Moortown RUFC 3 – 14 Selby RUFC

In difficult conditions on an afternoon of persistent drizzle, Selby were pleased to return from the outskirts of Leeds with an away victory and a defensive clean sheet.

Moortown started the game the better of the teams and had a number of kickable opportunities in the first twenty minutes but were only able to convert one from four through the boot of stand off Jack Oakes. Both teams struggled to build any momentum as handling errors were frequent and resulted in an untidy contest. Selby’s first scoring chance came in the 26th minute but Alex Webster was unable to convert a long range penalty. He was to make amends just 5 minutes later when an obstruction on dangerous winger Ollie Saunders gave Selby a penalty just 25 metres from goal. With no further scores, the teams turned round locked at 3 points all.

Within a minute of the re-start Selby scored what was to prove a decisive try when Moortown opted to try to run out from their 22. A handling error in the centre of the field resulted in a dropped pass which Alex Webster pounced upon. With the defence in disarray he was clearly delighted to be able to break through and cross for the try, however he was unable to make it a 7 point score, missing a fairly straight forward conversion.

5 minutes later Webster was able to give Selby the two score cushion they were hoping for when he successfully converted his second penalty to take his personal tally to 11 points. Shortly afterwards Alex Arthur was harshly shown a yellow card when competing for a ball following a high kick into Moortown territory. Tenacious defence by the whole Selby side, which was a feature of the team’s afternoon, meant that Moortown were unable to take any advantage of their extra player in the 10 minutes that followed.

Shortly after Selby were back to full strength, replacement three quarter Iain Adamson, on in place of Alex Webster, made the game safe with a penalty from in front of the posts. Despite desperate efforts from the home side Selby always looked comfortable defending their lead and almost extended their advantage deep into the final quarter when the forwards drove over the Moortown line. Unfortunately the referee adjudged that the ball had been held up over the line and denied what would have been a thoroughly deserved second try.

As the game entered its final phase the Selby players showed a pleasing level of maturity in maintaining possession and counting down the clock until a final clearing kick brought the game to what was for Selby a very satisfying conclusion.