Sat 30 Sep 2023
A dramatic injury time penalty, converted by veteran goal kicker Scotty Bowskill earned Globe Holidays sponsored Stocksbridge Rugby a valuable losing bonus point from their trip to North Yorkshire to face Knaresborough Rugby last weekend.
Apart from the surprise defeat to the basement team, Head Coach Andy Lawrence will be counting the cost of potential long term injuries to back rower Pete Newton (knee), & 2nd row talisman ‘slammin’ Sam Whitaker (ankle), who look set to join shoulder victim, ‘clock tower’ Andy Beale on the injury list for some time. Stocksbridge travelled in hope, buoyed by last week’s confidence boosting victory over lowly Richmondshire, but found Knaresborough a more determined & committed opponent in the persistent rain. The hosts started better, & tested the Stocksbridge defence, some good defence from Newton, Reece ‘diesel’ Aspin & young Jacob ‘bing’ Crosby held Knaresborough at bay however, Newton injured his knee in a dominant tackle & was forced from the field with newcomer Laurie Faux replacing him. Scott Bowskill was fortunate to escape a further sanction when clearly challenging an opponent in a shoulder charge, but the home side registered the first points of the afternoon with a long range effort to cross in the corner. The visitors pressed hard with Kerr & Norman looking dangerous, but just couldn’t find a way through the Knaresborough defence, which held until the half time whistle with the score : Knaresborough Rugby 5pts – Stocksbridge Rugby nil. A disastrous opening to the 2nd stanza gifted the home side a further try, as Stocksbridge failed to deal with a relatively straightforward kick off. From then on the visitors dominated territory & possession for the rest of the game, & how they failed to score remains a mystery ! A combination of handling errors, heroic defence, bordering on illegal & some poor execution cost Stocksbridge a deserved victory in the end. Their cause wasn’t helped by injury to Whitaker, who was helped from the field with a swollen ankle. The home side were prepared to concede penalty after penalty, with no hint of a yellow card from an inconsistent official. Bowskill was wide with a penalty attempt, & Stocksbridge lost possession & concentration at vital times looking for that crucial score. To add insult to injury young Jacob ‘bing’ Crosby was shown a yellow card for his first offence, a no arms tackle & Stocksbridge were reduced to 14 men for the final 10 minutes. Still they pushed forward & still they created opportunity, Norman was held up close to the line, the evergreen Ricky Christopherson was introduced from the bench & he added some direction in attack, but with the final whistle about to sound, Stocksbridge elected for a simple Bowskill penalty goal to secure a losing bonus point for their efforts. There was still time for a Knaresborough player to nudge the Stocksbridge linesman & club legend Mr Nigel George in the back after catching the ball, George thankfully recovered. A disappointing end to a pretty dominant performance, & Stocksbridge must tidy up on their one up tackling, ball handling, decision making skills to help them to victory.
The Goodlad Contracting Man of the Match award went to Ricky ‘rooney’ James for a consistent performance, he was pushed all the way by Aspin, Norman & Pat O’Leary enjoying a new lease of life in the back row. Stocksbridge will enjoy a ‘bye’ week next week, which will allow the players to take in England’s World Cup match against the ferocious Samoan side in the Clubs HQ from 4,45pm on Saturday, before they return to league action with a Yorkshire 4 Counties round 6 clash against York based Nestle Rowntree, a game where Coach Lawrence will be looking for a reaction & an improvement following this display.
Report written by Andrew Tyers
