Selby RUFC 22 v 14 Malton & Norton RUFC

Report by Ray Adamson

A tremendous rearguard action for 60 of the 80 minutes played and a blistering finish against a tiring Malton side brought Selby an unexpected but ultimately deserved victory against a side whose unbeaten run in Yorkshire 1 stood at 16 consecutive matches.

In a pretty one-sided first half Selby only managed to encroach into Malton territory on 3 brief occasions but, despite a glut of possession and territory, the visitors sole reward was a converted try awarded to number 8 Ali Coe, converted by winger Ian Cooke after 22 minutes. The rest of the half saw Malton on the offensive and hammering away at the Selby defence, but the home side, with flankers James Blaymire and Paddy Rowntree and centres Cody Whittaker and Peter Turner to the fore, refused to capitulate. Unfortunately for Selby their kicking game was not up to its usual standard and chances for respite often fell into the hands of Malton's classy full back Sizwe Zondo who relished the opportunity to run the ball back deep into Selby territory. On one of their rare incursions into Malton's half Selby were unlucky when a kick through by Cody Whittaker bounced more favourably for the covering defender than the chasing attackers. However the home side reduced the deficit on the stroke of half time when Pete Turner was quickest to react to loose ball on the Malton 22 and following smart work by winger Ben Lunt the ball was spun across field and James Blaymire found himself providing the scoring pass to the outstanding Paddy Rowntree who crossed wide out on the left. Although Josh Cruise was unable to add the conversion the home crowd could scarcely believe that the interval was reached with just 2 points separating the sides.

The second half started in the same fashion as the majority of the first with Malton playing entertaining rugby with ball in hand and constantly switching the point of attack to try and break down the stubborn Selby defence. A number of scoring opportunities were created by the visitors within minutes of the re-start and Selby's cause was made all the more difficult when skipper Duncan Hardy was yellow carded after 47 minutes for a deliberate knock on just metres from the try line. Malton eventually took advantage of their one man advantage after 53 minutes when centre Siyabonga Moabi managed to wriggle his way through the Selby defence to score a try by the side of the posts, giving Cooke an easy conversion and stretching the lead to the 2 score mark at 14-5.

With Alex Webster entering the fray in place of Josh Cruise and Cody Whittaker moving into the stand off slot, Selby suddenly seemed to burst into life as they set about reducing the deficit. With Hardy back on the field and the forwards now more than holding their own, the Selby backs at last had the chance to show their worth as they moved the ball about and supported the runners who finally began to ask questions of the Malton defence. Iain Adamson, playing at full back in place of the injured Dan Porter scored an excellent try after 69 minutes following some terrific interplay between Lunt and Webster who ran the ball from deep in their own half. Whittaker was unable to convert which meant that at 14-10 to Malton Selby still needed to score a try to snatch the victory.

With the large crowd willing them on, the home side suddenly seemed to believe that they could take the spoils and from the kick off drove deep into the Malton 22 courtesy of a rampaging 50 metre run from Blaymire. A try seemed to be beckoning but the accuracy of the final pass was just not there and the chance seemed to have been lost. Pressure at the scrum pinned Malton in their 22 and when the visitor's replacement Lewis Walsh was sent to the sin bin on 78 minutes Selby were handed the chance to effect a remarkable transformation. A penalty kick at goal was turned down in favour of keeping the ball alive and going for the winning try but all seemed lost when a scrum was conceded just 5 metres from the Malton line with the visitors having the advantage of the put in. However a tremendous surge by the home pack saw the strike taken against the head and Number 8 Martin Protheroe crashed over for the score that put Selby ahead for the first time at 15-14 in the first minute of time added on for injuries.

With the referee declaring a further 4 minutes to be played the Selby faithful were expecting a fraught finale but all concerns were brushed aside as prop forward Rob Bourke smashed his way through the first line of Malton defence from the re-start. When Bourke was eventually halted near the half way line he found a perfect offload in the tackle to Webster who hit the smallest of gaps at pace. Within seconds the replacement's dazzling footwork and balanced running took him past the remaining defenders and, roared on by a jubilant Selby crowd, Webster dived in under the sticks for a superb try. The conversion by Whittaker gave Selby a winning margin of 8 points at 22-14 and so robbed Malton of a losing bonus point, a truly remarkable result given the nature of the first 60 minutes of a game that will be long remembered and discussed for many seasons to come.