Roundhegians

North Ribblesdale 22 Roundhegians 25

Hegians went to North Ribblesdale full of confidence after a good bonus point win at Grovians the previous week. Tom Foxton and Josh Esgate came in to replace Andy Mulligan and Jon Carter who were both unavailable.

Hegians got off to a good start as they were  quickly on the  attack and inside the opposition 22 but a couple of dropped passes prevented them from making anything from the possession. North Ribblesdale defended well and made some good tackles in midfield. They also put pressure on at the breakdown and were able to turnover ball and work their way upfield.

A strong run through the centre by North Ribblesdale allowed them to make a break and a pass inside allowed them to score a try after 10 minutes which was converted by their fly half. Hegians were soon back on the attack and forced a penalty in the middle of the field that Alex Jones struck well to reduce  the deficit to 7-3.  

Hegians then played some good rugby but were met with excellent defence from the North Ribblesdale midfield. In addition Hegians were under pressure at the lineout so despite getting in some promising positions were unable to convert them into a score. North Ribblesdale worked their way upfield and were now making good ground. They eventually forced a penalty to take a 10-3 lead.

Hegians were starting to make more mistakes now and losing the ball in contact as well as giving penalties away and it was not long before the spirited North Ribblesdale pack created good field position again. The strong running centre burst through again to score a try which was converted to give them a 17-3 lead.

Roundhegians tried to respond to this by getting on the front foot and going through phases but they were too inaccurate in their handling and started to give more penalties away and were too passive in defence. On the other hand North Ribblesdale were gaining in confidence and starting to believe they would win. Eventually Hegians had to concede another try out wide as they were being completely outplayed at this point to take the deficit to 22-3 with only 32 minutes gone.

At this point captain Alex Jones explained some home truths to the Roundhegians team behind the posts  and demanded the team showed the discipline and commitment they had in previous games this season.

The response was immediate as for the rest of the half they were constantly on the attack and forced  a series of penalties that eventually led to a yellow card to the North Ribblesdale flanker. From the penalty Hegians put the ball into the corner and with a good catch and drive forced their way over with Dave Gregory getting the try. Alex Jones completed the conversion to make the score North Ribblesdale 22- Roundhegians 10 at half time

Hegians started the second half playing more like their normal pattern. They went through the phases well and with strong running from Dave Wilson and Ali Coe as well as props Oscar Jedras and Jonny Dobson this allowed stand off James Dobson to start running the game.

In addition Hegians improved their  defence and started to pressurise North Ribbledale into mistakes. However, Hegians faced a strong and committed defence and could not get the score. Then on 65 minutes Hegians went through a series of phases and despite the strong defence James Dobson was able to pick out a good line from Elliot Jackson who scored under the posts. The conversion by Alex Jones took Hegians to within 5 points.

Hegians were getting on top now as they started to control territory and possession but  it was a great individual try from Alex Jones which got them back level. A great run from full back showing real pace and strength allowed him to  score from 50 metres out. His conversion was well struck but hit the post and bounced out leaving the score at 22-22.

From the kick off Hegians came straight back down the park and after going through a few phases James Dobson had no hesitation in attempting the drop goal which took Hegians into the lead.

Hegians still had time to be awarded a penalty kick that Alex Jones pushed  wide and then in the last 5 minutes Hegians created an overlap and Alex Miyambo was almost in for a score in the corner when he was pulled back for a forward pass in the build up.

In the last 2 minutes Hegians had to defend line outs close to their try line where they were under pressure but held out due to a determined effort from the pack,

Full time North Ribblesdale 22 – Roundhegians 25

This was a tough lesson for Hegians who learned that if they fall from the standard they have set so far this season then they will be vulnerable to defeat.  Every  game  in this league is difficult and you have to be prepared to work hard to make sure you win.

Hegians are back home this Saturday and won’t expect things to be easy against a strong Northallerton team. Kick off is 2.15pm.