After ten years of trying to get the Buccs into the Yorkshire leagues, the day had finally come when they would play their first competitive match as one of the five new teams joining Yorkshire Two. Their hosts for the day were Ripon, led by ex-Ionian back-rower and all-round decent bloke Allan Hudson.

The Buccs started the game with some nerves, with Ripon dominating the early exchanges and using clever tactical kicking to pin the Buccs inside their own 22. After ten minutes of constant pressure, the Buccs gave away a penalty in front of the posts and the Ripon ten slotted three easy points.

However, maybe the fact that Ripon chose to kick the penalty rather than go for the corner — coupled with the fact that the Buccs’ defence had repelled wave after wave of Ripon carries — sparked something in this young Buccs team.

The Buccs started to carry hard and find space through the middle of the pitch and out wide. Skipper Will Dearing led from the front as usual, with great support from the superb back row of Jack Walker, Lucas Powell and Harry “Pig” Homan, who at just 18 has a huge future in front of him. Some player, that lad!

But it wasn’t just the forwards who were impressing. The back line was also starting to make its mark, with Charlie Cook bossing the game at fly-half, Paul Evison carrying hard and direct in the centres and Lewis “The Rolls Royce” Parkinson scything through gaps and making ground every time he touched the ball from fullback.

The Buccs started to take control of the match, but every time they looked like scoring they either knocked on, got pinged for holding on at the ruck or simply rushed a decision.

Finally, after some good build-up play, the ball reached Parkinson, who stepped and shot through a gap before diving for the line whilst using his face as a speed bump! Cook added the conversion. Ripon 3–7 Buccs.

From that score there seemed to be a real shift. Ripon couldn’t get anywhere near the Buccs’ 22 and the Buccs took control of the match.

With a few minutes left in the half, another Buccs score put them 12–3 up, winger Alfie Celella going over out wide. The conversion was missed.

Half-time: Ripon 3–12 Buccs.

The half-time talk was hugely positive — maybe because only three people spoke! The overriding message was simple: up the intensity, keep attacking the wide channels and stop trying to go toe-to-toe with the big Ripon forwards.

The second half started well, with the Buccs sticking exactly to the game plan they’d discussed at half-time: carry hard, suck in defenders and get the ball out wide.

The ball reached lightning-fast new speedster Troy Edwards, who dotted down out wide to take the score to 17–3. The conversion was missed.

After that, the Buccs never looked back. They simply dominated the match.

With Parkinson taking a breather, first-team squad winger Michael Goode was next to score, with Cook converting to make it 24–3.

More dominant play and some strong carrying then found powerhouse centre Evison, who bumped off would-be tacklers on his way to the line. Cook converted again.3–31

Ripon started to drop more balls, miss more kicks to touch and simply couldn’t live with the Buccs’ power and skill.

More pressure on the Ripon line followed from a scrum. Ripon’s nine was harried by his opposite man, Alex Edwards, the ball was spilled and Edwards dived on it to score. Cook, with his kicking boots now firmly on, chipped over the conversion. 3–38

Ripon brought on replacements, including two wily old props — with one moving to number eight — and changed their tactics to route-one rugby. It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective. From some good, hard carries and their only dominant scrum of the day, they powered over for a try. The conversion was missed. 8–38

With a few minutes left, the ball was spun wide and reached Parkinson, who was back on the pitch. He sped upfield, beating a couple of defenders on his way to the line for his second try of the afternoon. The conversion was missed.

FULL-TIME: RIPON 8–43 HULL IONIANS BUCCANEERS

Man of the Match — Lewis “The Rolls Royce” Parkinson

Plenty of players stood out, but Parkinson was imperious all afternoon and fully deserved his Man of the Match award. Two tries, constant line breaks and a threat every time he touched the ball — some performance from The Rolls Royce.

A historic first Yorkshire league game for the Buccs and a pretty emphatic way to announce their arrival.

The Buccs are up and running!

Report by Dan Zgoda