Selby RUFC 12 v 40 York RUFC

Report by Ray Adamson

On a glorious late September afternoon and in front of their biggest crowd of the season Selby's young team put on a display full of commitment yet still slipped to a 40 -12 defeat against local rivals York, a score which flattered the visitors and gives no indication of the nature of the game.

A typically feisty start saw players from both sides yellow carded with just 3 minutes played and as the game started to settle it was Selby who made most of the running, driving down into the visitors' 22. A penalty awarded for an infringement at the tackle after 10 minutes allowed York to clear into the Selby half following a period of sustained Selby pressure and the resultant line out lead to the opening score. The York forwards made a clean catch and drove into midfield to pull in the Selby defence and when the ball was switched back to the blind side a clear overlap saw Davies with the space to cross wide out. Full back Jon Dawes struck a superb conversion to open up a 7 point lead and settle his team's nerves.

Selby returned to the attack and spent most of the next 15 minutes in the York half, forcing the visitors into errors and gaining a number of penalties. Unfortunately fly half Scott Hunt was unable to convert either of his kicks at goal and it was York who extended their lead completely against the run of play when a ball spilled just outside the York 22 was seized upon by centre Chris Peace who showed a good turn of pace to outsprint the Selby defence for his side's second score. Dawes was unable to add the extras but when Ben Johnson crossed for York's third try after 36 minutes the full back's sure kick stretched the lead to 19 points. Selby finally gained reward for their tremendous efforts in the time added on at the end of the half when hooker Mark Tanner was eventually credited with a score close to the posts following a number of strong pick and drives from the home forwards. Selby's kicking woes continued however as Iain Adamson pushed a fairly straightforward conversion wide of the posts and the home side went into the break 14 points adrift when realistically the gap could have been just 6.

The second half got off to the worst possible start when York's Sam Blain crossed after just 2 minutes and Dawes kicked his third successful conversion to open up a 26-5 lead. Undeterred, Selby continued to match their opponents in everything but the score and fully deserved their next score when Duncan Hardy got the score that his tremendous drive and leadership thoroughly deserved. A long clearance and good follow up put the York full back under such pressure that his clearance had to be hurried and his kick gave Selby a line out in the York 22. A secure catch and a well co-ordinated drive saw the home forwards shunt their much bigger opponents backwards at a rate of knots and the biggest cheer of the afternoon erupted as the referee signalled a clear try for Selby's man of the match. Iain Adamson showed what a capable kicker he can be with a super strike from wide out on the right hand side of the pitch and the deficit was down to 14 points with almost 30 minutes left to play.

As conditions and fatigue started to take their toll on players from both sides the game entered a period of stalemate and errors began to disrupt the flow of the game. Eventually York began to make the most of their considerable size advantage and Selby began to struggle to contain the powerful surges of the visiting forwards. From this point it seemed inevitable that York were most likely to extend their lead and so it proved as they added further tries through Marcus Britland after 70 minutes and Toby Atkin in the first minute of time added on. Full back Dawes managed one of the 2 conversions to seal the victory and give the scoreboard a look that in no way reflected the performance of the Selby side.

There were strong individual performances by Duncan Hardy, Rob Bourke and Paddy Rowntree in the home forwards, flanker Dom Bosher made a considerable impact when coming on as substitute for the second half and young scrum half Andy McLoughlin showed great promise both with the speed and accuracy of his pass, his quick thinking and willingness to take on defenders. This week Selby travel to fellow strugglers Crossleyans in Halifax with a real opportunity to open their League account and hopefully gain the confidence that will spur them on to even greater success.