Malton and Norton RUFC 38 - 20 Selby RUFC

Report by Ray Adamson

Playing against a much fancied and clearly ambitious Malton and Norton side, Selby could ill afford the disruption caused by pre-match changes, injuries and bemusing yellow cards and succumbed to a 38 points to 20 defeat which cemented Malton's place in the second promotion slot behind Doncaster Phoenix. The home side made the most of their physical advantage, scoring 3 tries from close range line-out work and in full back Zwelakhe Sodladla had the game's outstanding player as he contributed 4 conversions and a terrific individual try.

Selby began the game the better of the sides and took the lead after just 2 minutes when Josh Cruise struck a tremendous kick at goal from almost 50 metres from a penalty awarded against the home team for offside. The lead was short lived as Malton quickly established a foothold in the Selby 22 and from a catch and drive move on the 5 metre line drove the Selby forwards back over their own line. Although unable to score from the initial move, Malton were able to gain a push over try credited to number 8 Mark Bradshaw from the resulting scrum with Sodladla adding the first of his successful kicks.

After 16 minutes Malton again forced their way into a strong position and this time were able to convert their superiority into a second try as prop Rob Featherstone was assisted over the line by a powerful surge from the Malton forwards, giving Sodladla a routine kick to stretch the lead to 11 points. Next to benefit for the now dominant home team was centre Josh Heggie who benefitted from a quickly taken tap penalty and smart handling to cross almost unopposed and so presented Sodladla with another easy conversion.

With almost half an hour gone the Selby forwards showed that they were capable of matching their opponents at the catch and drive, setting up a position from which winger Iain Adamson was able to open the Selby try scoring account. The difficult kick was missed by Whittaker who became the first player to be sent to the sin bin when yellow carded just 5 minutes later. With Malton also reduced to 14 men when second row forward Jamie Rounthwaite was shown a yellow card as the game moved into stoppage time the first half drew to an untidy end and Selby were further disrupted when acting full back Peter Turner was forced off injured in the dying seconds.

Within 5 minutes of the re-start Malton again used the catch and drive to great effect, with another prop Nick Salisbury this time the beneficiary. Although Sodladla was unable to add the extras, the home side had a comfortable cushion at 26 points to 8. Despite the difficulty of their position the Selby team continued to battle hard and were rewarded for their efforts after 50 minutes when some terrific running and handling saw centre Alex Webster dragged down just short of the line. However the forwards were quickly in support, the ball was re-cycled efficiently and prop Duncan Hardy added to his recent good run of scores with an easy run-in. Whittaker failed to convert and things got even more difficult for the visitors when Adamson was yellow carded after 55 minutes for a challenge which the referee alone deemed dangerous and Sodladla left the Selby defence for dead with a terrific burst of speed to cross for a try which he then converted to establish a 20 point margin.

Selby's reserves were further tested after 65 minutes when Webster had to be replaced by prop Rob Bourke having sustained a shoulder injury and within 3 minutes Malton added their 6th try through winger Sizwe Zondo. Sodladla was unable to convert and it was left to Selby to complete the scoring in the 73rd minute when replacement prop Joe Romaniw was credited with his first ever League try when driven over by the side of the posts whilst Malton were again reduced to 14 following the yellow card shown to John Lumley. Josh Cruise chipped over an easy conversion and despite their best efforts Selby were unable to find a way through to register a fourth try and so missed out on a deserved bonus point.

Last word of the afternoon went to Referee Mike Mulroy on exchange from the Notts, Lincs and Derby Society who issued his 5th yellow card of the afternoon to Rob Bourke for what he again adjudged to be a dangerous tackle with just a couple of minutes left on the clock.

In other scheduled games between the Clubs, it is really disappointing to record that Malton failed to fulfil the Second Team fixture at Selby, their call off on Saturday morning leaving the Selby team with no chance of finding opposition, whilst the Malton 3rd Team enjoyed a 12 points all draw with Selby 5ths, both teams benefitting from the inclusion of a couple of second teamers who would have otherwise had no Rugby to play.