Sat 18 Mar 2023
With more than a dozen first team regulars unavailable through work commitments or injury, Globe Holidays sponsored Stocksbridge Rugby produced a spirited performance before eventually going down by 46pts to 12pts away at rivals Mosborough. Head Coach Andy Lawrence was forced to dig deep into his playing roster with youngsters Crosby, Miles, Norman, & ‘whiskers’ Hannah all starting, & 2 un-named trialists included in the matchday squad. There was also a welcome return from the bench for the powerful Luke Birch, & the jet heeled Ryan Smith. Stocksbridge conceded almost from the kick off, & there wasn’t much to encourage the visitors as the home side scored almost at will in a very one sided first half. Credit to all the players for keeping their heads up & for not throwing the towel in when the going got tough, a half time score of : Mosborough RUFC 39pts – Stocksbridge Rugby nil was reflective of a very one sided contest.
The more experienced players such as Lewis ‘eggsy’ Bowman, Reece ‘diesel’ Aspin & skipper & that man Adam Frith lead by example however, injuries to ‘rampaging bull’ Joe Smith & the veteran playmaker Ricky Christopherson further depleted the already thin blue line. Birch was introduced to the action from the bench after half time & his contribution was immediate & telling, bustling his way through three Mosborough defenders to register the visitors first score of the afternoon. He backed this up with a second score minutes later, charging onto a deft Frith pass, with stand in goal kicker Jack Spencer able to add the conversion. Was there a miracle comeback on the cards ? Mosborough eventually regained some control with a further score to lengthen their lead, & there was still time for a bit of handbags & fisticuffs towards the end of the game as Mosborough’s frustrations at Stocksbridge’s refusal to lie down boiled over. A final score of Mosborough RUFC 46pts – Stocksbridge Rugby 12pts was not reflective of the effort from the plucky visiting side.
Ironically, Stocksbridge climb to 6th in the Yorkshire 4 Counties league ladder as a result of some teams refusing to travel or forfeiting fixtures when their availabilities are low, some consolation for the Stocksbridge club. The Fox Catering Man of the Match award went to Lewis ‘eggsy’ Bowman, kindly sponsored by Mr Mark Logan, for a gritty display & some good work in the set piece areas, with Luke Birch not far off on his return to action. Skipper Adam Frith was quick to pay tribute to his beaten but not battered troops afterwards when he said, ‘we relied heavily on the youngsters today & they all deserve credit for their efforts, the easy option would have been to put the cue on the rack & give in’, before adding, ‘we dug deep when the going got tough, & we have all learned lessons from today to help us in our progress’. Stocksbridge have a bye week next week before heading to York on 1st April to attempt the double over Nestle Rowntree, & on this showing, you wouldn’t bet against their endeavour & courage to complete the task.
Report written by Andrew Tyers
