Selby RUFC 50 – 8 Wath Upon Dearne RUFC

Report by Ray Adamson

Selby got the New Year off to a tremendous start with an 8 try demolition of Wath on Dearne to collect their first winning bonus point of the season and avenge the defeat inflicted at Wath in the first month of the season. Although the Wath forwards made a determined start to the game and twice put their team in the lead, once the home side began to put their game together the visitors had no answers and conceded 45 points without reply.

As expected after the Christmas break, both sides lacked precision in the early part of the game but it was Wath who opened the scoring after 11 minutes when Selby were penalised for killing the ball in front of their own posts and number 8 Anthony Barratt kicked an easy 3 points. The re-start gave an immediate glimpse of what Selby were capable of as Dominic Bosher re-claimed the kick and instigated an attack which the Wath defence were only able to stop by conceding a penalty close to their line. However a quickly taken tap penalty set up the position from which full back Josh Cruise was able to stretch for the line to claim the first try of a well deserved hat trick. An additional 5 successful conversions gave the youngster an impressive 25 point tally for the afternoon even though his first three attempts at goal all fell short of the target.

Following Cruise's first failed penalty attempt after 16 minutes, the heavyweight Wath forwards drove their way up field and when they set up a rolling maul close to the Selby line the best efforts of the home defence were powerless to prevent back row forward Joe Earp from touching down to re-establish his side's 3 point advantage.

From that moment on Wath were never again in contention as Selby firstly wrestled the initiative from their opponents, then established superiority before totally overwhelming them with some breath-taking rugby involving all members of the match day squad. Martin Protheroe, who was called up to the first team bench just before kick off following an injury to Jason Robinson during the warm up, was instrumental in creating Selby's second try after 29 minutes when exploding through the Wath defence before handing on to the ever improving Rob Bourke whose deft pass put fly half Cody Whittaker in for a try under the posts, giving Cruise the simplest of conversions.

A third Selby try was not long in coming and was again down to some smart work by Dominic Bosher who showed great athleticism in out-jumping the Wath defence following a towering up and under before handing on to acting skipper Ben Booth who crashed over wide out on the right. An excellent conversion by Cruise gave Selby a 19 points to 8 cushion going in to the half time break and set things up for a storming second half performance from the Selby XV.

The game had barely got going again before Selby extended their advantage. Flanker James Blaymire expertly turned over possession immediately from the kick off and caught the Wath defence totally unaware, giving Whittaker a 45 metre sprint to the line for his second try of the afternoon and securing the bonus point which has eluded the Selby team all season. Cruise's conversion stretched the lead to 18 points and allowed the home side to relax a little and play the open style of rugby which has become their trademark over the last couple of seasons.

Tries then followed at regular intervals as Selby repeatedly stretched the Wath defence and ran them about the whole area of the Sandhill Lane pitch. First to benefit was winger Ollie Saunders as Iain Adamson showed great awareness in twice being involved in a sweeping handling move which started outside the Selby 22 on the left flank and ended with Saunders taking the scoring pass from Adamson wide out on the right wing and crossing for his first try of the season. Another excellent conversion by Cruise was just reward for the quality of the play in the build up to the score and it was Cruise himself who was next to add his name to the list of scorers.

Selby skipper Dan Porter made a welcome return to the field after a prolonged injury absence and was instrumental in Cruise's second try when his perfectly weighted chip just minutes after coming on was safely gathered, allowing Cruise to canter to the line unopposed.

Within 5 minutes Saunders had added his second try of the afternoon when supporting a superb break by Bourke whose powerful burst scattered a rapidly tiring Wath defence and left Saunders with a comfortable run to the line which brought the biggest cheer of the afternoon from an already animated Selby crowd. At 43 points to 8 the only question remaining was whether Selby would be able to compound Wath's misery by breaking the 50 point mark before the end of the game. The question was answered emphatically after 74 minutes as backs and forwards combined to mesmerise the now demoralised visiting defence and open up the space for Cruise to mark his hat trick with a dive under the posts. The simple conversion brought up the 50 point mark and illustrated the gulf between the sides as Selby enjoyed their easiest victory since the opening game of the season when Hullensians were put to the sword in similar fashion.

There is no doubt that sterner tests await the Selby team in the coming weeks of the season, not least of which is next Saturday's trip to Yarnbury. However, in the short term, players and coaches deserve to reflect on a stunning performance which showed just what the team is capable of but with the intriguing feeling that there is still more to strive for.