The end of season finale for the under 11’s saw them travel to Darlington for their festival of junior rugby. Following the superb showing by the squad two weeks earlier when reaching the finals of the Tynedale 7’s and Driffield festival, on the same day, it was looking good for another strong performance. On arrival and looking at the other teams present it soon became apparent that it was not going to be an easy day. Reports below… (more…)

Ripon will play in Yorkshire 2 again next season despite a 33-3 loss at home to champion side Old Brod’s. Ripon had to rely instead on Yarnbury, who condemned Goole to the drop with a 42-7 win. Full match report to follow.

Ripon’s battle for survival in Yorkshire 2 will continue into the final weekend after a late penalty denied them a share of the spoils at Pocklington. Ripon started the game brightly and early exchanges suggested the two teams were fairly evenly matched. Ripon’s scrum was looking dominant but the lineout was misfiring badly. Pocklington showed some ambition to move the ball wide with some goood interchange between forwards and backs.

The opening score came after 15 minutes as fly-half Alec Porter landed a penalty. However the home side responded by putting Ripon under pressure and a lineout catch and drive saw the Pocklington forwards crash over for their opening score.

Ripon responded in style as a well worked move was finished off by Porter; he also added the extra two for a 10-5 lead. (more…)

Yorkshire 2 champions Guisborough closed out an unbeaten Under 17 league campaign by beating Ripon in a fairly fractious affair.  Full report here.

The under 11’s travelled to West Park Leeds to play both the home team and Moortown in what for Ripon was a successful trip to our West Yorkshire neighbours. Report below. (more…)

Ripon failed to secure a much needed away win as they fell agonisingly short at North Ribblesdale. The forecasted wind and rain had set in before kick off, making playing conditions quite difficult, with Ripon playing into the elements from the kick off.

The home side started brightly and soon put Ripon under the cosh with referee Jonathan Hill duly awarding Ribb a string of penalties. The Ribblesdale fly-half Tom Davidson failed to open the scoring with two attempts at goal, but eventually broke the deadlock in the 16th minute with a successful strike.

The home pack were using their weight advantage effectively and the Ripon scrum was repeatedly under pressure. The battle in the loose was also going their way as they forced turnovers and denied Ripon any clean ball. (more…)

A fantastic team performance saw Ripon get a deserved win over Leodiensians at Mallorie Park. The arrival of new coach Simon Middleton had given Ripon a welcome confidence boost before the game and the team started the game brightly, dominating the early phases. However Leo’s opened the scoring against the run of play when they crashed over for a try from a lineout after just 10 minutes.

Ripon were back in the game 10 minutes later when Scott McAra reacted quickly to a penalty decision and sniped forward to put flanker Gary Denver over in the right corner. Ripon now upped their game with Mark Curtis wreaking havoc as he repeatedly ran at the Leo’s defence, on one occasion breaking the tackle and surging 50 metres up field. The whole pack responded with locks Watson and Williamson involved in another fine handling move to the right. Unfortunately Jim Potter’s game was prematurely ended by a knee injury but he had made a fine contribution in those 25 minutes. (more…)

Ripon under 13’s hosted Guisbrough on the 3rd March 2008. The game was very well contested but Guisbrough were too strong especially in defence leaving Ripon to lose their second game of the season 14-29.

Ripon started remarkably well after securing the kick off they returned the distance to half way with a clearance kick.The Forwards won possession at the line out and Glen May went over under the posts for his first try of the Game. Guisbrough responded by scoring at the other end seven minutes later under the posts. (more…)

Ripon’s first taste of the National Under 17 competition saw them earn a deserved 15-15 draw away at West Hartlepool; however they suffered heartbreak as they failed to progress to the Northern Divisional Plate semi-final on a count back of tries in the game.  Full report on brendan’s blog.

Ripon’s quest for safety in Yorkshire 2 suffered a setback as the 1st XV fell to a 22-5 loss at Knottingley. Ripon’s poor form had been lifted by two consecutive wins a home but they were found wanting on their travels again.

The early part of the game found the sides locked in stalemate with either unable to find the breakthrough and the action punctuated by several “dust ups”. The first clear scoring chance came in the 21st minute when the home side were awarded a kickable penalty which they failed to convert.

The deadlock was finally broken after 34 minutes when centre Rob Harrison burst into the Knottingley 22; the defence held strong and the turnover ball was shipped quickly. Jason Bell and Gareth Matthews raced back to stifle the attack but a clearance kick stayed in field and Knottingley pounced to score. The conversion was added for a 7-0 lead. (more…)