SKIPTON 8 SELBY 22
NORTHERN DIVISION YORKSHIRE LEAGUE DIVISION 2.

Selby travelled to Skipton, the Gateway to the Dales determined to reverse the result of their home fixture, when two soft late tries saw them slip to defeat.
That determination was a key feature of a totally dominant performance by the Swan’s fired up forwards, with the tactics they adopted in gale force conditions proving inspirational, and although they secured a bonus point in scoring four tries, with a little steadier finishing they could have had ten.
Selby faced the difficult conditions in the first half with the wind catching the ball & blowing it back over their advancing forward’s heads and then Skipton were first on the board with an easy penalty from full back Alex Naylor for a silly offside offence, which was duly punished.
With Dan Porter at full back always a danger to the opposition with his pace & elusive running, he took the ball deep into opposition territory, but for the first of a number of times lost the ball to a sloppy pass. However following a strong scrum the ball eventually moved out to Porter who was just too quick for the Dale’s forwards loitering about the 22.
The attempting to run the ball out of defence a knock on gifted the ball to the hosts, who duly accepted the prize and shifted it quickly out to the wing and from a subsequent breakdown back row Martin Murray claimed the score.
This was to be the last time that the visitor’s line was to be threatened as they upped the ante, with the forwards picking & driving close to the ruck & going through numerous phases for a full 30metres before Lunt took the ball deep into the Skipton half with the outstanding James “ Blaze” Blaymire carrying on before the move broke down. There then followed a series of scrums on the home line which, to their credit, Skipton defended well, but the pressure was intense as the visitors recycled the ball again & again as their forwards battered the line, almost without respite. All eight of the Selby forwards were working their socks off for each other, with prop Tom Bell having his best game in a Selby shirt, No8 Ben Booth securing the back of the powerful scrum, and skipper Paul Randell pushing & prompting his men forward.
It seemed that Skipton may well have weathered the storm approaching half time, but they were unable to gain any possession and they were unable to take advantage of the howling wind on their backs to clear their lines, and inevitably their line cracked as hardworking second row Brendan Lanaghan shipped the ball out to Lunt who’s dive to the line was reminiscent of a graceful sea lion.

The second half continued exactly where the first finished but with the home side now gaining some possession but with the wind disallowing kicking for territory & although their forwards struggled manfully to carry the ball, the strength of the Selby eight proved too much as they repeatedly turned ball over. However with too many of the Swans guilty of white line fever, and the wind causing havoc with passing moves the lead was still just two points deep into the half, and with the ( always remote ) possibility of a breakaway score the travelling fans became just a little bit anxious.
Then, at last, the stalemate was broken, with evergreen second row Jason Cicero belying has five score years, switching the ball to ever improving scrum half Jack Daniels who gave on to Porter who then allowed Leaping Lunt to claim his second.
The opposition lines then began to crumble after their valiant rearguard action against a rampant Selby and a further score followed with gnarled veteran front rower Andrew Pocklington always to the forefront carrying the ball forward, and with the wizard from Oz, Duncan Hardy adding another notch to his impressive tally of tries.
The game saw the promising debut from the bench of two new forwards. Front row Rob Bourke who is in his first season in the game, has a big future in the club, once he gains some experience to add to his raw power & enthusiasm, and second row Jason Hirst, previously at the club as a junior showed great potential in his reading of the game with a couple of top class turnovers.
Whilst the conditions dictated that this was an unrelenting forward slog, all of the backs very much played their part in this heartwarming display.

Next week the visitors, from Leeds, to Sandhill Lane are Moortown who are struggling with a poor run of form, but Selby must take care not to fall in to the trap of complacency and if they can achieve the same level of commitment as shown this week then the future bodes well.

15 Full Back Porter D
14 Wing Saunders O
13 Centre Webster A
12 Centre Weller S
11 Wing Lunt B
10 Stand Off Cruise J
9 Scrum Half Daniels J
1 Prop Pocklington A
2 Hooker Randell P (Captain)
3 Prop Bell T
4 Lock Lanaghan B
5 Lock Cicero J
6 Flanker Hardy D
7 Flanker Blaymire J
8 No 8 Booth B

Substitutes

Hirst J (For Lanaghan B – 54 Minutes)
Arthur A (For Saunders O – 58 Minutes)
Bourke R (For Bell T – 69 Minutes)

NORTHERN DIVISION YORKSHIRE LEAGUE DIVISION 2
SEASON 2011-2012.

TEAM P W D L FOR AGAINST DIFF B.P.'s POINTS DED

Barnsley 17 13 1 3 592 312 280 12 66
Bradford Salem 16 12 2 2 477 225 252 9 61
Wath Upon Dearne 17 13 0 4 456 272 184 7 59
Leodiensian 16 11 0 5 434 231 203 10 54
West Park Leeds 17 9 4 4 405 269 136 10 54
Hullensians 17 10 1 6 379 381 -2 8 45 5
SELBY 16 9 0 7 329 324 5 8 44
Doncaster Phoenix 17 7 2 8 345 351 -6 9 41
Yarnbury 16 7 1 8 329 330 -1 8 38
West Leeds 17 6 1 10 364 430 -66 7 33
Ripon 16 5 1 10 249 370 -121 2 24
Skipton 16 4 1 11 226 406 -180 4 22
Moortown 17 3 0 14 261 600 -339 4 11 5
Goole 17 0 0 17 201 546 -345 2 2

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