Scarborough RUFC 45 – 24 Selby RUFC

Report by Ray Adamson

Selby completed their Yorkshire Division 1 League programme with a disappointing defeat away at Scarborough who inflicted the largest defeat of the season on the Swans and condemned them to an 8th place finish after a season which at times promised great things but ultimately underlined the inconsistency evident in a large number of performances throughout the year.

Things could not have started better for the visitors who raced into a 14 point lead within 5 minutes of the kick off. Firstly Dan Porter took advantage of a poor defensive kick to tear open the Scarborough defence and create space for Ben Lunt to draw the remaining defenders and put full back Josh Cruise in for a try under the sticks which he had no difficulty in converting. Almost immediately from the re-start Selby extended their advantage when excellent work from centre Peter Turner and Ben Lunt again provided the platform for skipper Dan Porter to cross for a try again converted by Cruise.

That was to prove about as good as it got for the visitors as Scarborough set about reducing the deficit and eventually cantering away with the game in a pretty one-sided second half. Tries by Corey Dennis after 8 minutes and Tom Harrison on 21 minutes produced one successful conversion for Harrison and so brought the home side to within one score. The only other score of the first half was a penalty awarded to Selby following good support play by flanker Dom Bosher and Peter Turner which Cruise converted to give Selby a 5 point cushion at 17-12 at the break.

The lead did not last for very long as the second half got under way and the home side got their noses in front just 6 minutes in courtesy of a try for Matty Else from a 5 metre scrum which Harrison duly converted. Following a period of relative stalemate Selby were rocked by two tries in two minutes as the game approached the hour mark, substitute scrum half Jordan Wakeham bagging the first and replacement flanker Taylor Smith being credited with the second. Harrison was able to successfully convert Smith's try to open up a 14 point lead for his side at 31-17. A converted try by Selby's man of the match Paddy Rowntree reduced the gap to just 7 points with 18 minutes of the game left to play and as Selby chased the game and a possible try scoring bonus point the game became somewhat fragmented with the home side cashing in to score a further 2 tries in the final 5 minutes. Second row forward Nick Ingham scored the first of the brace after 76 minutes and as Selby threw caution to the wind Tom Harrison gleefully latched on to a pass midfield to intercept and gallop 60 metres under the posts. His 2 successful conversions made the final result a flattering 45-24 in the home side's favour and gave him a personal points haul of 22 for the afternoon.

Selby will reflect on a season of mixed fortunes, having at times matched the best in the League and at others struggling to contain relegation bound sides but will have learned a lot about the strength of the young talent emerging and so can look forward to next season with optimism as those youngsters now have experienced the rigours of playing in one of Rugby's most competitive and closely contested leagues.