Ripon RUFC's final league fixture of 2022/23 ends in defeat at North Ribblesdale RFC

Ripon RUFC's final Yorkshire Two outing of the 2022/23 campaign saw them soundly beaten on the road at North Ribblesdale. Picture: Submitted

A much-changed Blues side went down by a 37-15 scoreline on Saturday afternoon, a result which leaves them fifth in the table, though they could yet be overtaken by sixth-placed Yarnbury, who still have one game left to play.

In total, the Mallorie Park outfit have won 12 and drawn one of their 22 league fixtures this term, which is an improvement on last season, when they managed only eight victories and ended up fourth-from-bottom of the pile.

Their clash with North Ribblesdale did not begin well, and although they fought back to take the lead having fallen behind early on, they were always chasing the game from that point onwards.

The match was just three minutes old when the hosts scored their first converted try of the afternoon, Ripon’s Bray then trimming the deficit with a 40-metre penalty goal.

And the Blues then edged ahead after Graham broke strongly before feeding Thompson, who changed direction to head up the left touchline.

Hesmondhalgh was on hand to carry the attack on, then Wharton injected some pace to take play infield. Tracking the move with interest, Burt seized his moment to receive the final pass from Wharton, evading a would-be tackler and crossing the whitewash.

Ribblesdale were soon back in the lead through a penalty, before adding another converted try for a 17-8 advantage on 24 minutes.

There was another blow for Ripon, who just couldn’t find their usual rhythm, when another indiscretion gifted the hosts a further three points from a penalty.

Within seven minutes, insult was added to injury as a line-out catch-and-drive and saw the home team increase their lead to 27–8 before the interval.

The Blues have fought back from worse positions in the past, but that was not to be the case on this occasion.

Despite the injection of pace, energy and enthusiasm of three young replacements, the visitors simply couldn’t get the grip on the game that they needed to.

The second half saw North Ribblesdale add another bonus-point-winning converted try and a penalty, while Ripon’s efforts amounted to a Newcombe touchdown from a driving maul, which was converted by Bray.