Selby RUFC 30 v 32 Scarborough RUFC

Report by Ray Adamson

After a stroll in the sunshine last week against Hullensians, Selby were brought back down to earth by the harsh reality of League Rugby against an uncompromising Scarborough team who thoroughly deserved their victory on a miserable autumn afternoon at Sandhill Lane. Apart from spells at the beginning and end of the match Selby were clearly second best and struggled to contain the visiting forwards. In the end a losing bonus point was probably something of an achievement as Selby went into the last few minutes trailing by 32-16.

The home side started with a bang and after Duncan Hardy engineered a turnover ball the backs handled smartly to create the space for Centre Peter Turner to cross out wide with just 6 minutes on the clock. A superb conversion by Full Back Josh Cruise set his standard for the afternoon, one of the few real positives for Selby on an otherwise difficult afternoon.

From that point on Scarborough were in the ascendency and reduced the deficit to 4 points after 14 minutes courtesy of influential Fly Half Tom Chadwick who kicked the first of his 5 penalties. As the visiting forwards began to get on top, so the number of penalties awarded against Selby began to increase. From their next foray into Selby territory Scarborough took a lead which they were to maintain for the rest of the game when Joe Marshall scored a try close to the touchline which Chadwick was unable to convert.

For the rest of the first half Selby played largely on the back foot and did remarkably well to restrict Scarborough to just 2 further penalties whilst managing to score 2 of their own courtesy of further excellent kicking by Josh Cruise. At 13-14 and after soaking up lots of pressure there were grounds for optimism amongst the Selby faithful as they headed for a well earned half time brew.

Scarborough quickly set about extinguishing any optimism as the second half got under way, with the forwards driving into and then through the heart of the Selby defence to create a try for Billy Parker which Chadwick converted successfully to open up an 8 point advantage. Although Josh Cruise reduced the deficit to 5 with his third successful penalty after 46 minutes the Scarborough forwards then took control and put the game out of Selby's reach. Another successful penalty kick from Chadwick just 2 minutes later restored the 2 score advantage for the visitors. A clean line-out take on the Selby 10 metre line after 56 minutes was followed by a forward surge and a thundering run from the visiting Prop and created the gap for Chadwick to step his way over for a well deserved try. The conversion which would have left Selby needing to score 3 times was missed but it wasn't long before Chadwick was able to make amends and his 5th successful penalty put the result beyond any doubt at 32-16 in Scarborough's favour with just 12 minutes left to play.

As Selby threw caution to the wind and began to play with ball in hand they showed just how dangerous they can be in attack. After play had switched from side to side and Selby's forwards were able to retain possession through several phases, Peter Turner spotted a gap in the Scarborough midfield and sprinted through to register his second try of the afternoon, presenting Cruise with a straightforward conversion and reducing the gap to 9 points. Energised by their success, the Home side returned to the attack from the re-start and with the final play in the fourth minute of injury time Skipper Dan Porter crossed for a try which earned a losing bonus point for his side. The final act of the afternoon fell to Josh Cruise who struck another terrific conversion from the right touchline to notch his sixth successful kick of the game from six attempts; a stunning record in difficult conditions and one which left the Home support to consider the ifs and maybes of an otherwise torrid afternoon.