Yarnbury 25

North Ribblesdale 23

ALL North Ribblesdale's hard work came to nought when the width of the home posts denied them victory at Brownberrie Lane.

A last minute drop-goal by Sean Kennedy would have brought them victory had it not struck the upright, but in truth the visitors should not have needed that late effort, having battled back from being 22-8 down to lead 23-22 in the closing stages.

The Dalesmen will probably take some solace from the continuation of their much-improved spring form, but beyond that they will know that this was a game they should have won. Yarnbury were certainly glad to see the back of the Grove Park men as the two sides produced another keenly-fought, high-quality encounter.

A strong end-to-end wind was a critical factor, with two thirds of the game's points being scored by the side having the wind advantage. Ribblesdale faced the elements first and endured a torrid opening spell, with the home side sensing revenge for the previous week's result at Settle.

Consistent pressure brought a try for fly-half Steve Galbraith, which he also converted, but the restart earned the visitors a reasonable field position from which they were able to mount their first attack and collect as penalty from Kennedy.

But generally, Yarnbury were in the ascendant and before the break they added two more tries, one from their impressive No 8 Ian Moule from the back of a close-range scrum, and a second when a cross-kick left Ribblesdale's defence hopelessly exposed and wingman Paul Marshall sauntered over.

Galbraith added one conversion and a penalty, although the visitors also had their moments and were well worth their try from centre Jonathan Richards, who ensured that the visitors had something to show for their efforts when they reached the interval 22-8 adrift.

The Settle side obviously fancied their chances in the second period and the pack gradually got the upper hand, particularly in the tight, where they were later to embarrass the home eight. Both Michael Carr and Richards, probably Ribblesdale's outstanding player, went desperately close, as did the whole pack, who almost mauled their way over the line on a couple of occasions.

Eventually the visitors broke through courtesy of a superb scrummage that drove Yarnbury back over their own line and to emphasise the point, they repeated the process two minutes later, with Ryan Kirkbride getting both touch-downs. The conversions were missed, leaving the visitors 22-20 adrift before the game went through a quiet spell.

The Dalesmen kept Yarnbury as arm's length, however, before mounting another assault and under pressure again, the home side conceded a penalty that Kennedy kicked to put the visitors ahead going into the final five minutes.

However, the game still had a couple of twists to reveal. Yarnbury's deep restart kick after the penalty saw the visitors secure possession well enough, but the clearing kick had no length and only found touch on the Ribblesdale 22, where Yarnbury won the lineout.

A penalty to Yarnbury for offside followed and Galbraith duly kicked his side back into the lead.

Now it was the Settle side's turn to respond and they took play deep into home territory, where Sam Boatwright secured a superb lineout catch to give his side an attacking platform. While the visitors' drive for the line was held, Kennedy struck his drop-goal attempt well, but as it flew towards the target, it drifted slightly, hit the post and was scrambled to safety by a relieved home side.

The game closed with the referee blowing for 'no side' as he brought the two packs together for a Ribblesdale scrum on the Yarnbury 22, leaving the home side still pressing for promotion and the Settle side still with some work to do to reach the security of a mid-table position.