Ripon RUFC bounce back from opening-day defeat to sink Roundhegians RFC
Ripon RUFC bounced back from their opening-day disappointment as they recorded a 15-10 home victory over Roundhegians.
The Blues kicked-off their 2025/26 campaign with a 32-15 defeat on the road at Bradford & Bingley, but were not to be denied their first win of the season on Saturday afternoon.
And that maiden success was not the only thing that they were able to celebrate at the weekend, with club officials also delighted to be able to open their brand-new Tim Wray stand.
Backed by a bumper crowd, Ripon started fast and scored two first-half tries, with one more following after the break.
And although they ran out deserved winners, their margin of victory would have been more convincing had the usually-reliable Morgan Clark not suffered something of an off day when it came to his goal-kicking.
The Blues made six changes to their squad from last week’s defeat in West Yorkshire and they began brightly, with their first try of the afternoon arriving after just three minutes.
From a midfield breakdown on the visitors’ 22, the ball was shifted left and into the arms of Tom Graham.
Unstoppable at any range, the powerful winger ploughed through the first line of defence and completed a 30-metre surge to open the scoring.
The rest of the first quarter was pretty much all Ripon until, against the run of play, the visitors broke out and narrowed the gap with a penalty.
The Blues responded positively from the kick-off, and soon had their second score after a perfectly-executed catch-and-drive from a line-out presented skipper James Pearce with the opportunity to touch down.
The conversion attempt was missed, leaving the score-line at 10-3, which was where it remained until after half-time.
The second period began with the home side continuing to press and they crossed the whitewash for a third time 10 minutes after the restart.
From a scrum five metres out, Ripon's pack provided number eight Tom Roebuck with the platform to break to the blindside before offloading to Graham for a simple finish.
The Blues kept the pressure on but were unable to add further points, and it was Roundhegians who had the final say when they grabbed a converted try late on.
Ripon are in Community Cup action this Saturday, when they entertain Whitley Bay Rockliff (3pm).