POCKLINGTON 27

NORTH RIBBLESDALE 19

IT is hard to say why North Ribblesdale continue to lose closely contested games. Individually the players looked the equal of the opposition and there is no lack of effort, but once again the Grove Park men came away pointless having looked impressive in the latter part of the first half and most of the second.

Pocklington have an impressive back line, with ex Rugby Union international and League player Gary Pearce organising affairs at fly-half.

Ribblesdale did show their traditional inability to use the elements and they totally ignored the defensive shortcomings of the Pocklington right-wing. With a stiff breeze at their backs and a decent share of possession, the visitors should have been able to exert territorial pressure throughout the first-half.

Instead, they persisted with moving the ball up the short side, passing to the left to be repelled by a stern defence or kicking to the accomplished Taylor, who, although in his 40s, it still a fine player.

Pocklington opened the scoring with a fine threequarter move which saw right-wing Richard Stephenson crossing and Pearce adding the goal and a penalty shortly afterwards.

Ribb's reply was emphatic, sound handling by their backs bringing Gareth Evans into the line and Sean Kennedy brushing aside frail defence in a 30-yards dash to the line.

A try by prop James Ward gave the home side a 15-5 interval cushion, but with the stiff wind at their backs, the home side looked well-placed.

However, the Ribb forwards took a firm grip on the game after the break, denying Pearce the ammunition to use the wind, although when he or Taylor did get the ball, they showed what Ribb might have achieved with booming kicks into the corner.

The two tries that decided the game were both kicks into the left-hand corner for wingman Ben Connolly to score two hotly-contested tries.

This should have destroyed the visitors, particularly since Dean Stacey was sin-binned for over-enthusiastic use of the boot - an accusation which could not be levelled at the Ribb back-line.

The visitors stormed back through their seven-man scrum and having sent the home side rocketing back at the first attempt, they elected for another scrum when Pocklington were penalised. Ribb then repeated the process form 15 yards out and earned a penalty try when they home side were adjudged to have deliberately collapsed the scrum, John Walker converting.

Ribblesdale continued their supremacy to the end and had the last word when Neil Gemmell pushed through a perfectly-weighted kick for Simon Spensley to score. At the moment, Ribblesdale are probably the most popular side in the table for the opposition spectator is guaranteed a sparkling game of Rugby and two points for his side. Until Ribb take a more realistic tactical view of the hard facts of the game, they will continue to struggle. ANDREW MILLS

A hard-fought forward slog ended on level terms when North Ribblesdale A shared a 7-7 draw with Clitheroe First team at Settle.

The home side took the game to Clitheroe from the off, but some resolute defence and an exemplary kicking exhibition from the visiting fly-half served to keep the home side at bay. The visitors then demonstrated their attacking credentials when an excellent double-scissors brought a try under the posts for the opposition fly-half, who added the conversion.

Undaunted, Ribblesdale lifted the tempo and were rewarded, somewhat fortuitously, when Bryan McGeoch was given the nod for a try when it seemed that the visitors might have made the touch-down following a kick and chase.

The second-half saw the majority of possession going the home side's way, but Clitheroe held on grimly to share the points, notably when the otherwise excellent Simon Coultherd knocked on with the line at his mercy, the visitors presumably claiming poetic justice.

Plus points for Ribb were an excellent front-row effort, a solid back-line and the return of several Boatwrights.