For the first game of season York RI travelled to Sheffield Abbeydale on a windy afternoon. York RI had the benefit of the wind in the first half. The game started with the Sheffield slightly dominating in the scrum and possession. However RI’s tackling was good overall. After 20 minutes fullback Ruth Laybourne joined the line and broke down the wing to score in the corner, 0-5 to RI. A difficult but good kick from the corner sadly didn’t covert. Later in the first half Sheffield took the lead when a pressured clearing kick lead to a try and conversion by the Sheffield Winger 7-5. Lots of hard work from both sides unfortunately saw no more tries in the first half.
The second half didn’t start as planned for RI a few moments after kick off Sheffield scored in the left hand corner and missed a conversion 12-5. This resulted in a lot of pressure in the middle of the pitch, RI were playing much better in the forwards and improving in the scrums. However, lots of pressure and some penalties forced lots of line outs and scrums around RI’s 22 metre line. A run from open play from Sheffield resulted in other conceded try. 17-5. Just before the final whistle Sheffield scored again to make the final score 22-5 to Sheffield. A reasonable performance from RI but more flair in attack and greater concentration is needed for future games.