WITH scheduled opposition Yarnbury engaged in Yorkshire Shield business, Ribb accepted a fixture at short notice against neighbours across the border with local pride at stake.

In theory the home side should have had the advantage as they play their fixtures at a level higher than Ribb but the hard working blues thoroughly deserved their win. Although the contest was close throughout, Ribb's winning margin of two tries to a penalty was a fair reflection.

Both sides had a youthful look about them, with the Dalesmen blooding another teenager, selecting Will Bollas at prop. No less impressive were the other youngsters, with Ryan Kirkbride turning in an excellent display at wing forward until he was co-opted to play in the centre for the final quarter. John Hughes had another useful game at stand off and threequarters Jonathan Richards and Sam Kennedy were safe in defence and sharp in attack.

But teamwork was a key factor in securing the victory and at the core of the side were the pack with Kiwi Keith Robinson turning in another superb effort in his final game before returning home for Christmas.

The game began at a fair old pace, with Kirkby enjoying the first spell of possession and territorial advantage, producing quick ball to test Ribb's defence.

But the Dalesmen answered the questions with tackles hammering in from forwards and backs, eventually forcing a turnover and taking play to the other end of the field.

Now it became the home side's turn to defend which they did well enough, although Robinson was perhaps unfortunate not to get a touched down as the referee ruled he had been held up.

Shortly after Richards' astute chip kick almost brought a try for Simon Spensley but eventually the try came when Neil Gemmell engineered an opening for Gareth Evans to charge through. Half time came with Ribb holding a slender 5-0 advantage.

The pattern did not change greatly after the break, although a home penalty reduced Ribblesdale's lead only for the Settle team to pull clear again when Evans counter-attacked from a poor clearance and with plenty of support the ball eventually found its way to Gordon Throup who plunged over.

At this stage Ribb were suffering with injuries, with Evans, Gemmell and Dave Bryant all sustaining stud inflicted wounds. Bryant had to leave the field and Spensley picked up a hip injury which restricted his movement.

But the injuries did not disrupt the work rate and the Ribb pack kept the upper hand with Gemmell using the short side effectively and Kirkby were pegged back, never to threaten any recovery.

So a useful win for the Dalesman came courtesy of an all round effort with not a tackle shirked.

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