Defences on top as Otliensians fail to capitalise

IN a very hard fought game at Chaffers' Fields both Otliensians and York RI's defences were dominant with neither attacking forces finding it easy to penetrate.

RI opened the stronger and pinned Otliensians in their own 22 metres for much of the first ten minutes but gradually the home side asserted themselves and in turn, for the next ten minutes, drove hard time and again at a tight RI defence. They forced the visitors to conceded two penalties in this period but regrettably the kicks did not find their mark.

The game swung back in RI's favour towards the end of the half and while there was some good defensive work, particularly from half backs Tim Swann and Dave Smith, and the forwards generally, RI were the first to put points on the board.

After 36 minutes, following a line-out on Otliensians right, the loose head prop, Morse, drove over in the corner. The kick failed, to leave the interval score at 0-5.

David Roberts replaced Simon Dykes for the second-half, the later suffering from the shoulder injury.

Again there were spells of driving forward pressure from both sides with the occasional back movement being snuffed out by strong tackling on both side.

The line-outs were fairly even, with Otliensians improving on recent weeks in this department.

Bret Tenniswood gained some excellent ball, at times on the opposition throw, and David Smith was pinning the visitors back with some excellent touch kicking.

After 20 minutes Otliensians pressure led to RI conceding a penalty and Matt Tenniswood converted to bring the home side within two points of the visitors. Otliensians were fighting harder than ever but regrettably, possession could not be turned into further points.

With only a few minutes to go, RI pressure forced Otliensians into conceding a penalty five metres out and a forward charge put RI prop replacement Rudd over for a try, the conversion bringing the score to 3012.

Every Otliensians player worked hard in this game but just could not turn their share of possession into points. The forwards played strongly, driving well individually. The tight was excellent with some useful turn-overs and the line-out showed encouraging signs of improvement.

There was some strong running in the backs but the ball could have been moved into space a bit quicker.

l This week Otliensians visit Skipton for the second round of the Tetley's Bitter Vase, having beaten Old Modernians 55-5 in the opening round. With the Second XV also away (at Ripon), spectators would be welcome to travel the short distance to support.

York RI 'A'...7 Old Otliensians 'A'...27

THIS was an excellent game played under good conditions.

The home side opened more strongly and took the lead with a converted try.

The lead was short lived however as Ian Chaplin scored a try for Otliensians, converted by himself.

Chaplin also struck over a penalty to give the Otliensians a 10-7 lead at half-time.

Having played well at the back end of the first half, the 'A' team kept on the same wavelength with Richard Paley scoring a try after a forward drive.

This was followed by another good individual try from Chaplin, which he converted himself.

The 'A' team finished off on a good note with a try by Lee Coxon, there was no conversion to leave the final score 27-7.

This had been a good performance by the 'A' team and all sections of the side can take credit from their performance.

Yarnburn earn two more points

Ripon ...... 7 Yarnbury 31

FOR the first time in several years Yarnbury produced a good performance against Ripon to earn a 31-7 league win and another two league points away from home.

The Horsforth boys got off to the perfect start from the kick-off when a fumble by the home side allowed winger John Bramham to collect a loose ball and score in the corner with not 10 seconds on the clock.

A Kris Lilley penalty 15 minutes later put the visitors out to an eight point lead which they held up until the stroke of half-time.

With only seconds remaining in the first-half, however, the referee awarded the home side a penalty try after Yarnbury's winger Steve Mather neck tackled his opposite number 'in the act of scoring'.

An easy conversion in front of the posts saw the home team turn round at a closer than deserved 7-8 disadvantage.

In the second-half Yarnbury took hold of the game and dominated completely.

Sustained pressure in the opening 15 minutes yielded two penalties for the Horsforth side, both converted by their robust centre Steve Riley for a 14-7 advantage.

The game was then killed off as a contest when, with 20 minutes still to go, Bramham scored his second, a 50-yard interception try for his second of the day and his ninth in the opening five games of this season. Riley again added the extra point for a 21-7 advantage.

The visitors now relaxed and, enjoying themselves, completely dominated the final quarter of the match.

Hooker Martin Booth led the Yarnbury pack with another quality display and the continuous pressure from the forwards driving play created space for Steve Mather to walk in at the corner for Yarnbury's third of the day.

The extra two points and a further penalty from Riley gave the home side their most comfortable win over Ripon after a number of close encounters in recent years.

Back row boys Aidy Moule, Martin Rivett and Paul Marshall laid the platform for another league win and these three are now beginning to clock together as a quality unit.

Skipper Steve Lee, still somewhat unfit after his summer break, managed to show glimpses of his former lithe self with a dazzling 40-yard run in the second-half and produced his best side-stepping form of the season so far.

Sitting in third place in their new league with six points from four matches, coach Bob Hood and chairman of rugby Alan Rigby can reflect on a satisfactory start to the season as the league campaign takes a short break.

l This Saturday, a depleted Yarnbury side missing a number of touring players, entertain league rivals Wheatley Hills in the second round of the NPI cup.

Yarnbury Thirds...14 Ripon Seconds ... 21

YARNBURY Thirds' good run of victories came to an end at the hands of Ripon Seconds in a well thought encounter.

The game started well for the home side but early pressure did not produce any results and it was the visitors who opened the scoring through a penalty kick.

The score remained 3-0 for most of the half until the visitors again got themselves on the score sheet just before half-time with a well-worked try to leave the score 8-0 at half-time.

The second period started well for the home side who managed to score through Andy Butterfield under the posts to bring the score back to 8-7 thanks to the conversion by Stefan Patterson.

However, this was not to be good enough with the visitors rallying and scoring two further tries to extend their lead to 18-7.

Yarnbury came back again with a try from Stefan Patterson under the posts which he converted to bring the game within one score.

For the last ten minutes of the match the home side looked as though they would do it but excellent defence from the visitors denied the home side victory, and with the final kick of the game Ripon converted a penalty to leave the final score 21-14 to the visitors.

Yarnbury Fourths...36 Ripon Thirds ....... 19

YARNBURY travelled to Ripon and encountered mature opposition.

The early encounters gave neither side any advantage and it was half-way through the first period before a try from Gordon gave Yarnbury the lead, with the extra two from Harrison.

Sustained forward pressure gave the Nomads a second try minutes later, when Stephenson barged his way over in the line for the third week in succession. With confidence building, Yarnbury took their foot off the pedal and poor tackling allowed Ripon in under the posts on the half-hour.

A good clearance from Davies allowed the Nomads to stretch their lead to 12 points when Gordon charged down the return from Ripon and skipped over under the posts, making the conversion easy for Harrison.

Turning round 19-7 up, the Nomads put further pressure on the Ripon line.

Slick passing saw the ball being passed from right to left wing where Castelow saw the chance to open his legs and touch down in the corner.

Ripon fought back, but again the Nomads' pack dug deep. In particular Bainbridge was steadfast in making his senior debut and worked well to keep the home side pinned to their own line. Pete Oldham was next to breach Ripon's defence, again from good forward pressure.

This gave the visitors a 29-7 advantage. To their credit Ripon responded with two quick converted tries, pulling the gap back to ten points.

With ten minutes remaining an outstanding finale from Yarnbury saw Gordon weave his magic again and cross for the third time.

Harrison found his touch and added the two points to give Yarnbury a well deserved win.