North Ribblesdale RUFC 34 v 5 Selby RUFC

Report by Ian Marlow

Selby ventured deep into the beautiful Dales to the picturesque town of Settle for a bottom-of-the-league decider against perennial fellow strugglers North Ribblesdale but suffered an ugly loss which saw the Swans swap league positions with the Dalesmen to now sit firmly on bottom spot of Yorkshire One. Furthermore, the comprehensive manner of this defeat against a team that is itself struggling, and didn’t actually play that well in putting Selby to the sword, sends warning signals for a long and difficult season ahead.

Selby gifted Ribblesdale an early score as they lost possession immediately from the kick off and then compounded their error by giving away a penalty right in front of the posts. The rest of the first half was quite evenly matched but the murky and drizzly day combined with the usual very heavy pitch and two nervous teams led to a lack of quality and continuity, with most of the play occupying centre field as both teams struggled to hold onto the ball. A succession of penalties against Selby, a bane of their season so far, gave Ribblesdale the lion’s share of possession but good defence from Cockerham and Webster in the centres seemed quite capable of snuffing out any attacks and with another Ribblesdale penalty kick rebounded off a post the score remained tight.

Selby then took the lead with a stunning solo try from makeshift wingman Brad Lazenby who cleaned up a scrappy pass deep in his own half before skinning his opposite number on the outside and then cutting inside to bamboozle further defenders to score the try of the match. The score went unconverted but the hopes of the considerable Selby support were nevertheless raised for further scores, however alas, as Selby’s continued inability to deal with kick offs, again followed up by the almost inevitable penalty, gave Ribblesdale another immediate and gift-wrapped chance to regain the lead with another simple penalty kick. Selby were indeed fortunate not to finish the half more than 6-5 down as further indiscipline gave further opportunities to the Ribblesdale kicker which he was unable to convert.

The second half promised to be as tight as the first but unfortunately Selby produced what can only be described as an awful performance as they failed to mount any sort of challenge. A succession of lost possessions, penalties against and then yellow cards, as the referee’s patience expired, made it all too easy for Ribblesdale who had numerous easy opportunities to extend their lead with tries and penalty kicks - which they took with regular monotony and increasing glee to quickly take the match away from Selby. Indeed, the final score could be said to be flattering to Selby as Ribblesdale fluffed quite a number of further scores through slack handling with the try line begging. Selby for their part never held onto the ball long enough to be able to build a position from where to launch any meaningful attack.

There can be no doubt that Selby are now in deep trouble and while there is still a long way to go this season if they don’t start winning soon they are in danger of becoming cast adrift at the bottom. This Saturday Selby face another lower league team as Wheatley Hills visit Sandhill Lane and a win, however ugly, is imperative.