RUGBY
UNION –
YARNBURY 7 –
18 SKIPTON
The Reds were
in top form on Saturday and controlled this game throughout.
Yarnbury are a
friendly club with an excellent ground and, with the arrival of the first
decent weather, a good game was always in prospect. However, any pre-match
tension soon disappeared and Skipton made sure of gaining the valuable points
by being on top throughout against the host side, who are in third place in the
table behind Skipton.
After
faltering a little in December, the Reds have been getting back into the mould
which was so successful in the Autumn of playing as a united cohesive team with
strong solid forwards, intelligent play by the half-backs and fast open running
by the backs.
All eighteen
squad members who played on Saturday deserve a mention but there were also some
outstanding individual performances. Young prop Ryan Binner, playing his first
full game for the 1sts, was a trojan throughout and will be a vital component
in the future for the Reds. In the
backs, speedy winger Liam Ray proved he was fully fit after recent injury and
centre Brydon Maiava gets better and better both as kicker and as a strong
running centre. The return of Sean
Kennedy at No 10 teaming up with Adam Oldfield at scrum-half brings added class
and experience to this half-back pair and they were pivotal to Saturday’s
success.
Skipton opened
the scoring early on with a good try from winger Liam Ray and although the
angle prevented Brydon Maiava getting the conversion, Maiava did later
successfully slot over two penalty kicks to give the Reds a half-time lead of
11-0.
In the first
half, Yarnbury were always a threat but Skipton’s defence ensured that any
threat was snuffed out. The Red forwards
were particularly solid and the line jumpers, Malcolm Willsher and Matthew
Boatwright, were getting more than their share of ball.
Soon after the
re-start, Skipton made sure of victory when Sean Kennedy burst through from the
half-back position and weaved through the defence for a try which Maiava
converted. With the score now 18-0 the
Reds could play a comfortable second half.
Ten minutes
from the end, Yarnbury did breach the defence and scored a converted try but
the Reds never looked like losing. Indeed,
in the dying minutes Skipton nearly added to their tally when Adam Oldfield,
who had been off the field having treatment to his knee, burst clear for a long
run only to have to pull up just short of the line – if Skipton’s backs had
been more alert and chased with him they could have finished off the move for
their limping colleague.
As for the
league. Old Brods clearly look like champions being still unbeaten and they,
along with Skipton in second place, have occupied the two promotion places since
the first game of the season. With
chasers Yarnbury and Pocklington both losing on Saturday, prospects of Skipton
playing in Division 1 next season for the first time ever are looking good and
the Reds deserve all the support they can get in these final few weeks of the
season.