Selby RUFC 7 v 38 Bridlington RUFC

Despite having plenty of possession and territory, Selby slumped to another heavy defeat at home to third placed Bridlington who showed through their aggressive, organised defence and incisive attack, why they are one of the highest placed teams in the League. With Old Crossleyans gaining a surprise victory against Hullensians Selby find themselves just 1 point above the drop zone with just 2 fixtures remaining in the League season.

A superb catch by Alex Hare from the first kick off gave the home side first advantage but they were unable to make any headway as the visitors forced them back into their own half. With only 4 minutes gone a misdirected kick out of the Selby 22 was fielded by the Bridlington full back Jack Arthur and within the blink of an eye Selby were ripped apart by the run of winger William Davies who crossed by the sticks to present Arthur with a simple conversion which gave his side an early 7 point advantage. With their very next meaningful attack Bridlington again used Davies to devastating effect when a well worked three quarters move from a scrum on the Selby 22 outwitted the Selby defence as he cantered round under the posts for his second try, leaving Arthur to chip over the conversion.

The Selby forwards then began to get to grips with their opposite numbers and a series of penalties and line outs saw the home side drive deep into the Bridlington 22, just being held up over the line and then knocking on just short in the face of some heavy tackling as the visitors saw their line under siege. With the chance to clear their lines from the resultant 5 metre scrum Bridlington were only able to gain 10 metres from the kick out to touch. A clean take at the line and a terrific drive again saw the Bridlington defence under tremendous pressure and, although the initial surge was repelled there was to be no stopping Matthew Wood who crashed over once the maul came to a standstill. Fly half Will Edwards hit an excellent conversion to reduce the deficit to just 7 points with 10 minutes of the half remaining. Unfortunately any optimism felt by the Selby faithful was soon dispelled when Bridlington re-established their 14 point advantage practically from the kick off when regaining possession and moving the ball swiftly to their other winger Gary Stevens to cross for his first try of the afternoon, with Arthur again adding the extras.

Undaunted, Selby returned to the attack and again forced the visitors back into their 22, repeatedly picking and driving around the edges as they inched their way forward. However they were dealt a heavy blow when conceding a penalty for not releasing the ball in the tackle. Bridlington chose to tap and run and as the ball passed through several pairs of hands the Selby defence was soon outflanked and Stevens was given a clear run to the line for his second try in 5 minutes and ensuring that the visitors went into the break with a commanding lead at 26 points to 7.

As the second half got under way it was again Selby who were taking the game to Bridlington but, as seemed to be the case all afternoon, Bridlington played the referee to their advantage, conceding numerous penalties in preventing the home side from gaining and using quick ball at the breakdown. Although try scorer Davies was yellow carded when the referee lost his patience over the number of penalties Bridlington were giving away, Selby were unable to make the most of their one man advantage and it was the visitors who extended their lead after 55 minutes when number 8 James Thompson broke through several would be tacklers for a try which Arthur was, once again, able to convert.

The Selby forwards again drove deep into the Bridlington defence and the visitors continued to use every trick in the book to keep their line intact with frustration growing that the referee continued to allow them to offend without again showing the yellow card for repeated infringements in the 22. Indeed it was Bridlington who had the final word when a penalty conceded for holding on allowed them to clear downfield and quickly work their way to the Selby 22. Although Selby had the advantage of put in at a scrum, the heel was taken against the head and, when the ball was moved wide quickly, Davies found space to charge over for the try which brought up his hat trick and put his side out of sight at 38 points to 7.

The game against Yarnbury this week again takes on massive significance, with a victory a definite possibility but a tremendous tussle in store as Crossleyans visit York with members from both Clubs eager to see their teams gain the result which could mean Yorkshire 1 survival or bring on the possibility of relegation to Yorkshire 2.