YARNBURY RFC 22 - 23 SELBY RUFC

Report by Ray Adamson

A totally committed and resolute performance by the entire match day squad brought Selby a vital and well deserved victory against third placed Yarnbury and condemned the Horsforth based side to their first home defeat in over a year in all competitions.

Selby began the game playing with the advantage of the atrocious weather conditions, as an Arctic gale blew straight down the pitch, and knew that a significant half time lead would be vital if they were to secure a win. Their first scoring opportunity came after just 3 minutes when the home side were penalised at the tackle but Josh Cruise was unable to judge the strength of the wind as his kick sailed wide of the target. However it wasn't long before the visitors opened their account when a towering kick caused confusion in the home defence. With none of the Yarnbury players able to collect the ball, the chasing Selby three quarters were able to hack the ball towards the Yarnbury line and centre Iain Adamson was quickest to the ball which he managed to gather and cross close to the posts. Cruise made no mistake with his second kick and the lead was 7-nil with just 7 minutes played.

Within three minutes the Selby lead was extended courtesy of a try gifted to Peter Turner who pounced on a wayward pass deep in the Yarnbury half and galloped away to the corner, leaving Cruise with a near impossible conversion in the deteriorating conditions. Just 2 minutes after that score Cruise struck a terrific penalty from fully 40 metres and out on the touchline to punish the home side for holding on to the ball in the tackle. With a 15 point cushion after just 12 minutes Selby were hoping to establish an unassailable lead but their opponents had different ideas and were soon able to make inroads into the Selby defence courtesy of some clever interplay amongst their forwards.

Despite re-gaining possession from one of the Yarnbury attacks and having the chance to clear their lines, Selby tried to play their way out of danger and when they subsequently conceded possession themselves, Yarnbury quickly moved the ball wide and their impressive winger Alex Clark was able to open his side's account with a try wide out on the flank. The only other score of the first half was a further Cruise penalty after 34 minutes which stretched the lead to 18 points to 5. The only subject of discussion at half time was whether or not a 13 point advantage would be sufficient and, given Yarnbury's impressive home record, many of the Selby faithful feared it might not be.

Their fears were well founded as the home side began the second half in a determined and confident frame of mind and reduced the deficit to just 8 points within 2 minutes of the re-start. A Selby scrum feed on the 5 metre line was stolen by the Yarnbury pack, allowing flanker James Cryan to crash over for his side's second unconverted try. Selby's cause was not helped when fly half Cody Whittaker was yellow carded for comments which clearly offended the referee. However Whittaker's team mates responded magnificently and heroically shut down any Yarnbury attack launched during his enforced absence.

Indeed it wasn't until the 63rd minute that Yarnbury were again able to breach the Selby defence and it was winger Alex Clark, scoring his second try of the afternoon, who reduced the gap to just one score with 17 minutes still to play. With the odds stacked against them and the conditions worsening further the outlook was pretty bleak for the visitors but the afternoon was lit up just 5 minutes later when Whittaker made amends for his earlier misdemeanour with a sublime break through the Yarnbury defence. Skipper Dan Porter, who had earlier replaced Ollie Saunders, was quickly in support to continue the attack and put Josh Cruise in for a superb try. Despite the conversion being unsuccessful, Selby had again established a 2 score advantage and set about doing everything in their power to defend it. Such was the tenacity of the Selby defensive effort that, despite considerable advantage in both possession and territory, the home side were kept at bay until the 79th minute when scrum half Oliver Cashman crossed under the posts and fly half Jarrod Huss converted his only successful kick of the afternoon. Although the referee adjudged there to be 6 minutes of time to be added on, Selby were able to cling on to the slenderest of leads and so return home with 4 crucial League points and another notable scalp. For all of their efforts Yarnbury were rewarded with 2 losing bonus points, one for registering 4 tries and one for such a narrow margin of defeat.

Next week sees Selby play host to local rivals York in a much anticipated derby match and with 2 excellent victories since the turn of the New Year, the home side will fancy their chances of breaking a sequence of League defeats that stretches back to 2009.