Despite the attraction of Six Nations Rugby on TV in the warm and dry, a sizable crowd, whose ranks were swelled by a couple of dozen “Grumpy Old Ruckers” in sponsorship of the match, braved the dreich chill of Mallorie Park to witness another powerful display by Ripon’s buoyant 1st XV last weekend. Recording their fifth win on the trot and with another maximum league point win, The Blues have now positioned themselves tantalisingly; one point below second placed Yarnbury and a realistic opportunity to make a push for the second promotion place behind leaders Dinnington.

Despite some strong challenges from a spirited Northallerton side in the first half, Ripon grabbed this game by the scruff of the neck and showed their true colours, running in another six tries and coming our well and truly on top in this local Derby. Just missing out on total domination particularly at the set piece and again conceding far too many penalties, The Blues stuck largely to their game plan and ran out worthy winners. The unsettling effect of regular line-up changes is becoming the norm these days but with inconsistent commitment to training attendance, the squad does take some time to get into gear on match days. The outcome however and thankfully has remained the same for five weeks now, that this Ripon squad is a force to be reckoned with and regardless of league or cup success this season, bodes very well for a successful season and the future of the club.

In cold and tacky but mercifully still conditions, Ripon tolerated some intense onslaughts from the visitors and gave as good as they got against North’s meaty pack. The narrow game played by the visitors, with one up runners, played neatly into The Blues’ defensive plans and was snuffed out effectively. Ripon on the other hand, looked to play to the edges quickly and string the opposition out to exploit gaps and their lack of pace. At the set piece, whilst taking some of the opposition’s put ins to scrums as well as line outs, the Ripon pack didn’t dominate as well as recently. Given the poundage they were up against, the niftier Blues aimed to bring the “bigger boys” down and feed off the potential turnovers. Some strict refereeing however, dishing out fourteen penalties in Ripon’s favour and 15 in North’s, a red card against the visitors and a yellow for the hosts, didn’t bode well for a flowing game or any significant advantage from others’ indiscretions. Given a target of less than 10 penalties per game and accepting that there will be vagaries around who is the man in the middle and whether they are under assessment or not, The Blues still need to firm up their game discipline.

On a very positive note, this was a great opportunity for Player-Coach Nick Daley to enjoy a comfortable outing in the Number 10 jersey. With a sterling performance in defence, as well as setting the ball rolling in attack, Daley was the initiator or link man in so many of Ripon’s attacking plays and touched down twice through his pacey and incisive running style.

This week’s line up showed just seven changes from last week’s selection and a gesture towards reducing the average number of changes from ten per game, with just five recalls and two positional changes. Bringing up the rear was James Cooper, maturing gently at Full Bank and showing exceptional handling skills in attack and solid reliability defensively. The Left Wing saw a welcome return to Colt Jack Mosley after an injury lay off and a well-deserved try to top off a sparkling display of pace in space, as well as bravado in confined defence. Matt Binks kept his place on the Right Wing and despite a couple of stutters under high balls, regained his credibility with some solid close quarters work, a few dazzling runs and the final try of the game. In the Centres, Ollie Bennett retuned after an injury lay off and sizzled with his running off Daley and deep penetration to set up countless attacks, as well as a brick wall defensive performance. Guesting at Outside Centre was utility forward and line out specialist Tom “Bucky” Roebuck, who more than adequately filled the gap created by a dearth of backs this week, with some cracking runs and the opening try of the second half.

Nick Daley had perhaps his most comfortable game at Number 10 this week and as well as his two tries, controlled the game admirably from start to finish. Harry Drane completed the back line up at Scrum Half, with his “Petit General” performance from set piece and breakdowns, as well as knocking over a penalty goal and four conversions.

