Selby RUFC 15 – 26 Old Brodleians RUFC

Report by Ian Marlow (Posted by Stephen Ward)

Selby Swans took on Old Brodleians at home on Saturday and while ultimately edged out by the better team to come away with nothing, nevertheless put up a spirited performance that pushed the league leaders all the way and gave great entertainment to the large gathering of supporters from both clubs.

Playing against the breeze, Selby started much the better and with the forwards on top at scrum time and the backs combining well it was all Swans for the first ten minutes. A great outside break by centre Alex Webster sent full-back Joe Ramsey on his way (usually a forgone conclusion) but the chance came to zilch as the ball was kicked away – before scrum-half Danny Wilkinson finally claimed a deserved team try and 7-0 as he dummied over from close range after a punishing run up the middle by centre James Robinson.

Brodleians had looked decidedly second-best but they are not table-toppers for nothing and as the half progressed they became more and more dominant, retaining and recycling possession and knowing when to spread it wide and when to kick for the corners. Selby’s defence though was magnificently committed throughout and with the front row of Andrew Tunningley, Millar McCoy, and Max Wotton (a combination of extreme youth, decrepitude, and big backside - not necessarily in that order) putting in a real shift at the coal face, the Swans were hanging in there. However, Brodleians pressure and competence had to tell in the end and over they went out wide after great handling for a well-converted 7-7 - and then on the stroke of half-time a double whammy for the Swans as Brodleians not only spread it wide well to score again for 7-14, but a Selby forward copped ten minutes in the bin for a ‘team warning’ yellow card.

A rare Brodleians clanger from the half-time restart gifted Selby good territory, which looked to have been wasted with a mis-directed cross-field kick, but winger Matty Leetham cleaned it up and fed Webster on a clever blindside scissors to cross out wide to close the score to 12-14. Selby continued to press hard but Brodleians defence was excellent and up to anything thrown at them and when the Selby skipper departed to the bin for slapping down a Brodleians’ pass, the West Yorkshiremen took full advantage to expertly send a man right through the gap where Cruise should have been to touch down for 12-21 on the hour.

A Selby penalty kick from the returned Cruise gave Selby some hope at 15-21 but Brodleians were now looking much the likely winners as they started to dominate possession and territory with recycle after recycle. Selby were starting to look a little fatigued from their defensive efforts but they were still hanging on desperately near their line for what would have been a very laudable losing bonus point - until Mr Referee was satisfied with the grounding of another, close-range, Brodleians’ try and final score of 15-26.

So, a good performance from Selby that, had it been against a team not quite so accomplished as Brodleians, may well have yielded a victory – but Selby now need to replicate it more consistently as the season’s end, not to mention relegation zone, draws ever closer. And they can have another go this Saturday away at Leodiensian, kick off 3pm – and all supporters are welcome (unless you have the Coronavirus!)