Hullensians RUFC 20 v 10 Selby RUFC

Report by Ray Adamson

Three tries conceded in the opening quarter of the match were enough to condemn Selby to another Yorkshire 1 defeat, this time at the hands of Hullensians. On a heavy pitch Selby found themselves under pressure from the first kick off as the home side dominated possession and forced Selby back deep into their own half. With just 6 minutes gone Selby found themselves behind as Hullensians attacked down the right wing before moving the ball smartly to the left flank where winger Josh Langford was on hand to take the try scoring pass and cross in the corner. Within 2 minutes Selby found themselves facing a penalty kick at goal awarded for offside, but the kick fell some way short of the target. However any respite was short lived as Hullensians continued to enjoy the lion's share of possession and it was Langford who extended his side's advantage after 14 minutes, benefitting from excellent handling from his fellow three quarters to touch down his second try of the afternoon. Fly Half Lewis Baldwin struck his first successful kick of the afternoon to open up a 12 point lead for the home side. Things went from bad to worse for Selby as the re-start failed to travel 10 metres and possession was immediately returned to Hullensians from the resulting scrum. A clean strike and more excellent handling amongst the three quarters gave right winger Isaac Norman the chance to show his pace as he raced in for the third try of the afternoon with just 16 minutes having been played. Baldwin's conversion again failed to hit the target but things were looking ominous for the visitors with still over an hour to play.

It is to their great credit that Selby refused to lie down and slowly they began to force their way into the match, firstly by halting the Hullensians onslaught and then beginning to create chances for themselves. Unfortunately their play lacked the clinical edge and a couple of promising moves failed to produce the score that would have given the side a boost. However the pressure eventually told and after 35 minutes of the half the visitors opened their account when a kick out of defence from Hullensians was charged down and the ball fell favourably for Selby. Fly Half Josh Cruise spotted a gap behind the home side's defence chipped through and won the race to the line, crossing for a try under the sticks which he duly converted to reduce the half time deficit to 17 points to 7.

The second half saw both sides trying to seize the initiative but struggling as worsening weather conditions and unforced errors combined to restrict scoring opportunities. Indeed there were no clear cut scoring opportunities until deep into the second half, when repeated infringements at the breakdown by the home Forwards eventually presented Cruise with the chance to reduce the gap between the sides to just 7 points. His successful penalty kick after 68 minutes was enough to give Selby hope of at least another losing bonus point but even that was short lived as the visitors conceded a penalty directly from the kick off for not releasing the ball in contact and Baldwin stepped up to re-establish his side's 10 point advantage at 20 points to 10. Selby threw everything they had into the last 10 minutes of the game but were unable to find their way through as Hullensians clung on to their lead to run out deserved winners. With surprising wins for both Acklam and Heath, Selby saw themselves drop a place to 11th in the League, just 6 points above bottom Club Yarnbury and, with a couple of difficult fixtures to come against York and League Leaders Bridlington they face a real test of their character and steel over the Christmas and New Year period.