In the pack Euan Findlay came back for more fun and relished his return to the game for the full 80 minutes. Whether it was a genuine grin of happiness, or an ill-fitting gumshield, he certainly went about his usually destructive business with a smile on his face. Oscar Way, at Blind Side this week, certainly showed the way to win line outs and influence people, as well as get on with the grunt work. On the Open Side was Harry Veitch, with another typically gritty performance that left him exhausted and incommunicado within two hours of the final whistle. The second row saw the familiar pairing of Iain “Boots” Barker, developing a reputation not only for his creative handling skills, but also his fancy footwork. Joe Middlemiss completed the boiler room coupling with another no-nonsense performance. The front row saw the first start in a while for Keith Anderson at Loose Head, who brought so much delight to his family for not only giving a creditable display all round but also bagging a second half try and being rewarded with a considerable bar tab thanks to the Club President. James Pearce naturally kept his place at Hooker, with another all-round good effort and the “Indomitable” Dom Dalby retained his usual berth at Tight Head to steady things down when needed.

The bench this week had a meaty look to it, with not a back in sight. “Mack” Koroiyadi returned to the fold as front row replacement and Tom Austin as a utility finisher. Completing the set was a welcome return to Charles Britton, to add his considerable athleticism to the game and the hope that collateral damage from his enthusiastic style of play was limited to the opposition.

Northallerton kicked off downhill and Bennett started the counter through Veitch. The promising attack broke down quickly with a handling offence and the first of many penalties heralded a stop-start first half. After the next twelve minutes in which two penalties were blown in North’s favour and five in Ripon and this looking like a very shrill way to play the game, order descended and Harry Drane broke the deadlock with a post-assisted penalty goal for 3 – 0.

More penalty stoppages followed for the next few minutes, with some gradual inroads coming from Daley, Bennett and Mosley resulting in an inconclusive line crossing. Just into the second quarter and after fending off some threats from North, The Blues got into gear and after some fine handling between Barker and Findlay, Daley rolled in for the first of his brace of tries. Drane converted for 10 – 0.

On the half hour mark, after more even exchanges, the advantage swung in Ripon’s favour with a Northallerton forward despatched with a red card for dissent after a high tackle. Capitalising on the reduction in defensive numbers, Cooper fielded a long kick out to link with Bennett. The sturdy Centre made some 30 metres before unleashing Jack Mosley for a strong run in and Ripon’s second try. Drane missed the long kick for 15 – 0 and that’s where the score stayed for the remainder, despite two further strong Ripon attacks involving Cooper, Bennett and Mosley again and another which almost succeeded through Daley and Pearce.

In the opening seconds of the second half, from another line out taken by Way, the catch and drive made some 10 metres before Pearce and Barker slipped free to inter-pass between then and then on to Bennett. Tom Roebuck, not looking at all out of place at Centre, finished the move under the posts and Drane converted for 22 – 0. After a further four minutes, with Barker yellow carded for a soft shoe shuffle, Northallerton fought back momentarily and from a penalty line out, made repeated thrusts towards the home line. An over-throw from the next line out gave Drane the opportunity to relieve the pressure somewhat, with Bennett and Findlay attempting to run out of defence. A further penalty for a high tackle put North back in contention again and this time from the line out and more close order work, power and pressure eventually told and the visitors made it over the line for an unconverted try and 22 – 5.

After a ten minute lull in which neither side made much progress, Ripon regrouped and upped the pace. From a rampaging charge by Britton, the ever present Pearce and Bennett carried on before releasing Daley for his second try of the day and the bonus point for The Blues. Drane made easy work of the conversion for 29 – 5. With the game entering its final throes, Ripon just kept on coming. After another charge by Britton supported by Pearce, Keith Anderson broke free and with the boost from Britton’s ample frame, crossed the line for Ripon’s fifth try and with Drane slightly off target, the score went to 34 – 5.

In the dying seconds and not wanting to let up the pressure until the final whistle, another move from deep in home territory saw Bennett, Roebuck and Mosley break out of defence. Bennett made further ground before offloading to Findlay, who then uncharacteristically actually passed the ball to Binks on the Wing. Binks burned up the final 40 metres with defenders falling all around him. Drane converted for 41 – 5 and the end of the game.

A good solid win in front of a sizeable home crowd and enough points to place Ripon within one point of second place in the league.
Next week, Ripon are back on the road and face an altogether more stern test from fourth placed Baildon. All supporters very welcome for the 2.15 kick off and to cheer The Blues on to more winning ways.