Craven Herald Sport

North Ribblesdale blown off course after freak try

10:56am Thursday 26th January 2012

North Ribblesdale 7 York 11

North Ribblesdale took an early lead in this game with a freak score – but they failed to make the most of their good fortune as they slipped deeper into relegation trouble.

Stand-off Will Davidson attempted a penalty kick which soared over the posts only to be blown back by the strong wind.

Skipper Dan Watson had the presence of mind to follow up and turned a possible three points into seven with an athletic leap which enabled him to score a try.

Davidson slotted the conversion for a 7-0 lead, and Watson almost scored again when he hacked on a dropped ball only for York’s speedy winger to beat him to it.

This was the total of Ribb as an attacking force. They are now seriously depleted with the loss of three of their best midfield players and the outlook is far from promising.

Davidson and Watson did their best to force a breakthrough but York’s backline defence, like Ribb’s, was solid.

The conditions were terrible with heavy rain and a stiff breeze, but both sides tried to play some attacking rugby and the game was an interesting contest.

York kicked a penalty which went low and hard into the crossbar before squirting over to cut Ribb’s half-time lead to 7-3.

York had looked comfortable on their own ball in the line-out while Ribb edged it in the scrum, but York upped their game in the second half.

Ultimately their driving maul dominated the contest and won them the game.

The other factor was Ribb’s loss of scrum dominance. There were a number of front and second row personnel changes on both sides in the second half and the reason for Ribb’s loss of dominance although the substitution of the hard-working Will Thwaite, certainly appeared to affect the effectiveness of the home pack.

Thwaite and the gritty Will Garth are ideal players for the conditions on Saturday, they may not be cultured, but they have a huge appetite for tackling and work.

York were dominating the forward exchanges by the middle of the half, making lots of ground with their driving maul off the line-out.

To stop a bigger side doing this the maul needs snuffing out at the start which Ribb were unable to do.

York scored wide out after a 30-metre rolling maul to take the lead at 8-7. Ribb knew that just one penalty from Davidson could win them the game, but they could not command enough ball to get in range.

On the few occasions they had decent possession they chose to run the ball, but the passing was too lateral.

A better option may have been the kick and chase or the up and under, but this seems an unfashionable view nowadays.

The game was put to bed after 60 minutes when York’s stand-off kicked his second penalty to put the score at 11-7.

There was no realistic prospect of Ribb scoring a try, as they were playing a game with limited ball. York’s defence kept them within their own half and despite some serious endeavour they could not make the breakthrough they needed.

Ribb had their best moments in the first half where Graham Newhouse, Adam Stubbs and John Thwaite dominated the scrum.

The midfield defence was solid and Simon Chapman had a good game at full back , his fielding and running were good.

Rob Hayes showed what he can do off limited ball. He will develop into a good player for Ribb.

Ribb got a bonus point and will need to scrap for everything until the end of the season as they strive to climb away from the danger zone.

They have a hard game coming up at Pontefract this week and will need to be at their most committed if they want to secure some points.

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