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Comment

North Ribblesdale 26 Burnage 10

North Ribblesdale swatted aside the challenge of Burnage in this Senior Vase tie.

Burnage, who from the look of their backs who scored two tries from half chances, could have made a more equal contest had they had more possession.

However the scrum dominance imposed by Ribb severely curtailed visiting possession and they had to be content with two well taken tries from Ribb errors. They would have had another in the first ten minutes but for a stunning tackle by David Fox on the fast left winger Blaney.

The first scrum set the tone for the game as the Blues shunted Burnage's scrum back. The line-out gave parity which was an achievement for James Ogden and his jumpers Willy Garth and James Dugdale who were against far taller opponents. Mark Blease dominated the loose ball and Ryan Kirkbride and Mick Carr made powerful inroads all day.

Ribb's first score was from a penalty by Jonathan Richards after a period of Ribb pressure. An Ian Bartlett penalty put Ribb in the corner and they almost got over from the line-out.

They had four attacking scrums on Burnage's line, a curiously indifferent referee allowed Burnage to stand up, collapse and kick the ball away, all of which are penalty offences. Eventually the ball squirted out and Burnage cleared but they came offside for Jonathan Richards to convert.

Ribb's scrum dominance gave them a stranglehold on the game and allowed the back row their best game as a unit this season.

It was fitting that Mick Carr was instrumental in the first try, collecting the ball after Ribb won a midfield ruck to "show and go" completely deceiving the marking centre and making 30 yards to hand on to Bartlett who scooted under the posts for a converted try to put Ribb ahead by ten points after 20 minutes.

From the kick-off Ribb were soon on the visitors line and Kirkbride forced himself over for an unconverted try.

Despite their scrum being under pressure Burnage still competed. Ribb hopefully booted the ball into the wind but it came as a surprise that the very accomplished Burnage full back could kick the ball further with the wind.

Ribb were on the back foot for the first time in the game and only a good scrum on Burnage's ball allowed them to clear, but a loose pass gave a sniff for Mort in the visitors' centre and he speedily rounded the defence to score an unconverted try. At 15-5 the visitors were not out of it.

The stiff breeze of the first half lessened but Ribb, with scrum dominance, were favourites and the second half saw an intelligent use of the wind by Bartlett.

Although Ribb pressed hard they could not pry open Burnage's defence. They spent ten minutes on the visitors' line. Burnage used every trick in the book to avoid being driven over and gave away several penalties and although a penalty try looked imminent, the referee only gave a penalty which Richards converted.

Burnage were not finished and a charged down kick gave Mort space to put the speedy Blaney away.

The game was still alive and although they were living off scraps Burnage still competed, attacking at every opportunity.

This had its risks and Simon Spensley took an interception on the halfway line. He sprinted into the 22 shadowed by Ben Topham but could not get the pass away.

Ribb were in the scoring zone and sub Tom Davidson dropped a 40-metre drop goal from a line-out. With five minutes to go this sealed the win and Topham's late try from a turnover by Mark Blease was the icing on the cake.

This was a good win based on scrum dominance against a side who are near the top of their league and had not lost in five games. The intensity of the Ribb forward effort was too much for the visitors.

Ribb are coming on but they have had a number of poor results too and should not rest on their laurels.

West Park away is never easy and they are only three points below Ribb in the table.

2:11pm Thursday 22nd November 2007

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