DONCASTER PHOENIX RUFC 36 v 23 SELBY RUFC

Report by Ray Adamson

Despite coming away from Doncaster with nothing to show, Selby put in an excellent performance against unbeaten runaway League leaders Doncaster Phoenix on their own patch. The Selby forwards again worked tirelessly and provided plenty of opportunities, but a number of missed kicks at goal and some stubborn defence from the home side denied Selby even a richly deserved losing bonus point.

The first quarter of the match saw Selby dominate both possession and territory and their single penalty, converted by Josh Cruise from stand off after 15 minutes, was scant reward for a fired up Selby outfit. Phoenix showed why they are top of the League with the strength of their defence and the ability to make the most of the chances presented to them as they swept into a 22 points to 8 lead at the halfway mark, despite playing second fiddle for a lot of the half. Flanker Ado Sheehan crossed for 2 tries in the space of 5 minutes following the unfortunate injury to Selby's influential prop forward Rob Bourke who was replaced by Tom Bell after just 12 minutes. Fly half Ben Millar successfully converted one of the two scores to give his side a 9 point lead. Selby had the chance to close the gap to one score with a penalty on 30 minutes but Cruise was unable to convert a difficult chance from close to half way, the ball just dropping short of the target.

Just 2 minutes later hooker Duncan Hardy reduced the deficit when he was involved twice in the move that provided his try. A missed touch kick was gathered by Hardy who crashed into the heart of the Doncaster defence before appearing on centre Alex Webster's shoulder to take the scoring pass after the forwards worked hard to ensure the ball was re-cycled efficiently. Cruise was again unable to add the kick but at 12-8 Selby were well and truly in the game. An 8 minute period of stoppage time at the end of the half knocked the wind out of Selby's sails as Phoenix stretched their lead by 10 points all scored by Millar, who scored a slick individual try under the posts before knocking over a simple conversion and then added to Selby's woes with a neat drop goal just before the half time whistle.

Despite these setbacks Selby came out firing on all cylinders following the resumption and within 2 minutes of the re-start were rewarded with a penalty by Cody Whittaker, making his first appearance at scrum half. After 48 minutes a piece of individual brilliance from skipper Dan Porter reduced the gap to just 1 converted try. Receiving the ball some 45 metres from the line he set off on a run which tore the Phoenix defence to shreds before crossing wide out. Unfortunately Whittaker was unable to put the icing on the cake by adding the extras but momentum was now all in Selby's favour.

Phoenix soon recovered their composure and began to assert themselves through the strength of their forwards, cleverly working their way deep into Selby territory. A catch and drive at a line-out after 53 minutes was repelled by the Selby rearguard but when the ball was switched to midfield, centre Andy Ellis spotted a gap in the Selby defence and crossed for a try which Millar again converted to restore a comfortable lead.

With great determination the Selby forwards drove the home side back into their 22 and with an hour gone were able to force a scrum just 5 metres from the Doncaster line. Although the scrum was safely won by the home forwards, a handling error in midfield presented Hardy with the simplest of run-ins under the posts. Whittaker's conversion again reduced the deficit to just six points and Selby were in sight of a remarkable victory. As Selby piled on the pressure, Doncaster began to concede penalties which would have ensured Selby a bonus point, but the visitors decided to go for glory by spurning kicks at goal on a couple of occasions. Unfortunately this was to prove their ultimate downfall as the game moved into injury time, when a promising attack broke down and home full back Craig Deakin was able to streak away against the run of play to score a final try. With Millar again slotting the conversion, the 36-23 result in favour of the home side appeared somewhat flattering and in no way gave a true reflection of the performance given by the entire Selby squad.