RIPON 20 SELBY 22
NORTHERN DIVISION YORKSHIRE LEAGUE DIVISION 2.

Selby travelled to Ripon for their fourth successive away game with a team showing four changes from that which outplayed Goole with Tom Bell returning for Dave Christison at prop, Duncan Hardy moving forward to the front row for the unavailable Andrew Pocklington, Alex Webster returning to the centre with Ben Lunt rotating to the bench and yet another seventeen year old being blooded to the team with Ollie O’Brien being introduced to the back row.
Far from disrupting the team though, it started with a bang, as inside the first minute, No 8 Ben Booth, growing in stature game by game, ripped the ball from the opposition and it was then moved quickly across the backs for teenage off half Josh Cruise to finish in the corner & then to add the icing to the cake with a splendid conversion. The youngster proved the star of the show with a total haul of seventeen points, with two converted tries and a penalty, but also displaying quality distribution, astute tactical kicking and a very mean spirit in defence predicating a very bright future indeed.
The home side were shaken, but soon stirred and began to rattle their visitors with a lively display in the forwards , challenging at every breakdown denying possession and with their backs right up in the faces of the dangerous Selby threequarters, giving them no space whatsoever.
This frustrated the Swans and as they lost discipline and incurred the wrath of the referee Mr Damien O’Hehir, a series of penalties took the Hornblowers deep into the Selby 22 and a rolling maul finished with a try claimed by second row Ellis & converted by McAra to level the scores. This score inspired the home side and with outstanding full back McAra breaking through the centre & good support play carrying the ball on, the move ended with an excellent score from winger Box and supporting conversion from McAra to put his side deservedly in front.

The second half, though started as well for the Swans as the first as within a minute of the restart full back, dangerous Dan Porter combined with youngster Alex Webster for the centre to put his side back into the game with a quality score.
The half then continued in the same vein as the first with Ripon dominating possession and the visitors frustration continuing to mount with the penalty count and Mr O’Hehir marching them back 10 yards on at least four occasions and one time even reversing a penalty award in front of the posts for childish, petulant backchat. McAra then punished them further with a well judged penalty.
As Selby threatened to implode, discipline at last returned to the ranks with back row bandit Matty Wood stealing possession and tackling everything that moved, then a piece of individual brilliance from off half Cruise put his team into the driving seat, as he recovered his delicate chip over the defence to dab down under the posts to give himself a straightforward conversion.
As the game moved deep into the injury time needed for attention to prop Duncan Hardy, who thankfully was not seriously injured, the game swung to the home side as a penalty, five yards inside the Selby half was superbly converted by McAra and it seemed that the game had slipped from the visitor’s hands. But Mr O’Hehir’s influence on the game was not yet complete as a penalty award to Selby was coolly converted by Cruise to restore the advantage, then a last minute, last gasp, award to the home side in a similar position from his previous kick was pulled wide by McAra to give Selby a very hard fought win & to move them up to fifth place in the league, but to leave Ripon with just a solitary point for all their endeavour throughout an exciting, entertaining game.

Selby at last return to Sandhill Lane on Saturday when they face the current league leaders, Barnsley, a team who will be looking to build another big score against a side that they comprehensively outplayed on their own midden, and it will need every player selected to be at their very best, in order to disabuse them of this notion.
Selby very definitely have the quality to succeed.

SELBY LINE-UP:

15 Full Back Porter D
14 Wing Saunders O
13 Centre Weller S
12 Centre Webster A
11 Wing Arthur A
10 Stand Off Cruise J
9 Scrum Half Butcher J
1 Prop Hardy D
2 Hooker Randell P (Captain)
3 Prop Bell T
4 Lock Lanaghan B
5 Lock Toye M
6 Flanker O’Brien O
7 Flanker Wood M
8 No 8 Booth B

Substitutes

Greenfield J (For O’Brien O – 51 Minutes)
Hirst J (For Toye M – 55 Minutes)
Lunt B (For Arthur A – 62 Minutes)

NORTHERN DIVISION YORKSHIRE LEAGUE DIVISION 2
SEASON 2011-2012.

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

Barnsley 22 17 2 3 733 359 374 15 87
Bradford Salem 22 15 3 4 635 304 331 13 79
West Park Leeds 22 13 5 4 580 309 271 14 76
Wath Upon Dearne 20 15 0 5 578 309 269 10 70
SELBY 22 14 0 8 508 406 102 13 69
Hullensians 22 14 1 7 511 517 -6 12 65 5
Leodiensian 22 12 1 9 507 366 141 12 62
Yarnbury 21 11 1 9 471 442 29 11 57
Doncaster Phoenix 22 8 2 12 400 516 -116 10 46
West Leeds 20 8 1 11 418 495 -77 7 41
Skipton 22 5 1 16 319 606 -287 7 29
Ripon 21 5 1 15 314 519 -205 4 26
Goole 22 2 0 20 290 658 -368 5 13
Moortown 22 3 0 19 307 765 -458 5 12 5