Pontefract 28 Malton 31

Jon Richards

Never give up!

The start of another season brings its usual challenges for rugby with players having to make the difficult decision to either finish off farming, see out the cricket season or pull on the boots again and put their body on the line in the red,white and black. 

This difficult decision for many meant that Malt travelled to division new comers Pontefract with a much changed squad from last season. A real blend of youth with experience and even a couple of veterans thrown in for good measure. The weather was much more conducive to a game of cricket with blue skies and a balmy 22'. The pitch had a good covering of grass which saved the teams from too many blisters. 

The game started at a ferocious pace with Ponte thundering down the slope to crash against a resolute Malton defence. The defence held for 10 minutes before a Bulmer chip out of defence and Malton put some pressure back onto Pontefract. A drive down the left wing caught Ponte on the hop and Ian Salisbury managed to rip the ball from the Ponte winger and burst towards the line. Unfortunately he ran out of steam after 5 meters and Will Dunn was needed to finish off the move and carry the ball over the line for Malton's first try of the season. Bulmer stepped up and slotted the extra points from out on the left touch line. 

From the kick off Ponte once again tore down the slope this time with renewed vigour. Unfortunately for Malt a few holes appeared in the previously impregnable defence and Ponte were able to cross the white wash for an equalising score. After the restart the game became an arm wrestle between the teams with no quarter given. Very few handling errors meant that Ponte's much vaunted scrum was not allowed to exert too much influence on the game. 

After a period of sustained Ponte pressure Malt were pushed back to their own line, a line out win deep in the 22 allowed some swift handling along the back line to put Ali Fothergill away into space. He pinned his ears back and went on a characteristic rampage up the touch line, knocking off Ponte players as he went, finishing the move by touching down in the corner and putting Malt back into the lead at half time. 

Ponte started the second half with their tails up and the flew at Malt from the off. Once again some stout defending from Malton was called for. Skipper, Sam Triffitt, lead from the front with some robust tackling ably assisted by Tom Lowry and Charlie Read. Unfortunately this wasn't enough to prevent Ponte scoring twice to put them in the lead. During this sustained pressure Malton's experience at this level was evident with Triff keeping the scoreboard ticking over by choosing to get Bully to kick penalties when ever the opportunity arose. This was wise thinking on the skippers part and it's importance was evident as the game entered its final stages. 

With 10 minutes to go and the score 27-24 to Ponte, Coach Crockett threw over 50 years of rugby experience on to the field with the return of JR for a final stint and the introduction of Stu Collins. This added experience proved vital with JR finally managing to stabilise the Malton scrum enough to give a platform deep in Ponte's 22. 2 scrums in quick succession led to a moment of madness in the Ponte defence which gave Malton another scrum on the Ponte 5 metre line. The clock was ticking down to 80 minutes when a clean ball swiftly moved from the base of the scrum allowed Bully to dance over under the posts and place the ball over his head to touch down for the match winning points. He then stepped up to slot over the conversion, the referee then blew the final whistle and Malton rejoiced. The very vocal and vociferous Ponte crowd were silent for the first time in 80 minutes. 

A game that highlights the importance of playing till the final whistle is blown. The guts and determination shown by the whole squad bodes well for the coming season. Best wishes to our normal correspondent, James Knock,  as he undergoes some maintenance work  Get well soon James. 

As we did last year we've trawled the RFU results and it's the seventh time we’ve met since they've kept accessible records.

Here's our Head to Head