Foresters made to work hard for Boxing Day win over North Ribb

SOMETIMES these local derby matches are totally unpredictable. The Foresters’ strong squad was fully tested by North Ribblesdale, who surely won't be languishing at the wrong end of Yorkshire One much longer.

Admittedly the Greens were one or two short of their best team but even so give credit to the visitors who played with great intensity and fully tested the home side.

The match, played in front of a crowd of 573, provided good entertainment for a Boxing Day fixture and until well into the second half there was very little between the two sides.

The first ten minutes were frenzied, neither side was able to obtain a platform. The action could best be described as rugby's answer to arm wrestling.

There was a lack of cohesion, reflected in the match being scoreless after half an hour. The Foresters somehow seemed devoid of ideas and it was the visitors who opened the scoring with richly-deserved try between the posts to giving Ribb a lead of 7-0.

This was good rugby on their part, assisted by some sloppy tackling from the home team.

The Foresters were lacking cohesion and some positional changes did not help. North Ribblesdale were determined to show that they were not going to be pushovers.

Steve Moon and Jonny Moore organised the Ribb defence to great effect as their side stuck manfully to their task.

Towards the latter part of the first half it became apparent that the home pack was starting to gain ascendancy and as the match progressed this was crucial to the final result.

This again was mainly due to the indomitable front row of George Altham, Jake Parkinson and Matt Freeman, who really do provide the platform for Wharfedale’s powerful scrummaging.

Altham, in particular, showed his skills in all areas with several powerful foraging runs, making him a candidate for man of the match. In the second row Simon Borrill and Simon Willett provided a strong platform for the pack to become more influential as the game developed.

Willett tested his fitness to the full, while for the opposition, Ryan Gill came up with several good runs on the wing.

Wharfedale’s back row were efficient without being spectacular, Jim Mason, Chris Howick and Tom Whyte had to use their defensive skills to suppress Ribbledale’s constant pressure.

Just before half time, skipper Jimmy Bullough decided it was time to get on the score sheet and after a Ribblesdale infringement full back James Druce converted to make it 7-3 at the break.

No-one could doubt that the visitors deserved their lead, nor that the Foresters needed to get their heads around the fact that they would have to play better. They do have the habit of sometimes switching off and going into coast mode. Undoubtedly, during the break, coach Andy Hodgson made them aware of their shortfalls, and they came out with a more positive attitude.

The Greens’ backs had, in the main, been rather lack lustre and greater control of the basic skills were needed. Harry Bullough, who had demonstrated some moments of quick thinking, went off injured, as did his brother Jimmy who had been his usual forceful self.

Just before his departure, Jimmy scored his side’s first try as Wharfedale drove their opponents back over their own line.

The replacement half-backs, Max Bell at scrum half and colt Marcus Farnworth, at fly half, provided perfectly adequate cover at all times.

The Greens were now taking control but never totally dominating, and it was no surprise that Ribblesdale came back at Wharfedale with a penalty to make the scoreline 10-10.

Ben Parkinson, Josh Prell, Andrew Foulds and Robbie Davidson in the backs just didn’t click exactly as was hoped, but Prell and Davidson when the opportunity presented itself showed how dangerous they can be, and in the last twenty minutes of the game were increasingly threatening to the Ribblesdale line.

Finally the continuous pressure told and Davidson showed his pace to score a lovely try. Druce hit the post with the conversion attempt.

Not to be outdone, scored a similar try, opening up the Ribblesdale defence with a beautiful run, illustrating his sheer speed and athletic ability. The conversion was missed for a final score of 20-10.

During the second half, the Greens invaluable replacements entered the fray. All, once again, rose to the task , these being Joe Altham, Tom Baines, Sam Smith, Jack Kitching, Tom Burridge, Ben Booth and Farnworth. They all proved yet again how invaluable they are to the squad. Extremely encouraging was the introduction of the two Wharfedale colts Booth and Farnsworth

Foresters: Druce, B Parkinson, Prell, Foulds, R Davidson, H Bullough, J Bullough, G Altham, J Parkinson,Freeman, Borrill, Willett, Mason, Howick, Whyte. Replacements: J Altham, Baines, Smith, Kitching, Burridge, Bell, Booth, Farnworth.

North Ribblesdale: M Thwaite, M Dakin, Bolland, Moore, Gill, Moon, Fox, Newhouse, Henare, J Thwaite, Tunney, Carr, A Thwaite, N Dakin, Speres. Replacements: W Thwaite, Richards, Boatwright, Naylor, Wallbank, A Carr, G Carr, Wilson, Knowles, Illingworth.