OLD CROSSLEYANS RUFC 31 v 10 SELBY RUFC

Report by Ray Adamson

On their first visit to Old Crossleyans for a number of years Selby produced another performance full of commitment and endeavour yet, despite appearing the better side for long periods of the game, were unable to find the cutting edge which would turn possession, territory and pressure into points and fell to another disappointing defeat.

Despite dominating for the opening ten minutes the visitors were unable to register any score and with practically their first real attack Crossleyans took the lead when Selby were penalised for collapsing a scrum and the home side's winger Ryan Sweeney kicked the first of four successful penalties as part of his personal haul of 21 points. His second kick came after 28 minutes when a Selby tackler was penalised for not releasing his opponent. Within a couple of minutes of the re-start Selby had the chance to reduce the deficit when a clever kick from fly half Scott Hunt resulted in a desperate race for the touchdown and in the ensuing melee the Selby attacker was adjudged to have knocked on just a metre short of the line. Hunt was eventually able to capitalise on his team's pressure when a straightforward penalty after 35 minutes for an offside in front of the posts reduced the gap to 3 points. With half time looming Crossleyans were awarded a further penalty which Sweeney converted to give his side a barely deserved lead of 6 points at the break.

Selby started the second period in much the same fashion as the first, putting tremendous pressure on the Crossleyans defence and, following a strong break by hooker Mark Tanner might well have opened their try account, but a knock on just 10 metres from the line gave the home side the chance to clear their lines. The major turning point of the game came in the 50th minute when a Selby pass was intercepted by a Crossleyans player who chose to kick through the Selby defence. In a real scramble for the ball the referee appeared in no clear position to adjudge whether a try had definitely been scored but nevertheless gave the benefit to the attacking side and Sweeney was credited with the score which he then converted to rub salt into the Selby wounds.

Deflated and tiring Selby refused to give in but conceded a further penalty to Sweeney and a couple of long range tries to number 8 Richard Wheale after 70 minutes and second row forward Kevin McGill just 3 minutes later. With Sweeney successfully converting one of the tries the scoreboard showed a 31-3 point’s lead to the home side but scarcely reflected the closeness of the contest. Selby finally gained some scant reward for their exertions in the final minute of the game when debutant replacement Michael Pegg crossed following numerous phases of play involving backs and forwards which eventually overwhelmed the Crossleyans defence. Scott Hunt's conversion provided little consolation for the Selby side who remain without a win so far in the League this season. In spite of the outcome of this game there were outstanding individual performances from Dom Bosher and Paddy Rowntree in the forwards, whilst Scrum Half Andy McLoughlin again showed real promise in testing circumstances.