Sat 4 Jan 2025
A crisp New Years afternoon welcomed Globe Holidays sponsored Stocksbridge Rugby to Hessle RUFC under the gaze of the Humber Bridge, for a Round 11 fixture, where a see saw encounter in which the lead changed hands 5 times eventually ended in defeat for the plucky visitors by 21pts to 19pts. Missing talisman centre Liam O’Leary, Stocksbridge were further disrupted when player/coach Aaron Kaye was declared unfit just before kick off, Luke ‘beetle’ Gentles & Adam Roles-Middlehurst continued their return from the bench. Stocksbridge were hardly off the team bus when poor defence lead to an early score for the home side however, they picked themselves up &, despite a yellow card & 10 minutes in the sin bin for a late hit for George Watts, the 14 men of Stocksbridge opened their account with a 30 yd Scotty Bowskill penalty after a ruck infringement. Bowskill is sponsored by Mr Mark Aston. The visitors defended well for the most part, but another defensive lapse allowed the veteran Hessle winger to scoot over in the corner. Bowskill kept the visitors within range with another penalty after an off side decision, & right on the stroke of half time, Stocksbridge took the lead with a well worked blind side play involving that man Adam Frith, who set Harrison ‘the storm’ Norman free, his pass to Tommy Kerr gave the full back just enough room for a chip & chase & his effort was rewarded with a fantastic score, after a fortunate rebound to nudge the visitors in front. Kerr is kindly sponsored by Sheffield Refractories. Bowskill was wide with the conversion effort as the half time whistle sounded : Hessle RUFC 10pts – Stocksbridge Rugby 11pts.
Stocksbridge pressed hard in the 2nd stanza however, mistakes crept into their game & a handling error turned over possession from which the home side regained the lead, fortunately for the visitors the home kicker seemed to have forgotten his kicking boots. The forwards were dominating the set piece with ‘clock tower’ Beal leading from the front, & burly prop Gary Woodcock getting thru a ton of work, The Milky Brothers, Joe & Jack Martin were also involved in keeping the home defence on red alert, & Bowskill was on hand to successfully add another penalty after a high tackle on the busy Goldsworthy. Hessle restored their 4 point lead with a penalty of their own, after changing kickers !! Stocksbridge thought they had won the game in the dying minutes when a sweeping back field move involving Bowskill, Norman & Roles-Middlehurst gave Callum ‘whippet’ Green just enough room to shrug off 3 would be defenders & scamper over a superb score, Bowskill crucially was wide with the conversion attempt. With time fast running out the visitors failed to clear their lines & then conceded a penalty which was converted to restore Hessle’s slender lead. On the stroke of full time Bowskill had a chance to seal the win for Stocksbridge, but his 40 yd effort just glanced the post, much to the relief & delight of the home team. A heartbreaking final score of : Hessle RUFC 21pts – Stocksbridge Rugby 19pts, & just a losing bonus point for their efforts, they also drop to 5th in the Counties 4 Yorkshire South league ladder, where 4 teams are covered by just 4 points. This was a match & a performance that Stocksbridge should have won, & they will reflect on some basic errors & missed opportunities, that will hopefully come good next time out.
The Funding Solutions Man of the Match award went to Callum ‘whippet’ Green for a committed display of aggressive defending, & sure footed attack, plus a couple of scrums in the hooking berth too !! Green is still available for sponsorship.
‘I don’t want to make excuses’ said a frustrated Head Coach Aaron Kaye afterwards, ‘we just should have won this game, we were the better side.’ Before adding, ‘we have to start adding game management & better options to our game, & try to cut out these unforced errors, that will start in training this week’.
The next fixture at Coal Pit Lane will be the visit of West Yorkshire side Knottingley in Round 12 of the league season, where Stocksbridge will be looking for a victory against the basement team. Kick off is 2.15pm. Stocksbridge will then travel to league leaders Dearne RUFC before the 3rd & deciding game in the Fox Valley Trophy against local neighbours Wortley RUFC on February 1st. The three match series is currently tied at 1 game all, with identical points scored, so it really will be all to play for.
Writte by Andrew Tyers
