landed midfield and the Bridlington forwards started another of their close quarter rolling mauls there seemed an air of inevitability when the Selby defenders were penalised just to the right of the posts. Muru held his nerve and converted to put Bridlington back into the lead with just 4 minutes left on the clock.

We were then treated to a scintillating finale as Selby threw caution to the wind and almost snatched the victory at the death. Firstly a break by the precocious Alex Webster took play to the Bridlington 22 only to result in a penalty to the defending side for holding on at the tackle. As the game moved into added time another silky break from the Selby 22, with Alex Webster and Alex Arthur to the fore, set up a position 10 metres from the Bridlington line and the put in at the final scrum of the game was in Selby’s favour. The scrum was solid, Rob Taylor lead the charge for the line and a number of attempts were made at the Bridlington line before the referee adjudicated in Bridlington’s favour on the try line and the seasiders were able to begin celebrating regaining the coveted Yorkshire Shield.

In his post match speech Rob Taylor spoke of his obvious disappointment at the outcome, but his immense pride at the way the players have responded to the challenges they have faced and offered sincere thanks to the fantastic support that the Team have enjoyed during the course of the Shield run. Without any doubt there were many people present who sympathise with his sentiments, who share his pride and who are looking forward to the new season with excitement and expectation.