Selby 4ths Kick Start Their Season

Selby 4ths kick-started their season in fine form with a deserved 61-12 victory against an experienced Wath team, showing no signs of pre-season cobwebs.

The first fifteen minutes saw Selby camped within their own 20 as a well drilled Wath pack took in phase after phase. There was little breathing space for Selby who were unable to get out of their half but try saving tackles from Brown and Calvert kept Wath at bay.

The floodgates opened just before the 20-minute mark as Rumford, making his Selby debut, cleared the lines, only for the ball to bounce back into Selby hands. Good hands followed before Burton laid off Spencer to run in under the posts from the halfway line.

With space out wide and gaps appearing tries quickly followed. Firstly Birch made a thunderous run on the edge of the field, passing numerous players and running over the fullback before scoring under the posts, before Burton completed a great backs move through the hands as he outpaced the Wath backline.

Selby pushed before half-time whilst on top, and it led to three further tries before the whistle. Great work in the pack from Wurzel, Leighton and Knowles drew the Wath defence in and on the following phase Slee found Ted who hit a great line and made his way to the line before popping the ball to Birch for his second.

Young was then on the end of some fantastic team work as the forward line hit several phases which ended in Calvert making an excellent run. After dancing through the defence, he marched towards the line before drawing the fullback in textbook fashion and providing the supporting Young with a try under the posts.

Burton completed the scoring in the first half. His menacing run opened the space for Ross to charge past the backline and put Burton under the posts. Slee added his sixth conversion of the day to ensure Selby went into the break 40-0 up.

The second half was a much closer affair, with a midfield battle ensuing. Good defence once again kept Wath at bay with the ball held up over the line on several occasions. Selby got their reward for their fantastic defence as Rumford combined with Spencer who cut inside and dived his way through the centre of the opposition before passing to Ross to score a deserved try under the posts.

The continuous pressure by Wath was rewarded with two tries but Selby came back strong in the final 10 minutes finishing the game on a high note. The first came through good hands on the right-hand side from Townsend, Birch and Rawlins with the ball ending up in the hands of Burton. Quick acceleration saw him break through the line and a fantastic step wrong footed the fullback leaving Burton with an easy run in to complete his hat-trick.

The final try was claimed by Leighton just before the final whistle. The forward pack, who’d been instrumental all game, topped off a great display with a driving mall which was finished by Leighton who dived over the line.

Final score 61-12
Written by Nathan Spencer

Team: 1. Ed Green2. Wurzel
3. Ted Batley
4. Max Leighton
5. Ste Knowles
6. Gary Brown
7. Adam Calvert
8. Scott Birch
9. Alan Slee
10. Tim Rumford
11. Chris Young
12. Jim Burton
13. Nathan Spencer
14. Robert Shann
15. Adam Ross
Subs:
Ted Townsend
Chris Rawlins