Sat 15 Feb 2025
Globe Holidays sponsored Stocksbridge Rugby will rue some missed opportunities & poor decision making as they stumbled to a disappointing 6 nil defeat away at Maltby RUFC at the weekend. With skipper, Andy ‘clock tower’ Beal added to the injury list, Stocksbridge suffered further disruption with the late withdrawal of Jack Spencer, forcing a re-shuffle seeing veteran Scotty Bowskill restored to the fly half berth. The club welcomed back Jordan ‘spud’ Fletcher after his paternity leave & workhorse flanker Reese ‘diesel’ Aspin passed a fitness test to take his place on the bench. A miserable day, a mud sticky pitch & an aggressive, physical opponent was the welcome awaiting the visitors, who must have fancied their chances of victory. Playing with a sizeable slope in the first half, Stocksbridge took the game to their rivals for 3rd spot in the league ladder, with Liam O’Leary playing at No 8 this week heavily involved with some bustling charges making good ground. The home side defended their line with passion, & Stocksbridge were guilty of kicking possession away when in good positions, or missing that last killer pass. That Man Frith was sniping around the breakdown & nearly put flier Adam Roles-Middlehurst in the corner, but he was driven into touch just short of the try line. It was a game for the purists with neither side seemingly able to register a score, & Stocksbridge spurned an easy 3 pointer in favour of a tap & go penalty, which again lead to nothing. The hosts, sensing a close game unfolding, chose to kick their points when Stocksbridge infringed in a ruck, & former Sheffield Eagles full back Johnny Woodcock nudged the home side ahead towards the end of the half. Half Time : Maltby RUFC 3pts – Stocksbridge Rugby nil. Although there was not much to choose between the sides at all, Stocksbridge suffered injuries to hooker Mikey ‘vegas’ Hartley (achilles) & player coach Aaron Kaye ( shoulder ) which left them light in the front row. .
The 2nd stanza followed a similar pattern to the first with Maltby gradually gaining more territory & having more possession, the Match Official gave the home side a warning for some of their illegal rucking & general foul play, & eventually a yellow card was handed out to a Maltby player for foul & abusive language aimed towards the referee. Stocksbridge had the chance to level the scores with a penalty that Bowskill would convert nine times out of ten, unfortunately this was the 10th time & the chance went begging. A couple of sweeping back line moves also fizzled out as the players either ran out of room or ignored the overlap, all costly decisions in such a closely fought game. Facing a growing penalty count the home side again took their points from a kickable option, to edge further in front, & that was the end of the scoring, with Stocksbridge collecting just a solitary losing bonus point for their efforts.
The JG Pears Man of the Match award went to Liam ‘Oleary for another swashbuckling display, with Frith, Watts & Roles-Middlehurst all showing up well. Although Stocksbridge matched their opponents in the physical battle, & never shyed away from the confrontation, they just didn’t manage the game well enough, & that’s what cost them victory here.
Speaking from the sidelines, injured skipper Beal said afterwards, ‘I’m proud of the effort & commitment the boys showed & they never took a backward step against a pretty rugged & aggressive Maltby side.’ & he added, ‘part of our squad development is game management & decision making, & we will have learned from today’.
The next action at the Coal Pit Lane Arena is the visit of Hessle RUFC for the annual Sponsors Day fixture on March 8th, when the kick off time will revert to 3pm. All are welcome & entrance is free.
Written by Andrew Tyers
