North Ribblesdale 39 Heath 19

NORTH Ribblesdale produced a confident performance to record a handsome Yorkshire One win at Grove Park on Saturday.

Steven Moon orchestrated the victory with his clever kicking and distribution which tested the visiting back division.

The fact that Heath came back to score 19 points in the second half, despite a number of injuries, indicates the calibre of the opposition that Ribb had to overcome.

Moon indicated his intent with a penalty for a high tackle from 40 metres to open the scoring.

The hard-working Luke Melling, the impressive David Fox and Moon combined to send Johnny Moore away on an incisive inside run. His pass inside was dropped by Moon when a score looked likely.

This was a short respite for Heath. Ribb won a scrum on the 22 and Simon Bolland scored wide out to extend the lead to 8-0.

Better was to come as Ribb raced forward from the kick off. The ball was moved through the forwards with Mick Carr, Sam Boatwright and Adam Stubbs carrying the move on before allowing Moon space to bring his back line into play. Bolland again provided the finish with Moon converting.

Once again the forwards took play up to the halfway line. David Fox made the extra man and chipped over the full back to score wide out. Moon landed the conversion.

Moon extended the lead to 25-0 with a penalty for offside. It crowned a first half in which Ribb’s backs proved too good for a competitive Heath side.

The visitors were energised after the break and their early enterprise was rewarded with a try from winger Callum Harriott-Brown.

Ribb were still running the ball and another good move in the 22 put Bolland in for his third try after 55 minutes.

Heath were not done they were winning more ball and scored a good try from Fergus Marsden converted by Ezra Hinchcliffe.

Their revival was helped by a yellow card and Matthew Baxendale scored a good try which was converted by Hinchcliffe However Ribb had the final word with a try for Mick Carr wide on the right after some good forward play. Moon rounded off the scoring with the conversion.

This was a good performance on a sunny Autumn day in conditions that suited Ribb’s backline and quick back row where John Padley turned over his usual quota of loose ball and Jim Tunney had an influential game with his ball carrying.

The return of John Thwaite and Mick Carr added some much needed bulk to the pack and allowed the flankers and the direct running Boatwright room to operate.