Ermysted’s Grammar School 28 Ripon Grammar School 0

Ermysted’s lifted the Yorkshire Schools Under-18 Cup for the first time after a dominant performance at a windy Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield.

They went into the match with their confidence buoyed by a big win against Ilkley Grammar School in the semi-final and they were determined to exert their authority from the start.

Ermysted’s tested the Ripon defence with their work-hungry forwards making some big carries.

Ben Robinson and Richard Melia made good ground for their side before Ermysted’s, with man of the match James Otulakowski pulling the strings at scrum half, moved the ball wide to test the defence against the speed of wingers Murray Camp-bell and Flynn Griffith.

The strong wind proved to be a handicap for Ermysted’s and the Ripon stand-off utilised the conditions to pin them back in the corners whenever he could.

The early Ermysted’s pressure was rewarded when Campbell took a confident catch as Ripon looked to clear their lines before carving up the midfield to put Toby Waring over for the first try of the game.

Ten minutes later Ermysted’s added a further three points when Adam Chown knocked over a penalty.

The score remained 8-0 going into the break as Ermysted’s kept their rivals at bay with good defence from David Squirell and George Flesher.

Ermysted’s had the advantage of the wind in the second half and they knew that an early score would put them in a strong position.

Some good tactical kicking from Chown had Ripon stuck in their own half and after a line-out steal from Matthew Price close to the Ripon line, Morgan Davies bulldozed over in the corner for the second try to extend the lead to 13-0.

The team continued to focus on building a lead and another penalty opportunity was taken by Chown to add three more points.

The Ripon team began to work hard to try and get back into the game but some solid defence in the Ermysted’s midfield led to forced errors and penalties as Oscar Phillips worked hard at the breakdown.

Some strong carries from the forwards led to Matt Ray diving over in the corner as the ball was spun wide by Marcus Farnworth.

The final nail in the coffin for Ripon, came at the very end of the game as Ben Booth broke on the halfway line and was not going to be stopped as he scored under the posts.

The successful conversion led to the final whistle and a well-deserved 28-0 win for a hard working team who created their piece of school history.