Ripon RUFC climb to fifth in Yorkshire Two standings following home win over Bramley Phoenix

The Blues were always in charge of the contest having got their noses in front and eventually ran out 22-11 winners at Mallorie Park to climb up to fifth place in the table.

The first quarter was dominated by a sequence of tit-for-tat penalty exchanges, with the hosts marginally enjoying the referee’s favour.

And this resulted in the deadlock being broken on 16 minutes, with a penalty goal from the trusty boot of Bray, which put Ripon 3-0 ahead.

For much of the second quarter, the Blues looked to extend their lead but saw their attacks halted by either solid defence from Bramley or more penalty awards.

Repeat offences eventually saw a Bramley centre sent to the sin-bin and with half-time approaching another collapsed five-metre scrum prompted the referee to award the home side a penalty try, which increased their lead to 10 points.

Six minutes into the second half, Phoenix seized their chance to get on the scoreboard and narrowed the gap with a well-taken penalty goal after the over-eager home backs were caught offside.

A more even period followed, one which saw Ripon’s Dalby yellow-carded for an alleged high tackle, though being a man light did not affect the Blues at all.

Indeed, Graham grabbed the first of his two tries after breaking from a scrum to increase the home lead, Bray missing the resulting conversion.

The turn of the fourth quarter saw Bramley probing and challenging well at the line out. Their efforts were rewarded by another in the 63rd minute, trimming the deficit to nine points at 15-16.

Undeterred, the Blues upped their game and went into all-out attacking mode, leading to a second score of the afternoon for Graham.

This time it arrived following a quickly-taken penalty after a high tackle. Graham tapped and barged his way through the opposition to make it over the whitewash and Bray made no mistake adding the extra two on this occasion.

Phoenix would go on to have the final say as they bagged a late touchdown of their own, though it made no difference to the outcome of the contest.

This Saturday, Ripon entertain eighth-placed Leeds Corinthians at Mallorie Park.