Heath 22 North Ribblesdale 10

NORTH Ribblesdale always seem to struggle at Heath and Saturday was no exception as they slipped to a Yorkshire One defeat.

The absence of the influential Matt Spears and Johnny Moore didn’t help their cause on an afternoon when Heath’s more clinical finishing was the deciding factor.

Ribb's greatest threat was the scrum and this was at its best when Graham Newhouse was in the second row.

The line-out proved adequate with young Will Booth getting his usual quota of possession, but Heath were quicker in the loose and the ball carrying of their pack was good.

Ribb opened the scoring when Steven Moon slotted over a penalty for a deliberate knock on.

The visitors were on the attack from the restart. David Fox made a good break up to the full back but he lacked support.

Heath then turned Ribb's defence when Matt Baxendale made 40 yards out of defence to force an attacking scrum.

The ball was moved wide where Ribb were caught offside at the ruck. This presented Ezra Hinchcliffe with the opportunity to level the scores.

Heath were playing with more cohesion and Ribb were struggling for possession. When they conceded another penalty, Heath kicked to the corner to force an attacking line-out.

The home side won possession and found room for Cameron Ramsden to score the first try under the posts. Hinchcliffe added the conversion.

Ribb were 10-3 down at half-time but the game was still winnable if they could make the most of the chances that came their way.

Heath had other ideas and scored first when a Baxendale break made space on the right for Ramsden to score his second try which was converted from a wide angle by Hinchcliffe.

Ribb made some adjustments in the forwards moving Newhouse to prop from second row but this resulted in slower ball so he reverted to his favoured position with John Thwaite resuming at prop.

This gave Ribb’s half backs more front-foot ball and Moon began to trouble the defence. A quick break turned the defence and forced a scrum under Heath’s posts.

The scrum went down three times but Ribb persevered and Mick Carr scored from the base with Moon converting.

At 17-10 Heath had looked under pressure but once again Ribb let the game slip from their grasp. They failed to gather the restart and Sam Pollard pounced for a game-clinching try.

To their credit, Ribb battled away all day with Booth and Jim Tunney being the pick of the forwards while Moon continued his good vein of form.

Fox played well but needs more belief in his ability as he is quick and capable of making telling breaks, while new boy Josh Gill, though raw, is big and strong.

There is certainly something for Ribb to work on.