Selby’s youthful squad got their season off to a perfect start with a 6 try demolition of visitors Bridlington whose height and weight advantage was nullified by tenacious defence at the breakdown and speed of thought and movement in possession of the ball.

Signs looked ominous for the home side from the kick off as Bridlington used their obvious advantage to dominate both possession and territory, eventually securing a penalty after 10 minutes 30 metres out which Sam Wragg successfully converted to give his side an early lead. Bridlington returned to the attack from the kick off and a further penalty allowed the visitors to kick to the corner. A dynamic catch and drive looked certain to bring a second score but a technical infringement gave Selby respite and marked the last real attack on the home side’s line for the rest of the game.

As the game progressed, Selby began to get a foothold in the Bridlington half and took the lead on 26 minutes when scrum half Danny Wilkinson, marking his return to Selby colours after his trip to the USA, dummied from the base of a scrum on the 10 metre line, carved open the visitors’ defence and had the strength and speed to round the full back for an excellent solo try. Fly half Henry Wright tagged on the conversion for a 7 points to 3 lead.

As the half wore on Selby became the dominant side in the contest and clever work at a 5 metre Scrum after 35 minutes saw Wilkinson again flummox the Bridlington defence with a dummied break to the open side which created the opportunity for number 8 Liam Hogan to break blind and carry the last 2 Bridlington defenders over the line with him. A well struck conversion from Wright extended the Selby advantage to 14-3

Although never looking like threatening to score a try, Bridlington were able to reduce the half time deficit to 14-6 when Selby were penalised for handling on the floor and Wragg was able to convert from just outside the 22 with 38 minutes played.

Prior to the start of the second half, Selby introduced their entire bench as Liam Hogan, Bruce Potter and Andy Tunningley gave way to Adam Leetham, Jamie Ibbotson and Matthew Wood, the latter a welcome addition to the squad after some time away from the Club.

Despite playing into the breeze, Selby made an emphatic re-start to the game, extending their lead through a second try for Danny Wilkinson who again easily outwitted the Bridlington defence to break away from the 22 to cross left of the posts. Although Wright was unable to convert, the home side had quickly stamped their authority on the game and never looked like conceding it as a one-dimensional Bridlington side struggled to find any fluency as Selby defenders tore into tackles to prevent any real danger.

Having soaked up everything that Bridlington could muster, Selby returned to the attack just after the hour mark and a powerful drive from a 5 metre line-out saw Harrison Green crash over for a well deserved try which also secured a bonus point for the home side. Wright’s kick from wide out on the right just failed to curl between the posts, but at 24 points to 6 most home supporters were confident that there was no way back for the visitors.

As the game approached full time it was apparent that the superior fitness of the Selby side would carry them to a clear victory, but the energy and enthusiasm of the Selby players showed that they were clearly not done yet! With just 2 minutes of normal time to play a sweeping move involving most of the forwards saw the ball transferred through several pairs of hands until Adam Leetham picked the perfect running line to burst through the remnants of Bridlington’s defence to touch down just to the left of the posts. With a simple conversion Selby’s lead was deservedly up to 31 points to 6 and the Bridlington players made their weary way to the re-start. The visitors managed to re-claim possession and looked to claim a consolation score but a clever interception and swift off-load on half way by Jamie Ibbetson created the space for Dan Reid to sprint away from his pursuers to score under the posts, giving Wright another simple conversion to finish the scoring at 38-6 and putting the icing on a very accomplished performance by the entire Selby Squad.

There is no doubt that Selby will face many tougher games over the season, having gained promotion to the newly formed Regional League 2 North East, but the reaction of players and supporters alike at the final whistle was a moment to savour as League Rugby returned to Sandhill Lane.