SELBY RUFC 20 - 14 NORTH RIBBLESDALE RUFC

Report by Ray Adamson

Selby finally opened their Yorkshire One League account with a well deserved victory in a tense and closely fought encounter against friendly rivals North Ribblesdale.

Selby's kick off drifted straight into touch, immediately handing the initiative to the visitors but the Selby scrum, with Tom Bell, Andy Pocklington and Rob Bourke leading from the front, shunted their opposite numbers back at a rate of knots to establish an early dominance in the set piece which prevailed for most of the afternoon. With plenty of possession and territorial advantage Selby could well have built a winning platform but a mixture of inexperience and wrong options in attack meant that Ribblesdale, who looked dangerous on the counter attack, were able to maintain parity until deep into the first half. Indeed it took until the 33rd minute for Selby to register their first score when a sweeping move was finished off in the corner by the impressive Michael Pegg, starting his first game at number 8 following a try scoring debut from the bench in the previous week's fixture at Crossleyans. An excellent conversion attempt by fly half Scott Hunt rebounded off the upright but Selby finally had some reward for their hard work.

The second score was not long in coming as the Ribblesdale re-start failed to travel 10 metres and Selby opted for a scrum on halfway. A secure heel and a strong drive allowed Pegg to pick up going forwards and his powerful burst took him deep into Ribblesdale territory where he picked out second row forward Stephen Clark in support. A clever dummy against the retreating defenders saw Clark with a clear run to the line for a try which caused great jubilation amongst the Selby support. Hunt's successful conversion opened up a 12 point lead and things got even better for the home side in time added on for injuries courtesy of a tremendous solo effort by winger Tom Ambler. As Ribblesdale broke into the Selby half they somehow managed to lose control of the ball and swift hands by Tom Bell and replacement hooker Sam Cruise put Ambler into space on half way. A perfectly judged chip over the defence and a swift chase saw him win the race to the line for the try which gave Selby a 17 point advantage going into the break.

Any thoughts Selby may have had about running away with the game in the second half were quickly dispelled as confusion and indecision at the kick off resulted in a poor attempted clearance from Bell. Ribblesdale were gifted possession on the Selby 22 and following a couple of strong drives from the forwards the ball was moved wide quickly where full back Simon Bolland was on hand to score the try. An excellent conversion by fly half Steven Moon gave Ribblesdale the lift that they needed and from then on Selby were put to the sword as the visitors forwards used the rolling maul and pick and drive to great effect. Their second score took just a further 3 minutes and again it was Bolland who was on the end of things to bring his side back to within one score. Another excellent conversion by Moon reduced the deficit to just 3 points and suddenly the atmosphere in the ground had changed completely.

Selby endured a torrid examination in the loose for the next 10 minutes, repelling a number of powerful surges by the Ribblesdale forwards until they were able to force their way into the visitors' half and win themselves a penalty for offside. Hunt's well struck kick at goal gave the home side a 20-14 advantage but with just a converted try between the sides the tension remained. Ribblesdale had a couple of half chances themselves over the next 20 minutes but determined defence and a couple of dropped passes ensured that the opportunities came to nothing and with the final whistle approaching Selby were given the chance to make the game safe when awarded a penalty for offside just inside the 10 metre line. Hunt's kick was accurate but dropped underneath the bar and Ribblesdale threw everything into one final attack. A penalty for not rolling away was questioned by one of the Selby forwards and the referee rightly penalised Selby another 10 metres. A quickly taken tap and good handling almost breached the desperate Selby defence but a tremendous tackle on the 10 metre line by Rob Bourke disrupted the momentum and, when Selby were quicker to the breakdown and able to effect a turn over, the clearing kick to touch was met with a mixture of joy and relief by players and spectators alike as Selby gained the win that finally lifted them off the bottom of the League Table.

Again there were a number of eye catching performances from the young Selby side. The scrum appeared as solid as at any time this season, Michael Pegg gave a great display with ball in hand at Number 8, Dom Bosher and Paddy Rowntree in the back row were a constant thorn in Ribblesdale's side and Andy McLoughlin showed increasing confidence and maturity at scrum half. With Alex Webster making a welcome return to the side following another lengthy spell on the sidelines, Selby will hopefully use this victory as a spring-board for further successes in the coming weeks.