NORTH Ribblesdale failed to capitalise on a promising start as their opponents turned the tide and took the honours.

In the opening ten minutes the home pack was driven back three times at scrums and yielded 15 yards at a maul as the visitors displayed their forward power.

It was no surprise when David Fox went over for a try which skipper Jonathan Richards just failed to convert, but then one of Ribb’;s constant failings came back to haunt them again.

They failed to collect the restart and it led to them conceding a penalty which Scarborough kicked deep and from the ensuing line-out they created a try for their full back.

The score put some spirit into their pack and they began pushing Ribb about. It wasn’t long before a penalty gave Scarborough the lead.

Worse was to come for Ribb as Scarborough then scored a close-range converted try to establish a 15-5 lead.

The Ribb pack now asserted themselves again and produced some ball for a try by Matt Speres which was converted by Richards to reduce the deficit to three points.

Scarborough were more physical in all the contact areas and the ball at the base of the Ribb scrum was a nightmare with Fox getting caught repeatedly as his back row offered little protection.

The second half brought a change with Ribb getting some of their dominance back but without being able to match Scarborough’s aggression in the tackle and the loose.

Ribb tried to get Johnny Moore through the centre on crash ball but he was repeatedly held up and Ribb persisted far to long with the tactic.

Simon Bolland showed he was the fastest man on the pitch with a searing break where he was just held by his shirt, but he had no support and Scarborough cleared.

The second half was probably even in terms of possession but Scarborough used the ball far better than Ribb who persisted with the crash ball.

A quick turnover saw Scarborough put their right winger over for a converted try which meant Ribb were two scores adrift. As so often happens, concentration dropped to give a late score which perhaps flattered Scarborough

It was a disappointing result with Ribblesdale’s experienced players going into their shells when real leadership was needed.

It wasn’t hard to see that Bolland was the dominant back on the field and Ribb’s best route to the line was through him. It was surely a better option to utilise his pace rather than keep asking Moore to blast his way through a crowded midfield.

Jim Tunney, who had another hard-working game was one of the pluses for Ribb while Richard Wood did his job well in the line-out and was an ever-present threat.

Bolland had an excellent game with several line breaks and the front row had periods of dominance.

Ribb are in a dangerous position in Yorkshire One. They are the only team in the league without a bonus point and if they carry on like this they are in serious danger of dropping into the relegation dogfight.