NORTHERN DIVISION YORKSHIRE LEAGUE DIVISION 1.
BRIDLINGTON RUFC 18 – 11 SELBY RUFC

Referee – Mr. Gavin Pender – Central Yorkshire Society

Report by Reg Phillips

Selby travelled through the threat of an East Coast sea fret to a bright Spring day with the prospect of achieving a double over their long time rivals, Bridlington, whose season has been stuttering and who were still outside candidates for the drop. But Bridlington has never been a happy hunting ground for The Swans, and Saturday turned out to be no exception, with the home side putting in as good a defensive stint as has been seen at any ground this season.

Try as the Swans may, the defence held firm and their much vaunted attack was unable to make any inroads and had to be content with two Cruise penalties and a Duncan Hardy try at the death as their sole reward. Bridlington however, tested the leaky Selby defence on numerous occasions and managed to penetrate three times to show that there are still repairs to do to see out the end of this gruelling season.

Selby were first on the board with Josh Cruise’s penalty within a minute of the start but this was soon nullified with a response from Bridlington’s No 10, Terewi. Selby were very much in the game but mistakes were costing field position and eventually silly handling mistakes allowed centres Stevens & Stirk to cross the line within four minutes of each other to leave the visitors 13 points to 3 down within the first quarter. Selby continued to probe and were rewarded on the stroke of half time with Cruise’s second penalty.

With just that single score separating the teams, Selby were confident that they would overturn the lead and pressed confidently, but it was Bridlington who unlocked the deadlock with a try by winger Heeley. This spurred Selby on and time and again they battered at a resolute Bridlington defence, which in desperation saw the penalty count mount, and some felt, with some justification that a penalty try may be on the cards. However, this was not to be, and if you were a home supporter, quite rightly so. The Swans had to settle in the end for a single losing bonus point courtesy of skipper Duncan Hardy’s last minute try.

This was a game that a young hungry Bridlington team, narrowly deserved to win with a vastly improved performance from their display at Selby earlier in the season. Selby can also take heart in a vigorous performance, which would have been enough against many teams in this league, and with just two games left in the season, they can take pride in the fact that a top half finish in the league is guaranteed.