Under 11’s make their mark in the Yorkshire Cup

The Under 11’s finally made their long awaited debut in the Yorkshire Cup, and what a debut it was, travelling to Sheffield RUFC they handed the home team a 0-40 defeat to see them progress to the second round. A fantastic display by the whole squad, including all the players who didn’t make the 17 man squad but still travelled to support their team. Match report below:

Sheffield kicked off the match and with us having never played before it was unknown territory which Ripon entered but one they faced with a tenacity and spirit probably not seen from this team this season. From the kick off they took the game straight back at the home team and showed superb control going through phase after phase of good possession. Forcing Ripon back into their own 22 the pressure eventually told. From a drop out by the home team Ripon set the ball up before moving it along the backs for Tom Stringer to cross in the corner. With Finn Hassall adding the conversion the score moved to 0-7. Tom stringer was quickly replaced whilst he had a nose bleed sorted and whilst off the pitch Ripon doubled their lead with a try from Sam Blott, converted again by Finn Hassall(0-14). Ripon really began to dominate at this point and Sheffield were left feeding of scraps with any possession they had always being on the back foot. A resulting free kick saw Ripon take the ball into a well organised maul and once the ball was released Finn Hassall took it up the blind side for the third try. Handing the kicking duties over to Harry Lamb the score moved on to 0-21. Sheffield finally got some good ball and their winger looked good to score in the corner before he was smashed into touch by a Yates “exocet” tackle. George Evans gained good possession from the resulting line out and drove clear of the Ripon line. More phased possession by Ripon led to the next score as Euan Findlay set of on a run from mid field , break three tackles, and score in the corner. Finn Hassall added the conversion to make the half time score 0-28.

Following a good half time team talk from the coaching staff Ripon again take the field ready to continue where they left off. However the second half starts off scrappy with both teams unable to gain good clean possession. Sheffield make the first break and only good defence from the Ripon team stop them from opening their account. Ripon eventually clear their lines and kick to touch at half way. From the resulting line out Ripon steal the ball through George Evans and the resulting driving maul allows Will Shaw to cross the line for the first score of the second half. Finn Hassall again adds the conversion to take the score to 0-35.  Not letting up now Ripon continue to apply more pressure to the home team straight from the kick off. Sheffield are forced to kick to clear their lines but Tom Newby runs the ball straight back at them being forced into touch on half way. Again the constant pressure tells and euan Findlay crashes through for another try making the score 0-40 and under the rules of the Yorkshire cup bringing the game to an early conclusion. With agreement of both coaches it is decided to continue and finish the game. Finn Hassall mean while added the conversion to make the score 0-42. The next play saw the home team finally get some good possession and showing good spirit they force their way over the Ripon line to open their account. With the conversion added the score moved onto 7-42. However the final play of the match was still to belong to the visitors. From a Sheffield scrum Ripon steal the ball, move it right along the back line to Tom Newby on the wing who skinned the opposition winger to score in the corner. With Finn Hassall adding another conversion the final score was 7-49 to a triumphant Ripon team.

A fantastic result which the boys fully deserved for all their hard work over the season so far. No time to rest though they are straight into round 2 away at Ilkley next week.

 Not finished for this week though the subs and non Yorkshire cup players then played against the rest of the Sheffield squad. Not to be out done by the other players these boys also put up an excellant display of controlled rugby running out winners 0-33. Again this game was dominated by good controlled possession with phase after phase of recycled ball allowing the team to dominate in all areas of the field. The first try came from Finn Hassall, converted by Harry Lamb (0-7) who would have scored the second try other than being held up over the line by some determined Sheffield defence. The second try wasn’t long coming though and following a flowing move along the backs Tom Stringer crossed in the corner with Harry Lamb again adding the conversion to move the score to 0-14. The next score came from a great break from Will Grafton who, having been released on half way by Oliver Ward, went all the way to the Sheffield line before being stopped however Charlie Yates was on hand to pick up the loose ball and score the try. With Harry Lamb continuing to kick well the score moved on to 0-21. From the kick off Sheffield maintained some good possession before another huge tackle from Ripon dislodged the ball and Charlie Yates picked up and ran in the score from the half way line. Another conversion from Harry Lamb made the score 0-28. Not letting up the pressure Ripon again force the home team back before again moving the ball along the line for Sam Blott to score on the wing. With the final whistle approaching Harry Lamb missed his first kick of the day to make the final score 0-33 (we’ll let him off this one kick…he did look a bit tired by this point!!)

 Ilkley next week will again provide a huge challenge to this squad but we can travel to this game full of confidence after an excellant performance today.