With Storm Amy having passed through earlier in the week, it was a strong cross-field wind that greeted Old Crossleyans and the Sandhill Lane faithful on Saturday afternoon. Joey Reid led the team out to mark his 50th cap, followed by returning skipper Alex Webster.

Selby started strongly, with the pack dominant in the scrums, driving the Crocs back twice in succession. However, despite the early pressure, the visitors’ back line used scrappy possession well to score an unconverted try after just six minutes.

Selby responded immediately. Turning down a simple penalty in front of the posts, they opted for a scrum. Powerful carries from Liam Hogan and Alex Webster took play close, before a neat lay-off from Jack Todd sent James Robinson through a gap to score near the posts. Charlie Bramley added the extras to make it 7–5.

Selby continued to press. Noah Athraby was held up short after one of his trademark mazy runs, and Sean Campbell was also denied under the posts as the forwards surged. The pressure eventually told — C. Bramley and Robinson combining neatly on the right before Ben Poskitt touched down in support. His try was a fitting end to his week, coming just after National Carrot Day on Friday. Fellow farmer C. Bramley converted for 14–5.
Both sides then lost rhythm, with handling errors disrupting play. The Crocs capitalised on loose play, a couple of fly-hacked kicks leading to a try, closing the gap.

Hola Vea replaced Hogan, and the Selby forwards drove a maul some 35 yards, only for the ball to be held up over the line once again. From the resulting restart, a Crocs error handed Selby a scrum under the posts. Scrum-half Archie Bennett looped around the outside to collect the scoring pass, crossing before converting to make it 21–12 at half-time.

Reid and Campbell made way for Adam Crookes and Ash Parkinson at the break, the reshuffled back row continuing to make ground. The game became scrappy, with neither side dominating. Crookes was shown a yellow card for preventing a quick tap by the visiting scrum-half, but Selby regrouped well. Sustained forward pressure saw Hola Vea drive low to score, extending the lead to 26–12.

Old Crossleyans refused to roll over. Repeated penalties saw second-row Dolat shown yellow, and the visitors scored in the corner — the conversion blown wide by the wind.

The Crocs camped in Selby’s 22 in search of bonus points. Hogan was sin-binned for dissent, leaving Selby down to 13 men. But Selby’s defence held firm — Poskitt relieving pressure with a long-range clearance. With Dolat returning for the final play, Selby secured possession from the lineout, and Vea powered over again to seal victory.

Final score: Selby 31 – 17 Old Crossleyans.

A strong performance from the home side and a scoreline that reflected their superiority. Next up: a tough trip to unbeaten Pocklington.

Elsewhere in the Club:
2nd XV: A superb 46–26 win away at Goole, with Harry Kealey, Will Tehan, Ben Sibley and Jay Moffat — all Colts-age players — stepping up impressively to senior rugby.

3rd XV: Another good result with a home victory over Stanley Rodillians.

Colts: Played Pontefract under the lights on Friday night, losing a friendly with several regulars featuring for the senior sides on Saturday.

Women’s XV: Continued their strong start with a 17–0 win over Malton, thanks to tries from Mirija Hiscott, Honor Ratcliffe and Ella Deighton.