Selby battled back to earn a draw against West Leeds on Saturday, and while some may feel that the Swans got the better of things overall and maybe deserved more - they didn’t actually as a draw was a fair result.

Thankfully the morning’s deluge had subsided by kick off and the weather was as warm and sunny as the hospitality of the hosts and perfect for running rugby, albeit that the pitch was still a bit soggy and no doubt heavy going for the legs. Both teams moved the ball well from the off, but Selby’s scrum took control right away forcing Leeds to immediately opt for lineouts instead where possible – and from one of these Leeds struck first by breaking through the Swans defence, rather too easily, for Keir Breakwell to score and convert for 7-0. Selby struck back immediately though as their forwards recycled on the Leeds line long enough for scrum-half Danny Wilkinson to spot a gap and sneak in for 7-7.

Both teams continued to spread the ball wide at every chance and Selby’s tackling frailties continued likewise, with the hard-running Leeds backs (and forwards) finding more gaps – and from one of these breaks upfield Alex Webster’s apparent (to my aged eyes!) immaculate turnover wasn’t seen as such by the only opinion that mattered, and Breakwell slotted over the penalty for Leeds to regain the lead at 10-7 after 25 minutes. Things remained tight thereafter but what was becoming apparent was that, while previously this season gaps have started to appear in opposition defences as Selby probe out wide, for this Leeds team that definitely wasn’t the case as their defence (unlike Selby’s) remained absolutely rock solid – both up the middle and out wide. The Leeds forwards then showed their attacking mettle with some strong ball carrying, to release elusive right winger Eliah Chitiyo in a bit of space, and he absolutely skinned the Swans cover inside and out for a superb try and 17-7.

With Selby continuing to struggle against the Leeds defence, even when the West Yorkshire men went down to 14 for a yellow card, it was left to their scrummage to come to the rescue again, pushing Leeds back over their line for Number 8 Sam Broughton to touch down to reduce the lead to 17-14 at half-time.

The second half was a frustrating affair as things became quite disjointed and not a lot happened really. Selby had the vast majority of the possession but didn’t/couldn’t do anything with it as they continued to bounce off the Leeds force field up the middle, and their back play was similarly ‘easy meat’ as, with the exception of a few hopeful kicks through, they became as predictable as the James Bond movie I watched midweek. At least Selby’s scrummage continued to dominate, but any possession they got from it was quickly handed back by their malfunctioning line out – so it was left to Henry Wright to level the scores and save the day by slotting a penalty for 17-17 shortly before we were all due to be put out of our misery.

There was still time for Leeds to pinch the match though, as a succession of Swan indiscretions gave them field position to camp on the Selby line and set up good position for a last-gasp drop goal attempt which, fortunately for Selby’s day, sailed just the wrong side of the posts. So, another two points for Selby - and the positives to take are that, despite an indifferent performance, these were taken against a very good West Leeds team.

There is no first team match this Saturday, but Selby’s thirds and fourth are at home - so come along to be entertained by bit of ‘coarse’ rugby!