Sat 14 Sep 2024
A short trip across town, a refusal to accept defeat & a barn storming defensive performance under the pump helped Globe Holidays sponsored Stocksbridge Rugby to a well earned bonus point victory over previously unbeaten Sheffield Medics RUFC. On a glorious autumnal day for playing or watching rugby, Head Coach Aaron Kaye named an imposing side featuring Woodcock, Whitaker, ‘clock tower’ Beal, ‘spud’ Fletcher & ‘the big rig’ Roebuck in a massive pack, with the versatile Liam O’Leary coming in for his season’s debut. The wide pitch would favour the students running game however, possession was key & Stocksbridge had plenty of it in the opening exchanges. The home side took the lead against the run of play with a break out try from their slippery full back, youngster Tom Kerr, sponsored by Sheffield Refractories replied with a simple penalty after the students were caught offside. The visitors showed some impressive ball control, & some deft handling to allow Jordan ‘spud’ Fletcher enough room to plunge over the line from close range & Kerr added the simple conversion to nudge Stocksbridge ahead. Some crisp passing & strong running from Skipper Beal & fellow 2nd row Sam Whitaker kept the students defence busy, they were eventually awarded a penalty try when a Stocksbridge defender was adjudged to have obstructed when a breakaway try looked certain. Callum ‘whippet’ Green suffered an ankle injury & was replaced by O’Leary in the centre. Stocksbridge went further behind to another Medics try, but burley, ball handling prop forward Gary ‘pecker’ Woodcock, sponsored by Valley Property Services, first crashed over the whitewash from a powerful Stocksbridge maul, & then provided a sweetly timed pass for young flyer Logan ‘whiskas’ Hannah to cut the deficit to just one point at the interval. Half Time : Sheffield Medics 21 pts – Stocksbridge Rugby 20 pts. A second half with all to play for & momentum with Stocksbridge, who have gelled well as a unit throughout pre-season training.
The 2nd stanza was a very competitive affair, the students threw all they had at the ‘blue wall’, but they were repelled as the visitor’s defensive systems held firm, a testament to the training methods being employed by Kaye & his staff. Stocksbridge were reduced to 14 men when the hard working Jordan ‘spud’ Fletcher was fortunate to be shown just a yellow card, & 10 minutes in the sin bin for leading with an elbow. Defence was key & Beal lead from the front with some ferocious hits, one particular bone juddering shot in conjunction with O’Leary stopped a student forward dead in his tracks, the collision was heard all around the stadium. Stocksbridge gradually wore the students down, & a line out win by Reece ‘diesel’ Aspin, created a rolling maul from which ‘slammin’ Sam Whitaker, sponsored by S & M Pipeworks, managed to wrestle the ball free & was quick witted enough to score the try to put Stocksbridge in the lead. Credit to the students, looking to maintain their 100% record in the Counties 4 Yorkshire South competition, they found a gap in the visitors defence to retake the lead with their bonus point 4th try & conversion. With just 2 minutes left on the clock, the mighty Bridge forwards rumbled close again, creating an opening for Tom Kerr to seal the win for the jubilant visitors, scoring their bonus point try in the process. A final score of Sheffield Medics 28pts – Stocksbridge Rugby 30 pts was exactly what the visitors deserved for their hard work & effort.
The Fox Catering Man of the Match award went to the blunt instrument that is Liam O’Leary for a game changing contribution, he was well supported by Skipper Beal, Woodcock & all the squad in a great team performance.
Afterwards rookie Coach Aaron Kaye said, ‘this is a reward for their effort, commitment & attitude during training, the boys are buying in to what I’m after, & this result is down to them’, adding. ‘we can take confidence & momentum into our next game & look for further improvements’. Stocksbridge travel down the Dearn Valley by pass at the weekend to face early season league leaders Dean Valley RUFC in Round 3 of the competition, looking for another win on the road.
Written by Andrew Tyers
