N Ribblesdale.....8

Yarnbury............12

YARNBURY grabbed their first league win of the season at the second time of asking with a well deserved 12-8 victory at North Ribblesdale on Saturday.

For the first time away from home in some 30 years the Horsforth outfit took the spoils from their old sparring partners and despite the close scoreline the margin of victory flattered the home side somewhat.

A swarming, aggressive performance by the Yarnbury pack set the platform for victory from the very opening whistle, but it was the home side who took a three-point lead after ten minutes through a 25 yard penalty against the run of play.

With loose-head prop Phil Sutton returning to the side after an enforced absence and tight-head prop Andy Rivett returning to his roots after an 18 month stint in Australia, during which time he represented Western Australia on a number of occasions, Yarnbury's scrum dominated the Ribblesdale counterparts throughout.

Time and again their aggressive defence frustrated the home side who were guilty of many mistakes and numerous handling errors.

Yarnbury's first try arrived on the 20 minute mark when back-row boys Aidy Moule, Martin Rivett and Paul Marshall contrived to put veteran centre Andy Marshall, rapidly approach the winter months of a glorious career, over in the corner for a much deserved five-pointer.

Ten minutes later, Yarnbury went further ahead when Marshall spotted a gap behind the home defence and centre Steve Riley showed his pace to gather a well weighted chip under the posts. Steve Galbraith slotted the conversion to give the visitors a comfortable 12-3 lead at half-time.

Looking even more comfortable in the opening exchanges of the second-half, Yarnbury made life difficult for themselves when they conceded a succession of penalties resulting in North Ribblesdale's flanker Kirkbride crashing over from short range.

This, though, was the one and only time that the home side really threatened the Yarnbury try line during the second stanza and the Horsforth outfit should have been out of sight but for a string of missed penalties which would have added 15 points to their total.

After a dreadful opening league defeat at home to Pontefract this was more like the Yarnbury their supporters have come to expect in recent seasons.

There were quality performances throughout the whole side and two league points away from home was the reward for a much, much improved Yarnbury side.

l This Saturday Yarnbury entertain Old Brods in another league encounter at Brownberrie Park, kick-off 3.00pm.

Yarnbury.........................78

O Crossleyans..................0

THIS was a hastily re-arranged fixture as West Leeds were unable to provide a side in the scheduled NPI Cup match.

In what was mainly a Crossleyans second string Yarnbury were able to find some rhythm and continuity and put together some excellent running rugby. The main beneficiary was winger John Bramham who bagged five of the 11 tries scored.

The forwards produced a far more competent display, securing good line-out ball and placing the opposition scrum under a great deal of pressure. Matthew Burton scored his first try for several seasons as he finished off an impressive 60 yard movement. Other scorers were Steve Mather, Kris Lilley, Phil Deacon, Steve Galbraith and Peter Craven. Lilley converted eight.

Hornets..................92

Sheffield Thirds......12

The tries came fast and furious in this re-arranged fixture. This performance was much improved from the previous weeks and the Hornets showed some of their true potential in a 14 try romp.

The points came from full-back Steve Reed who capped a memorable afternoon with five tries. Debutant winger John Hinchcliffe showed his quality with four tries and his opposite wingman Paul McNulty grabbed a brace.

The other tries came from debutant John Griffin, who had a good game; scrum-half Matt Brown, Emyr Rees and Nick Clynes. The extras came from Duncan Ogilvie, who had an excellent game at stand-off.

Hornets..................57

Roundhegians..........5

The Hornets took on Roundhegians in the second team league and registered their first league points with a well rounded performance. The forwards set the platform with good scrummage and line-out ball, which allowed the backs to cut loose.

The Hornets half-backs 17-year-old Mike Aspinall and Duncan Ogilvie both had impressive games. Aspinall making his senior debut looks the part at scrum-half and Ogilvie scored a total of 22 points, with a try, seven conversions and a penalty.

Steve Reed (2), Paul McNulty (2) and John Hinchcliffe all continued their good scoring form. Veteran centres Phil Deacon and Richard Sharpe belied the advancing years to bag a score apiece.

This was the sort of form the Hornets have come to expect of themselves and can now look forward to their match on Saturday, away to Keighley.

Yarnbury U-12s........14

Morley U-12s............24

Yarnbury started well, the forwards dominating in the scrums, providing good ball for the backs, ably led by debutant centre Paul Downs. However, an injury to a Morley prop led to them being stopped from pushing in the scrums. This let Morley into the game, scoring three tries before half-time.

In the second-half strong running from the Yarnbury forwards led to Scott Banks crossing for a fine try, followed by tireless Rachael Barker crashing over to score her try. Alex Thorp kicked both conversions for Yarnbury in the first match of the season.

Yarnbury U-10s.......25

Morley U-10s............0

Playing against Morley Yarnbury put the first game behind them and proceded to play good rugby with text book tackling, strong running and a willingness to pass the ball.

Yarnbury ran in five tries, scored by Ben Featherstone, Michael Everson, Ben Hague, Lewis Cooper and William Brayshaw.

Yarnbury Thirds......43

Leodiensians...........12

Yarnbury Thirds enjoyed a good win over local rivals Leos with some excellent 15-man play.

The home side soon got on top of the forward confrontation with Toby Brown, Wayne Butterfield, Howard Midwood and Man-of-the-Match Bruce Johnson-Laird all taking the impetus and it wasn't long before this pressure resulted in the opening score which came from a Steffan Patterson penalty.

It was not long before Yarnbury had broken the visitor's line with a well worked move to put Nigel Midwood in for the first try. A brief lapse in concentration let the visitors back into the game. This spurred the home side into a good response with a try from new boy John Griffin which was converted by Steff Patterson.

The end of the half saw captain Matthew Brown take a popped ball from Bruce Johnson-Laird to crash over to give the home side a 22-5 lead going into the second-half.

The second-half was much of the same with the dominance of the home pack proving too much and further tries came from Steffan Patterson, Matthew Brown and Wayne Butterfield. The visitors managed a consolation try near the end to leave the final score 43-12.

Yarnbury Fourths........19

Keighley Vets..............34

Yarnbury Nomads took on Keighley in their first game of this season. With a mix of both experience and youth, Yarnbury found themselves under sustained pressure from a good Vet's side. Slick passing from Keighley resulted in four unconverted tries before Yarnbury responded through an Adam Stephenson try in the dying seconds of the first-half.

The second-half saw Yarnbury playing into a strong wind, with Keighley piling on the pressure. Inevitably Keighley extended their lead to 27-5. Yarnbury refused to give in and a fortuitous try from Hazelhurst pulled the score back to 27-12. Good defending from Yarnbury looked to be wearing Keighley down but again the back line worked well together, creating an overlap and a soft Vet's try.

The Nomads finished on a high with superb work from Harrison and Mercer at the base of a scrum, before a pick-up from Stephenson resulted in his second try of the game. Youngsters Higham, Laycock and Hudson, all making their debut appearances in senior rugby, were dauntless in their task.