Sat 18 Nov 2023
A tricky visit to West Yorkshire to face top 3 side Knottingley RUFC, was the tough assignment for Globe Holidays sponsored Stocksbridge Rugby at the weekend. Hoping to arrest their 4 match losing run in the Yorkshire 4 Counties competition, & begin to climb the league ladder from 12th position. Missing some 1st choice selections through injury & unavailability, Head Coach Andy Lawrence was still able to select a competitive starting line up, with a mixture of youthful enthusiasm & experience in the ranks. Stocksbridge made just about the worst start possible, with just 2 minutes on the clock, Club Captain that man Adam Frith got caught at the bottom of a ruck & fell awkwardly, twisting his ankle in the process, & despite Medic Charlotte Hale-Watts’ best efforts, he was unable to take any further part in the game, & had to be relaced by the veteran play maker Ricky Christopherson. This clearly ruffled the visitors & Knottingley pounced to register their 1st converted try of the afternoon. Winger Tom Kerr then pulled a hamstring & he too was forced from the field, to be replaced by the bustling Jon Saddington. Despite some enterprising play, with Beale, O’Leary & Jack Martin heavily involved, Stocksbridge were unable to unlock the home defence, & the heavier, bulkier Knottingley side used their advantage to register a further try on the stroke of half time. Knottingley RUFC 12pts – Stocksbridge Rugby nil.
Stocksbridge fronted up in the early part of the 2nd stanza, & classy centre Jack Pearson, sponsored by Stuart’s Karaoke Disco, joined a front foot forwards, pick & go drive to crash over from close range to give the travelling Stocksbridge faithful some hope of a comeback. This clearly angered the home side & a bout of fisticuffs flared up shortly after. Reece ‘diesel’ Aspin entered the arena, after arriving late due to work commitments, adding some nouse & know how to the Stocksbridge pack, & despite some good approach work from the visitors, Knottingley again broke out to cross the try line much against the run of play, to increase their lead. Stocksbridge, to their credit, never stopped trying & never took a backwards step in the face of some intimidating play from their hosts, & the evergreen Ricky Christopherson produced the pay of the day with a superb reverse spin pass to Spencer at outside half, whilst looking the ‘other’ way. Class is permanent. Full back Saddington then received a yellow card & 10 minutes in the sin bin for leading with his elbow, but still the plucky Stocksbridge side gave it their all. With time running out, a clearly tiring Stocksbridge defence creaked again as the home side scored their 4th & bonus point try, with some good inter-passing of their own. There was still time for a further break out of ‘hand bags’ as tempers frayed on both sides however a final score of : Knottingley RUFC 26pts – Stocksbridge Rugby 5pts, was not really a reflection of the contest & effort shown from the plucky visitors. Afterwards, stand in skipper Beale reflected ‘this was a decent performance against a tough, top 3 opposition & we stood up well, especially the younger element, ‘ before adding, ‘the injuries are catching up with us & we just need a break of luck to record our next victory’. The victory will not be far away, if the squad maintain their commitment & effort levels.
There were plenty of positives to take from this performance, ‘clock tower’ Andy Beale produced a superb display, leading from the front as replacement skipper for the beleaguered Frith, evergreen Ricky Christopherson turned the clock back a few years with a classy show of his range of skills, O’Leary was as involved as ever, & the junior players, Kerr, Hannah, & both the Martin boys, all rapidly developing, should be pleased with their efforts. The Goodlad Contracting Man of the Match award went to young back rower Josh Kerr, in only his 2nd appearance in the 1st XV, for an outstanding contribution, particularly in the line out & defending on the fringes. Although his debut ‘song’ was not up to the same standard as his play !
Stocksbridge have a ‘bye’ next week, giving the injured players some time to rehab, before hosting Leeds Medics & Dentists in a round 9 clash on December 2nd, kick off 2.15pm. The update on that man Adam Frith is a soft tissue injury, with no bones broken, so he could well feature against the students.
Written by Andrew Tyers, match stats recorded by Lottie.
