L 32-29

Scarborough edged out in thriller despite hooker Stuart Smyth’s hat-trick.

Scarborough started their North One East campaign with a trip to Cleckheaton looking to make the perfect start to the season. After going in at half time 32-7 down, they managed to fight back scoring 22 unanswered points before falling just short.

The visitors however were under pressure straight from the kick off and after some time defending their line, they conceded a penalty and fell behind inside 5 minutes. Despite stringing a few passes together, they then conceded another penalty and after a long-distance kick it left the visitors trailing 6-0. Simon Smith’s side then hit straight back and on the 10^th minute new Youth Development Officer and Hooker Stuart Smyth crashed through the Cleck defence to score his first league try, Ratcliffe converting to give Scarborough the lead at 7-6.

Both sides then made errors across the park and neither managed to take control of the game. On the 23^rd minute, the home side then managed to break through numerous tackles and charge toward Scarborough’s line. After a left-to-right cross field kick, right wing Mike Hayward collected and scored to give them the lead. This left Smith’s side trailing 13-7. Cleck then scored again as Scarborough continued to miss tackles and centre Matty Piper crashed across the line. Leading 20-7, It wasn’t long before the home side were on the scoreboard again after a fast-paced attack lead to Hayward doubling his tally. Scarborough continued to be blown away as the home side added more points to the growing score, once converted, for 32-7.

Scarborough made the perfect start to the second-half and after weathering some early pressure, managed to get themselves a much-needed try. After winning possession at a Cleck scrum, Scarborough broke clear and flanker Chris Purdy crossed for a try. Ratcliffe’s conversion was missed to leave it 32-12. And in the the 52^nd minute, Scarborough managed to bundle over the line again, leaving them trailing 32-17.

Midway through the second half Scarborough secured the bonus point when Matty Jones managed to power over from close range after being camped on the Cleckheaton line; Ratcliffe adding the extras to leave the scores at 32-24. The next 10 minutes saw both teams consolidating and most of the play was in midfield. The men from Silver Royd remained positive and despite missing a penalty in front of the posts continued to hold their own against a cohesive Cleckheaton side. After winning a penalty and kicking for the corner, they won the resulting line-out and then looked to pile on the pressure. Smyth managing to sneak in low at the corner to complete a hat-trick of tries with the last play of the game securing two bonus-point.

Next up for the Silver Royd outfit is a trip to Kendal RFC who suffered a crushing defeat on Saturday as they lost 45-5 at the hands of Durham City. It’s going to be a tough encounter, but Simon Smith’s side can take a lot of positives from their travels to Cleckheaton.

 

Scarborough News "Man of the Match": stuart smyth

Starting at hooker, new recruit Stuart Smyth impressed managing to not only open his scoring account but bag a hat-trick. His 3 tries inspired a fighting comeback from Scarborough and ensured that they took something away from the game. Stand out performances were from Billy Parker and Matty Jones as both had inspiring games and used their wealth of experience to drive the team forward.