However one tries to dress it up, a loss is what it says on the tin and an opportunity to learn and improve. A loss at home however and in front of a sizeable crowd fuelled by the provisions made available by significant long-standing club sponsor Theakston’s, is disappointing to say the least. So, when one adds in the sad demise of the Ripon 2nd XV on the same day on the same hallowed turf to the same opposition, the uninitiated nay-sayers may be calling for questions to be answered. Maybe a public enquiry as to what went wrong, questions in the house? No need for all that however, The Blues came up against a spirited and pacey couple of sides from the north of Leeds and whilst pushing for all their might for a different result in the second half, just lost out in the 1st XV match to a side that took the lead early on and did everything they could to play to their advantage. Ripon will be content with their two bonus points, one for the narrow defeat and one for the all important four tries, will lick their wounds and come back wiser.

Scoring four tries at home is a commendable achievement and doing so in style, from well-planned and structured plays, which needed patience, composure and resilience, was even more worth celebrating. If this developing Ripon squad has needed to improve in any areas, it has been to be patient, retain composure and stick at the task in hand. This they did and with ball in hand, played with determination and to good effect. Limiting the opposition to just three tries, with their lightning-fast backs and slick handling was no mean feat but The Blues were lacking in a few areas that just might have made a difference between losing and winning.

With a scrum as dominant as Ripon’s the opportunities to launch attacks or secure penalties were many and varied. The tactic of picking from the base didn’t work as effectively as it could have and so territorial gains from the set piece were limited. Yarnbury had a fairly effective line out that gave them quality quick ball and Ripon didn’t quite get to grips with competing in the air to control that. The third issue was an alarming regression back into the habit of poor discipline. Reading the referee has to be a key component of games at this level and once starting to concede twice as many penalties as the opposition, some rapid learning needs to take place. Losing two players to yellow cards for the third time in four games is simply not sustainable and so on this occasion, being down to 14 men for a full 20 minutes of the 80 available, had to put pressure on the remainder. Against opposition like Yarnbury, any weaknesses will be exploited and this game was no exception. Also, not to put too fine a point on it, the visitors managed to gain over half their points scored from penalties awarded and Ripon less than half of theirs. Another lesson in exploiting scoring opportunities by playing to strengths.

Back to the positives, no successful team relies on one person to do the donkey work and this was another example of unselfish teamwork and well-founded reliance on each other in The Blues’ camp to stick to the task in hand, the squad selected and the aim of playing enjoyable and entertaining Rugby. However, contrary to that, the decision to keep the space in the squad open for Aborosio (Abo) Sovatabua, when notified of his delayed arrival at the mercy of Network Rail and start short, paid off. The Flying Fijian joined the fray late in the first half to make an outstanding contribution to the team efforts, linked well with his compatriot on the Wing and grounded a second half try to prove that the best things in life are worth waiting for.

Selection this week saw changes in single figures again thankfully, with four recalls to the squad and five positional changes to accommodate them. Starting with the back line up, Harry Drane and James Cooper teamed for the second week running at Scrum Half and Number 10 respectively, the former kicking two from four conversions and the opening try of the game to keep his points tally ticking over. The Wings were occupied initially by Jack Mosley and Saula Take standing in for his fellow serviceman, the latter scoring a fine first half try. The Centres saw the return of Olly Bennett and Jacob Drane guesting for the first few minutes until Abo arrived and Take took his rightful place at Outside Centre, with the added bonus of a first half try. Putting in a trademark “safe as houses” performance at Full Back was Matt Binks.

In the pack and for the fourth week running, the all-conquering trireme of Koroiyadi, Pearce and Dalby, again made easy work of scrum time and again proved to be such a dominant force in other aspects of the set piece and open play. Crunching tackles and strong carrying being their trademark. The second row saw an experimental partnership of Nick Perez and Tom Austin, both significantly blessed in the strength and power department but somewhat vertically challenged compared to normal Lock expectations. Both acquitted themselves with their normal demonstrations of power and endurance, with Perez claiming the bonus point winning try in the last play of the game.

The bench saw the welcome return of the immortal Adam Newcombe, to play wherever he wanted, Jacob Drane, who covered the Centre berth initially in Abo’s absence and gladly returned to the back row later on before dropping back into the Centres when Bennett went off injured. The icing on the cake for Drane’s flexibility and commitment was the second half sin-binning for an allegedly high tackle. Young firebrand Toby Boyce took up the last bench place and whilst raising concerns from interested onlookers about him peaking too early, went on to have a cracking 20 minutes in the second half.

In fairly bright and coolish conditions, with a gentle cross-field breeze, Ripon received the kick off playing uphill. After a momentary hesitation as to who was going to catch the ball, Butterill gathered and took the contact. Cooper cleared to offer Yarnbury their first bite of the cherry with a line out inside Ripon’s half. From there, play went all the visitors’ way, with several phases of recycling and directional changes and The Blues reeling somewhat from the pace of the attack. An overlap up the right touchline saw the visitors’ Full Back turn the defence with a chip over and with the lucky bounce, ran in unopposed to open the scoring with the added conversion at 0 – 7 after just two minutes.

