Sat 30 Nov 2024
The 2nd instalment of the Fox Valley Trophy series saw Globe Holidays sponsored Stocksbridge Rugby overcome their near neighbours Wortley RUFC in a hard fought game by 26pts – 5pts. This Round 9 clash in the Counties 4 Yorkshire South competition now sets up a winner takes all match when the 2 teams meet again in February. Tied at 1 game all & with both sides level on 41pts scored, the coveted Trophy is very much up for grabs.
With senior players including Aspin, James, Smith & returning hooker Mikey ‘vegas’ Hartley still unavailable, player/coach Aaron Kaye selected himself to start in the front row, with O’Leary & ‘the storm’ Harrison forming a formidable combination in the midfield, & a welcome return for Tommy Kerr at full back.
Playing up the slope, in front of an expectant home crowd in the first half, Stocksbridge were put under pressure, as much from their own errors along with a bright start from the enthusiastic visitors. The ‘blue wall’ stood firm,_& gradually worked their way up field & took the lead with a simple Scotty Bowskill penalty from the 1st of many ruck infringements, Bowskill is kindly sponsored by Mr Mark Aston. With most of the play in the Wortley half, Stocksbridge created 2 or 3 try clear scoring opportunities that went begging due to imprecise execution of the final pass. The dominant home side were eventually rewarded after a line out routine worked well enough to give that man Adam Frith space to find Jack ‘crazy feet’ Spencer on the blind side, & a surgical catch & pass sent the supporting Tommy Kerr, sponsored by Sheffield Refractories, racing into the corner & over the line for a superb score. The unlucky Bowskill managed to hit both posts with his conversion effort without the ball going over the cross bar ! Mason Goldsworthy took a blow to the head & was forced to leave the field, to be replaced by ‘the unit’ Saul Hinchcliffe. Bowskill had better fortune with a simple penalty effort just before half time as Stocksbridge cranked up the pressure to leave the score : Stocksbridge Rugby 11pts – Wortley RUFC nil.
Playing down the slope & with the wind in the 2nd stanza, Stocksbridge had plenty of territory advantage & good possession but the visitors held firm with some desperate defensive efforts, Bowskill nudged the home side further ahead with a penalty when Wortley brought a line out to the ground illegally, & a yellow card for a Wortley centre reduced them to 14 men for 10 minutes, after an attempted should barge tackle went wrong. Stocksbridge took advantage of their numerical superiority, as burly prop Woodcock steamed onto a short pass from Frith, beat 1 defender & released Jack Spencer to scuttle into the corner for a 2nd home try. Woodcock then became an early pantomime villain as he saw yellow for a no arms tackle, & 10 minutes in the Stocksbridge sin bin. Wortley escaped their own half & scored a break away try of their own, to give them some encouragement, before normal service was resumed & that man Adam Frith, kindly sponsored by Brian Mills Decorating Services, pounced on a loose ball after a tussle with the Wortley full back to push Stocksbridge further ahead, & Tommy Kerr taking over the goal kicking duties from the replaced Bowskill slotted the conversion to leave the final score : Stocksbridge Rugby 26pts – Wortley RUFC 5pts. Hinchcliffe was industrious off the bench & young flyer Marley Teeling produced the tackle of the match, with a bone crunching effort to save a further try from the speedy Wortley winger.
The Fox Valley player of the match was awarded to Stocksbridge skipper Andy ‘clock tower’ Beal for another barnstorming display, leading from the front. Beal is kindly sponsored by Mr Mick Gribbins. Meanwhile, the Club’s Coaching staff are pleased to announce hard working back rower George Watts, sponsored by DR Binns Butchery has won the All Property Solutions Man of Steel award for November for a string of consistent displays on both sides of the ball.
The win takes Stocksbridge above Wortley to 4th place in the league ladder, & they could even finish the Year in 3rd with a Round 10 victory over Maltby RUFC, the next visitors to Coal Pit Lane Arena on Saturday, with a 2.15pm kick off.
Speaking after the game, a happy player/coach Kaye said, ‘we had good numbers for training, we had tough decisions to make on selection, & Wortley are tough opponents, so we planned well for them’. Before adding ‘the boys have responded well & I thank them for buying in to what we’re after, & I’m still confident we can improve further with the same commitment & effort’
Written by Andrew Tyers
