Match Report - RI vs Skipton Roses

Finally, the 2024/25 season begins! And what a game it was. We have had a challenging start to the season with two postponed matches but Sunday’s game against Skipton reminded us of what it means to pull together for the team and ultimately, play this ridiculous game that we play. In what was supposed to be a joint campaign, RI Women pulled together a squad of 12 dedicated players and battled it out for a full 80 minutes with no subs, against a side that had 17.

The game kicked off with a short, spinning kick from fly half Charlotte that sat just beyond the 10m line and bounced up perfectly for Pip, who crashed it hard into the defensive line – setting the tone for his performance that day. RI settled quickly into a rhythm and looked set to make a decent break down the right wing but a knock on forced the first scrum of the game.

A series of injuries over recent weeks meant that the RI pack were forced to go uncontested, lending itself to the already fast paced and chaotic manner of the game. Skipton made the first strike with an intercept on RI’s 22 and a good conversion. This was followed by another strong defensive effort by Skipton, turning over the ball at a ruck and swiftly working through the hands to score. A missed conversion made it 12-0.

Conceding two tries gave York RI the wake up call they needed and it was Pip’s turn to score the first points in his hat trick of tries. A stunning phase of play from RI’s own 10m line saw a link up between forwards to backs, with Jodie, Munashe and Daisy contributing to put Pip into space on the right wing. And we know that Pip doesn’t need much space to make a break. Scoring just wide of the posts set Jodie up nicely for her first conversion of the day too.

RI then began a ferocious attack that saw hard carries and intelligent passing to set Pip up for another break. This time down the centre of the pitch to score once again, under the posts. Jodie added the extras and suddenly the score was 12-14 to RI.

Skipton regrouped, turning over balls at rucks and running hard lines and managed to break through a tough RI defense twice more before half time. At half time the score sat at 22-14 to Skipton.

With an injury early in the first half for scrum half Vera, RI had already played a full 40 minutes with just 11 players on a full pitch – no subs, no rests. They steeled themselves for another 40 minutes and stepped back onto the pitch after half time determined not to let their fatigue show.

Skipton scored twice early on in the second half, first with a try that initially looked to be held up by a strong RI defense and then again – taking the score to 36-14. 

The next 20 minutes of the game was a brutal back and forth between the two sides. Spectators were treated to some fantastic passages of play and RI carried and moved the ball well, hunting for space in the Skipton defense. Defensively, every player put an enormous shift in – the number of photos of Sioned on the floor are testament to the effort. Also notable in defense was Munashe, putting huge amounts of pressure on the Skipton scrum half and forcing a few errors.

The third try for York RI came from another clean passage of play and then a pick and go from Jamie who made a break down the centre of the pitch. Cleared out by Claire, this opened up the space for Jodie who was now playing scrum half to snipe down the side of the ruck and score under the sticks. Daisy added the conversion.

RI’s fourth and final try came from Pip, who seemed to keep finding pockets of energy despite the exhaustion of playing such a fast game with no subs. The conversion was missed, and the score sat at 36-26. RI knew that they just needed two tries and one conversion to take the win and took the momentum from those two tries to continue working up the pitch into Skipton’s half.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be, and Skipton’s clever use of a rolling bench meant they were able to recycle their players and continue to put pressure on a tired RI defense. They scored a further three tries and sealed the win in the last ten minutes.

I am so proud of the RI players for their outstanding performance during the entirety of this game. We might not have won but every single player truly emptied the tank and the improvements on the last two years were huge. We come away from the game confident that the result might have been different had we had a full squad and players on the bench. Credit to Skipton for keeping their composure at the end and capitalising on spaces left by tired bodies to get the win and thanks for a great game. Best of luck with the rest of your cup campaign!