Down but not out, Ripon bounced back and from a penalty in the fourth minute deep inside the Yarnbury half, the well-practiced catch and drive rumbled towards the opposition line. Changing point of focus twice, the Ripon forward machine marched on and released Harry Drane to snipe over for the hosts’ first try. Drane despite taking the full minute to compose himself, was just slightly wide with the conversion attempt for 5 – 7 on six minutes.

A flurry of indiscretions from Ripon and three penalties on the trot for Yarnbury, saw them within kicking range. The penalty goal took them to 5 – 10 at fourteen minutes. Seeming to let the opposition play more than they should have, Ripon continued to concede penalties with alarming regularity and from a penalty touch kick, the following line out saw the Yarnbury ball shifted quickly to their speedy Right Wing to make some 40 metres of ground to score their second try. The missed conversion left the score at 5 – 15 at twenty minutes played. Insult was added to injury at this point with the dispatch of Blues Wing Mosley for obstruction; yet another penalty and leaving Ripon looking like they were under the cosh enough, down to 14 men.

Fortunately the training and resilience started to play for Ripon and the visitors’ forays became less damaging and the host plays more intrusive and competitive. At the half hour mark, Take came into his own with a fine finish from a move started by another solid Ripon scrum. On their own 22 metres line, The Blues saw the chance to attack from the set piece and Bennett made some great ground for the first 30 metres. Binks was on hand for the offload and covered a similar amount of ground before being hauled down 10 metres off the visitors’ line. Butterill was on hand to recycle and carry on before feeding Take to plough through the remaining defenders for Ripon’s second and really important try. Harry Drane converted for 12 – 15.

Yarnbury continued to find favour with the referee and enjoyed a further four penalty opportunities in the final few minutes of the half. Fortunately only one amounted to a scoring chance and the score then moved to 12 – 18 for the remainder of that period.

The half time chat was about composure and of course discipline. The former worked admirably as the second half played out, the latter not so. Similarly to the first half, Ripon enjoyed early favour from the referee and with two successive penalties looked in a good position to press for a leading edge. Success came from the patient build-up of plays and on the tenth minute, Abo got his reward with The Blues’ third try. Phases were constructed from pre-planned moves and Perez and Butterill were integral to keeping the ball alive. A charge up the left touch ground to a halt and Cooper found Dalby waiting out wide to the right to do his thing with demolishing defences. Cooper looped from the next ruck to feed Abo on a direct line and the touch down in the corner gave Ripon the morale booster they needed. Drane’s conversion for 19 – 18 was manna from heaven and gave The Blues their first lead of the game ten minutes into the second half.

Soon afterwards, Ripon fell out of love with the referee again and more penalties started flowing in favour of the opposition. An uncharacteristic contact error from Jacob Drane saw him dispatched for ten minutes and just when the pressure seemed to be off, the fire was well and truly jumped into. Moments before Drane was to make his return, an uncharacteristic break from a Yarnbury scrum saw their Number 8 cut open and start a rapid move to the right . Play went swiftly from one side to the other before the Ripon defence was caught out and the visitors crossed for their third and final try. The missed conversion left the score at 19 – 23 with just ten minutes to play. Another flurry of Ripon indiscretions in quick succession gave Yarnbury another shot at goal, which they took for 19 – 26 and Ripon with a mountain to climb.

The spirits of Mallorie Park finally found favour with the proceedings and the referee in particular and a series of penalties brought Ripon back into a strong attacking position in the opposition half. With the clock ticking down towards full time, the chances of more than one score were looking less possible by the second. If only a draw was on the cards, that might bring some respectability the score line and some credit to the hard work of the Ripon players, who turned what could easily have been a rout for other teams into as close an encounter they have seen for some time.

With two minutes of injury time played and a penalty offered just inside the Yarnbury 22, Harry Drane’s family instinct kicked in and he took the quick tap to go forward. Newcombe and Pearce amongst others were on hand to carry strongly towards the clubhouse corner. Fitting encouragement for the “Sad Yank” Nick Perez to pick and go over to finish the move. Showing great power as well as poise and balance, our Oklahoman buddy crashed over to the whoops of delight of the home spectators. The celebrations soon turned to a hush as Harry Drane lined up the conversion from the touchline. Alas, the well placed and executed kick just didn’t have the legs to make it and level the scores. And so, the final whistle blew, with Yarnbury claiming the honours 24 – 26.

This fourth game of the season saw Ripon lose narrowly at home to a spirited and pacey Yarnbury outfit, who led for much of the game but knew they were in a tight match later on. The consolation of the two bonus points will be sufficient to keep The Blues in the running for a top three position in this increasingly competitive league. Much to celebrate with try bonuses two weeks on the trot and yet more evidence of the “one club” philosophy of training and playing together from age 18 plus. The future is definitely bright, the future is blue!

Next week Ripon make the short hop up the A167 to refresh old friendship and rivalries with Northallerton. The kick off on 5th October is at 3.00pm and all travelling supporters will be very welcome.