Under 11 Development squad V York Development squad

With Yorkshire Cup semi final matches looming for both sides it was the development squads turn take the field for a full match and stake their case for inclusion in the cup squad. Undaunted by facing up to a physically bigger squad Ripon showed just what depth we have at this age level and put in a superb performance. Match report below.York won the toss and kicked off putting the home team under immediate pressure deep in their own half. Good defence from Ripon held them out and eventually forced York to knock on. A solid scrum from Ripon allowed them good possession and George Foster put in a superb kick which bounced into touch ten metres short of the York line. This seemed to give Ripon some momentum and they should have opened the scoring on two occasions when Felix Oates and George Foster both crossed the line but were unable to ground the ball. Not to be held for long though Ripon eventually opened the scoring with good possession from a scrum on the right they moved the ball along the backs to allow Will Grafton to score in the corner whilst just avoiding being forced into touch. With Oliver Ward adding the conversion the score moved to 7-0. From the kick off Ripon made the cardinal sin and switched off in defence, York stole the ball from a maul, and despite a last ditch tackle from George Petts York scored in the corner. With the conversion added the score moved onto 7-7. A good kick off by Ripon finds touch close to the York line and Ripon were back on the attack. More good possession was gained by the forwards and again the ball was moved along the backs to Will Grafton who got his second try. With the conversion sliced to the left the half time score was 12-7 to Ripon.

The second half started with good play from both teams, York were stopped just short of the Ripon line following a good blind side move. With the play back in midfield the Ripon forwards took a scrum against the head and the backs again all showed good hands in getting the ball to Felix Oates on the wing to score. Oliver Ward added the conversion to move the score to 19-7. Undaunted York came straight back onto the offensive but were met by some ferocious tackling from the home team which saw them drive York 20 metres back up the pitch and into touch. Ripon now started to apply the pressure and stolen ball knocked back from a York line out was tidied up by Mattie Binks who fed George Foster who cut through the York defence to score the try. Oliver Ward added another conversion to move the score onto 26-7. The kick off was collected by George Foster who put in an excellant kick, matched by a superb chase, which kept York pinned back in their own half. More pressure was applied and York were forced back onto their own line where once again Ripon crossed the line through Patrick Douglas but the referee was unsighted so didn’t give the try. Undaunted Ripon get good ball from the scrum and once again the backs show good handling skills to move the ball out to George Foster who scored the last try of the game. With another conversion from Oliver Ward the final score was 33-7 to Ripon.

 Both teams played some excellant rugby which was appreciated by a good crowd of parents from both teams. Next week is the Yorkshire Cup semi final V Harrogate so we will be looking for another superb performance from the squad so come on down and cheer them onto victory!