Yarnbury second best

N Ribblesdale......14

YARNBURY came off second best in a game played in heavy conditions at Brownberrie Park. They cannot complain at the result as they squandered large amounts of possession and they were simply unable to turn pressure into points.

On the contrary Ribblesdale created two try-scoring opportunities and took full advantage on each occasion to exact revenge for their early season defeat.

It wasn't through lack of effort that Yarnbury were beaten, mainly through careless mistakes and poor option taking.

The game began with Yarnbury playing with the elements and despite territorial advantage and a plethora of possession they were unable to break down a strong Ribblesdale defence.

Two Steve Galbraith penalties were a poor return for 40 minutes hard work with the visitors trapped for the most part in their own '22'. The usually reliable Yarnbury line-out was looking a trifle rusty and Yarnbury were unable to get any continued momentum in a stop-start first half.

The front row of Sutton, Booth and Donkin looked solid in the scrummage and this continued with the introduction of Rivett at half-time. Yarnbury tried a variety of options with limited success and an over-reliance on the boot led to turnovers of the ball in promising positions. Ribblesdale were able to use their larger forwards to slow down possession and stifle Yarnbury's attempts to be expansive.

The second-half couldn't have started much worse for Yarnbury as poor one on one tackling led to a converted try. Trailing 7-6 worse was to follow as Ribblesdale again broke through to score. This spurred Yarnbury into action and a three-man overlap was wasted when a try seemed imminent. A further Galbraith penalty narrowed the scores but Yarnbury were unable to come back in the latter stages.

Paul McNulty had a good game on the wing and made several electric breaks while the rest of the backs had an off day.

l On Saturday Yarnbury will be hoping for an improved performance at Pontefract.

Yarnbury....................17

Roundhegians.............15

Yarnbury Hornets travelled the short distance to Roundhegians hoping to do the double over a team they easily beat at home earlier in the season.

The first-half saw Yarnbury having most of the possession but unable to convert it into points. Roundhegians scored first with a well-taken penalty. Yarnbury replied with a penalty.

Skipper Phil Wray had stern words with his team at half-time but this did not have the desired effect. Roundhegians scored two tries, one converted, to make the score 15-3.

Roundhegians were certainly the better side at this stage, their defence was very good and they were unlucky not to score on several more occasions. Good play by John Hinchcliffe resulted in Yarnbury scoring in the corner, Ogilvie converting to make the score 15-10. Yarnbury sensed they could steal the game and a superb driving scrum resulted in a pushover try for Martin Mercer and another good conversion by Ogilvie gave Yarnbury the lead with only minutes to go.

The final whistle went and Yarnbury were very lucky to come away with two league points. They must use all the possession they have to score points, the forwards supplied enough ball but wrong decisions were made and Yarnbury did not look anything like the side they have been over the last few months.

l On Saturday they entertain Bradford and Bingley again in the league when a much improved performance will be required to bet the current league leaders.