Selby RUFC 34 - 29 Scarborough RUFC
Yorkshire Shield First Round

Selby got the new season under way in the best possible fashion, recording a stunning victory against Scarborough in the first round of the Yorkshire Shield Competition at a breezy Sandhill Lane in front of a large Bank Holiday crowd. Although Scarborough will be playing a division higher than Selby in Yorkshire 1 this year there were many occasions when the home side belied their lower ranking, outscoring the visitors by 6 tries to 3 with some breathtaking Rugby

The visitors hardly knew what had hit them in the first quarter of an hour as Selby repeatedly tore the visitors’ defence to pieces to score three tries, one of which was successfully converted for an early 17 point advantage. Indeed the new season was barely 2 minutes old when Selby opened their account. A clean line out take in their own half saw Selby move the ball wide and excellent handling and support created the chance for veteran prop Paul Gabel to cross for the first of his 2 tries. On 10 minutes winger Alex Arthur timed his run into midfield to perfection, bursting through the attempted tackles and stepping his way past a number of defenders for an outstanding individual try and a 10 point advantage. By 15 minutes Selby had notched their third try when clever passing and offloading amongst the backs created the opening for Iain Adamson to cross just to the left of the posts, The successful conversion by Adamson who had taken over kicking duties meant that Selby were already in a commanding position.

Shocked into action, Scarborough then staged a stirring come-back and within 10 minutes the gap was reduced to just 5 points courtesy of a try by Fly Half Tom Harrison which he converted himself from wide out on the right and a second by Harry Sleep following strong work in the forwards.

The Selby response to these setbacks was immense as a clean line-out take outside the visitors 22 was expertly turned into a rolling maul and the Selby forwards drove their heavyweight opponents back over their own try line, giving Paul Gabel an easy touchdown and earning the biggest cheer of the afternoon.

Not to be outdone, the Scarborough forwards hit back almost immediately, fashioning a try for Nino Cutino on 35 minutes. The successful conversion by Tom Harrison reduced the half time deficit to just 3 points at 22-19 in Selby’s favour.

10 minutes into the second half the Selby crowd were stunned into silence as Scarborough took the lead for the first time in the match with a carbon copy of Paul Gabel’s second try, a clean line out take being driven 20 metres over the Selby line for a try awarded to Nick Ingham again converted by Fly Half Tom Harrison for a 4 point advantage to the visitors.

Within 5 minutes the game once again swung back in Selby’s favour when excellent approach work by forwards and backs alike provided the opportunity for Selby’s other prop Andrew Pocklington to get his name onto the score sheet. The successful conversion by Iain Adamson meant that Selby held a 3 point lead with 25 minutes of the match remaining. From then on Selby were looking for the score that would clinch the victory but time and again the Scarborough defence were resolute in repelling the home side’s attacks. With barely 3 minutes left Selby looked to have created the opportunity to seal the victory, forcing Scarborough to concede a number of scrums close to their line. However Scarborough were not for conceding defeat and managed to steal the ball against the head, breaking out through their back row forwards, repeatedly securing the ball and forcing their way up to the Selby 22. Under tremendous pressure Selby then infringed at the ruck and Tom Harrison held his nerve to tie the game at 29 points all.

As the game moved in to time added on for injuries Selby launched another assault at the Scarborough line. Second Row forward Brendan Lanaghan broke through the middle of the defence and his clever miss pass found Alex Arthur wide on the left. Strong running by the wingman saw him get to within a few metres of the line before being stopped, however a slick offload found Iain Adamson in close support and when he was hauled down just feet from the line newcomer Duncan Hardy was on hand to take the pass and crash over for a richly deserved debut try. The missed conversion gave the Selby crowd last minute nerves, but a clean catch at the kick off enabled the Selby forwards to count the clock down and kill the ball for a well deserved opening victory of the season.