Rampant Keighley gain 2nd 5-point win in Y1

Keighley 39 Selby 17
by Sam Griffin
A well deserved victory for a rampant Keighley. Early pressure kept Selby pinned in their half, then some slick hands and a final pass from Lucas Uren gave winger Chris Stead the chance to step inside to score. Selby sitting fourth in the league gained some good possession from their strong forwards, trying too hard they forced a pass that was intercepted by centre Sean Kelly who raced fifty yards to score under the posts converted by Jack Atkinson, who later added a penalty. Keighley with the cushion of a good lead gave outside half Grayson Tihema the chance to speculate, breaking out in his own half he proceeded to dazzle numerous defenders to score wide out. Selby facing certain defeat upped their game with number eight Scott Birch making the hard yards they forced their way deep into opposition territory. A driven line out on the five metre line gave prop Adam Leetham the chance to break down the blind side to score. Keighley responded and once again gained territory, a driven line out and some forceful play from full back Matty Langstaff put the Selby defence on the back foot, quick ball to Tihema gave him the time to give an inch perfect pass to centre Kelly on the crash and his second try. Though Selby rallied and came close to scoring they could not break through a packed Keighley defence well organised by centres Kelly and Tillotson. To finish the half Grayson Tihema chipped over a rushed defence to gather and score, converted by Atkinson.

In the second half Selby were gifted easy possession from loose kicks. Their pack now intent on making more of an impression forced a lineout. Hard driving play and a well deserved try for the forwards.. Keighley unable to gain any meaningful possession were forced to defend for long periods. The constant pressure told and a yellow card for collapsing a maul. Forcing the issue Selby with an extra forward chose to scrummage, the retreating Keighley pack wheeled which led to yet another yellow card. The two man advantage soon told and a well taken try under the posts for big centre Bob Robinson, converted by outside half Josh Cruise. Keighley eventually gained decent possession and were sensible enough to keep things tight, using second row James Fox and the back row to drive the ball up with close support. Eventually both carded players returned and the final push. A line out deep in Selby territory was driven over the line by the whole Keighley pack, wing forward Lucas Uren claimed the touchdown, Atkinson added the difficult conversion. Given the last two performances it was hard to believe this was the same Keighley. Fundamentally an excellent Keighley team performance, both forwards and backs on top of their game.

Match Report from Selby's website:
Fairy-tail start to Selby's season turns into a nightmare at Keighley after a comprehensive beating.
Keighley RUFC 39 – 17 Selby RUFC

Report by Ian Marlow (Posted by Stephen Ward)

Selby’s fairytale start to the season turned into a nightmare away at bottom placed club Keighley on Saturday as the hosts paid no heed to league positions to dish out a comprehensive spanking to the Swans.

Selby may have been missing just a few of the their more influential players but it reflected enormously in their play as they produced a poor and lacklustre display from start to finish – with notable exceptions being Joe Ramsay at full back who had a sparkling game throughout, and late call up Scott Birch who showed up well in the back row.

Keighley’s 4G pitch produces fast open rugby and the West Yorkshiremen made full use of it from the off, recycling possession to spread the ball wide to stretch the Selby defence to score a good try in the corner for 5-0 after five minutes. Selby in comparison were lethargic and their ball retention awful as they lost possession with dispiriting regularity, and it was no surprise when Keighley intercepted a loose pass in midfield to race in from sixty metres for 12-0 after twelve minutes. With Keighley outplaying Selby in nearly every aspect (apart from the scrums) the game was effectively done and dusted after twenty five minutes as they added a penalty and then another long-range try as they waltzed through the flimsy Swans defence. Finally some respite for Selby as a kick to the corner actually found touch enabling the pack to drive the line out over for James Dentith to touch down for 20-5 on the half hour. Immediately from the restart though Selby lost possession yet again and Keighley, prompted by their excellent fly-half, opened then up like a tin of kippers for another try in response. And when, under no pressure whatsoever, Keighley won a line out in midfield, their 10 simply chipped over the line to collect his own kick to score for 32-5 as easy as pie.

Selby’s only real attacking threat was coming from young Ramsay at full-back and with him seeing a lot of ball (before Keighley wised up about not kicking it to him!) he made good ground with a number of elusive counter attacks - and was desperately unlucky not to cap one off with a try in the corner, as only a great Keighley cover tackle downed him just short. Birch too in the forwards was managing to break the line but Keighley were good in defence to quickly recover and hunt down any breeches, and with them getting the better of the breakdowns, Selby’s progress was limited.

The second half for Selby was, realistically, a quest for a losing four-try bonus point, but matters did not improve greatly – highlighted by their almost criminal inability to find touch on a number of occasions with penalties in good attacking positions.

However, with time running out a brief period of possession for Selby after good breaks from James Robinson and Harrison Green set up the forwards to camp on the Keighley line for Ash Parkinson to eventually barrel over for the try. And when Birch and then Ramsay again made the breaks to return to the hosts’ line, repeated scrum offences saw Keighley reduced to thirteen men before Josh Cruise grubber kicked through for Robinson to collect and touch down for 32-17. A late chance to score the fourth Selby try, and garner some crumb of comfort from the match, was stymied by yet another missed touch - before Keighley’s 10 showed how to do it by finding his touch in the corner, allowing his forwards to drive over for a final try and 39-17 score-line.

Selby now entertain local rivals and friends, Goole, at Sandhill Lane on Saturday, the first league derby for quite some time following their promotion last year – and an enthralling match is in prospect!