NORTHERN DIVISION - YORKSHIRE LEAGUE DIVISION 1.
SELBY RUFC 60 – 24 ACKLAM RUFC

Referee – Mr. Ian Ford – Exchange Gloucestershire Society

Report by Reg Phillips

If your idea of a good game of rugby is to see lots of tries and lots of points scored, then you would have enjoyed Saturday’s encounter between Selby and first time visitors from the North East, Acklam.

If on the other hand, if your idea of the game is to see two evenly matched teams, battling to prevent the other from crossing their line & building a structured offence then Sandhill Lane was not the place for you.

The visitors have not won a game this season, & no matter for all the huffing & puffing from a very sizeable set of forwards, they were never going to win this one, and only the home team’s lack of concentration and determination allowed them into this game at all.

Selby’s injury list, whilst still lengthy was reduced by one with the introduction of Rihi Brown to the bench, with young David Blaymire sat alongside him awaiting his first team debut. There was a continuation of the father & son pairing of Jason & Charlie Cicero in the forwards, with Mark Tanner stepping up to the front row in the absence of Sam Cruise. Ben Booth continued to deservedly start at prop, following his excellent run of form.

Fly half, Josh Cruise opened the scoring with a penalty, but the Swans were forced into a period of defence, before big Martin Protheroe roared in with Cruise converting. Cruise then bagged one himself, again converting.

All action Kiwi, Brown had barely been on the pitch for a minute before he raced away for the first of his jug of tries. His co-bencher Blaymire followed him on to the pitch, gave a seven minute object lesson in tackling, before having to leave to join the band of walking wounded. Full back Ben Lunt then showed a clean pair of heels to the North East outfit, who just could not live with Selby’s pace.

A half time lead of 29 points was always going to be too much for a gallant Acklam, who never stopped battling & it was they who scored next through second row Liam Cochrane, but Browns second, followed by Cruise’s kept the game safe for Selby. Acklam were next on the scoresheet with an Ashton score, followed by Lunt & Brown again. At this point the scorer decided the pace was too much for him & demanded a replacement.

Then wingman Charlie McCoy, on 76 minutes, received the ball & proved that he was, indeed the fastest man on the field as he scorched the length of the pitch to touch down.

The finale was all Acklam though, as they attacked the Selby Line to dot down under the posts, and although the ball appeared to have been patted forward by their centre, visiting referee Mr Ian Ford, from Gloucestershire Society, was unsighted from his position near Birmingham.

The final score was also to go to Acklam, following a comedy of errors on the Selby line, when the ball was fly kicked, hit the post & fell into the grateful, and somewhat surprised hands of centre Albert Bengo to open his scoring for the season.

There was no lack of commitment from the Selby squad, but the long season with continued disruption through injury to key players, has caused a lack of cohesion, with players moving out of position and some returning too soon, so the team has never managed the settled look of the previous year.

With just three games left, there is still the expectation that the team will cling on to the very creditable fourth place in their first season on returning to the ultra-competitive Yorkshire Division One.