Selby RUFC 10 v 11 Leodiensian RUFC

Report by Ray Adamson

On a cold, gloomy afternoon at Sandhill Lane, a below-par performance by Selby’s youngsters saw them fall to defeat against a committed but workmanlike Leodiensian side who claimed the win with a penalty in the final minute of normal time. A look at the statistics from the game show that, although the scrum was solid throughout, the line outs only resulted in a 50% success rate and the penalty count was 12-8 in Leodiensian favour. Ultimately it was a lack of discipline and accuracy when in possession that cost Selby dearly and was the principal factor in their undoing.

Despite struggling for territory in the opening skirmishes, it was Selby who had the first chance to score with a penalty after 14 minutes, but Henry Wright was unable to convert from range, dragging his kick to the left of the posts. Leo’s lost their fly-half in the tackle that lead up to the penalty and it was his replacement, Will Watkinson who turned out to be the Leo’s hero of the hour. He was instrumental in the opening try of the game when a sniping break from the 10 metre line took play deep into Selby’s 22 and after good close contact work by the forwards, the ball was shipped to Ashley Britton to score wide out on the left. Although Watkinson failed with the conversion, his side had a deserved score on the board.

The setback seemed to spur Selby on and the energy level increased for a period and when Wright kicked a penalty into the Leo’s 22, the opportunity was set for the home side to finally lay siege to the visitors’ try line. A clean take at the throw saw Jack Hebden peel away and drive at the heart of the Leo’s defence. Close support from his fellow forwards took the ball across to the left hand side of the pitch first and, after repeated phases saw the ball moved back in-field, the space was created for James Robinson to score the try, wide out on the right touchline, with 28 minutes on the clock. An excellent kick by Wright added the extras and Selby had their noses in front, with a hope and expectation that it would lead to more of the same.

Unfortunately that proved not to be the case as both sides struggled to create opportunities, repeatedly handed over possession and became bogged down in a frustrating mid-field tussle which did little to lift the atmosphere. Indeed, it wasn’t until the 63rd minute that the game came back to life, when Selby’s young Scrum Half Archie Bennett incurred the wrath of the referee, conceding a penalty at a Leo’s Scrum and being shown a yellow card into the bargain. Things soon got worse for the home side when a bone shuddering tackle from Tom Edwards was adjudged to be dangerous and he too was dispatched to the sin bin, presenting Watkinson with a straightforward kick under the sticks to give Leo’s a one point and two man advantage with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Selby’s 13 men really stood up to the mark and tore into the opposition with a passion and eagerness that had been sadly lacking for most of the game, eventually forcing Leo’s to concede a penalty at a scrum just inside the 10 metre line. A kick at goal was the obvious decision and Wright showed a cool head as he struck another excellent kick under tremendous pressure with just less than 8 minutes to play.

When Selby’s numbers were restored with the re-introduction of Bennett and Edwards it was hoped that the slender lead would be defended for the last couple of minutes. However, the Leo’s forwards had other ideas and after repeatedly repelling the Selby forwards attempts to break out of their 22, the visitors were rewarded when the referee spotted an infringement by one of the Selby players on the floor and awarded a penalty just inside the 15 metre line with 80 minutes on the clock. It was now Watkinson’s turn to deal with pressure and he was up to the job, calmly stroking his kick between the sticks and restoring Leo’s slender advantage. There was time for the re-start to take place but Selby were unfortunately unable to make any impression on the visitor’s defence and the final whistle brought elation to the visiting players and supporters whilst the home faithful were left to reflect on an all-round disappointing afternoon.

Selby next face a tough away game against a resurgent Bridlington and will no doubt be looking forward to getting back out onto the pitch and erasing the memories of a match that they would have been expected to win comfortably, but were unable to do so.