Yarnbury 12 North Ribblesdale 10

NORTH Ribblesdale squandered a good performance from their seriously depleted pack as they slithered to defeat in their re-arranged Yorkshire One game.

Two defensive lapses allowed Yarnbury winger Ellis Gomersall to score a brace of first-half tries, and after Ribb had forced their way back into contention with a Matt Speres try shortly before half-time, they were guilty of adopting the wrong tactics.

With the wind and the slope in their favour after the break they needed to kick deep to put their opponents on the back foot.

Instead, Ribb chose to repeatedly drive the ball whenever they won possession, and Yarnbury clearly relished the battle at close quarters as the clock ran down.

Yarnbury showed what needed to be done in the first half. They kept Ribb under pressure by kicking to the corners.

The tactic paid off after ten minutes when Ellis Gomersall escaped on the left and went in through several soft tackles to score a converted try.

Ribb took play into the home half from the kick off and kept possession for a period, but as soon as Yarnbury got the ball back they relieved the pressure with a long kick.

The second try came after a Ribb drop out. Yarnbury gathered the ball and moved it out to Gomersall. He slipped out of a couple of attempted tackles to score.

Finding themselves 12-0 down, the Ribb pack started to put pressure on with a series of drives into the Yarnbury half.

The home side defended desperately until Speres dived over after a scrum for a try which Steve Moon converted.

Ribb had good reason to feel happy that they were only five points down as they turned round to play with the advantage of the elements.

Unfortunately, they didn't have the confidence to move the ball wide or kick deep. Centre Jonny Moor was used like a battering ram as he was repeatedly asked to try and crash through.

One high ball from David Fox seemed to trouble the home defence, but the tactic wasn't repeated.

Yarnbury had a great chance to score a second try when Jonathan Richards got away on the left and appeared to have the momentum to drive over until he slowed to look for support, and the chance was was lost.

Moon kicked a long-range penalty to get his side within two points. He was also narrowly wide with a drop goal as Yarnbury held out

Ribb played the second half as though they were protecting a lead, repeatedly crashing the ball up and slowing the game down. They needed to be bolder and use the kicking game.

There were some plusses. Will Booth put in a good shift on his debut, tackling well and winning his line-out ball.

The lightweight scrum also went well as did the line-out. Graeme Pettiford looked dangerous in the conditions and Ribb were probably the better side, but they will continue to lose these sort of game until they learn how to play the conditions.