SELBY 30 MOORTOWN 3
NORTHERN DIVISION YORKSHIRE LEAGUE DIVISION 2.

Although they were, for the second week in succession, the far better side & gained a bonus point for scoring more than four tries, Selby were profligate in their kicking and even more wasteful in spurning scoring opportunities and could easily be made to pay against opposition from the upper half of the league.
The game started with two top quality tries inside the opening ten minutes, the first started by outstanding full back Dan Porter with a superb break displaying a dazzling dummy, fantastic footwork & scorching speed as he completely bamboozled a dazed Moortown defence and put flying centre Alex Webster in at the corner. This individual brilliance is a gift that cannot be coached, and if allowed to shine will lead the way for the rest of the Swan’s young, gifted, hot backs.
The second was the result of good forward play, coupled with superb linking by the threes and wingman Ben Lunt continued his phenomenal scoring run by claiming the score.
The visitors rallied and managed to slow the game & deny possession to the home forwards the claimed a penalty as a result of the Selby frustration.
There followed a turgid spell as the Swans failed to press home their undeniable superiority and with their visitors spoiling any decent ball and the only other thing of note was a successful penalty strike from young stand off Josh Cruise.

The second period brought little early interest, apart from a number of spectators deciding to put on their gloves as the temperature dropped, and even a couple of substitutions failed to fire the game, until the lightning fast Lunt crashed on to a Cruise pass in a well-rehearsed move and stormed in under the posts for Cruise to claim his only conversion of the day.
This finally stirred the home side ( and the home fans ) and further excitement was brought to the game with two tries in the last ten minutes from another seventeen year old, hooker Josh Greenfield, playing in this game as a flanker due to RFU age restrictions, who claimed both his scores with direct running, following great support from his fellow forwards. This young man joins the growing list of young players being blooded by coach Richard Nicholson in this season of transition, who are gaining maturity & experience in the difficult arena of second division Yorkshire League rugby.

The team will need to be at their very best when they travel next week to a powerful Bradford Salem side sitting second in the table, but there is, without doubt , the talent within this squad to test all of the teams currently vying for promotion.

SELBY LINE-UP:

15 Full Back Porter D
14 Wing Lunt B
13 Centre Webster A
12 Centre Weller S
11 Wing Arthur A
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

Protheroe M (For Booth B – 44 Minutes)
Saunders O (For Weller S – 50 Minutes)
Greenfield J (For Webster A – 63 Minutes)