Sat 5 Apr 2025
After beating the students of Sheffield Medics twice during the season, Globe Holidays sponsored Stocksbridge Rugby were finally undone by a fitter, faster opposition at the weekend, eventually going down to a 13pts - 29pts home defeat in the final round of the Counties 4 Yorkshire South competition. Stocksbridge & player/coach Aaron Kaye will be reasonably satisfied with their progress during the campaign, ending with a record of 9 wins & 9 defeats however, there are several defeats which really should have been in the win column !
Stocksbridge gave a 1st XV debut to prop Will Cuttell, who showed his ability in the tight, & playing up the slope in the first half, they were forced to work hard in defence. The blue wall held firm for most of the half until a speedy breakaway try gave the visitors a lead. The home side had their chances but a lack of ball control added to some tenacious & committed defence from the Students kept the Piggies at bay. There was an early need for the replacements bench as Callum 'whippet' Green, Marley 'granite' Teeling & Jake 'bristol' Bevan all succumbed to knee injuries & were forced to leave the field, Teeling eventually having to be taken to hospital for an assessment. The students were relentless, & the Stocksbridge defence dropped off a tackle too many to allow a further score from the visitors. A half time score of : Stocksbridge Rugby nil - Sheffield Medics 14pts gave the home side some hope for the 2nd stanza & the famous slope.
Stocksbridge took the game to their visitors after the break & talisman skipper Andy 'clock tower' Beal was held up over the line, the students defended well however, 'slammin' Sam Whitaker & Reece 'diesel' Aspin kept pushing Stocksbridge forward. Eventually the pressure told & Stocksbridge were awarded a 7pt penalty try as the visitors illegally collapsed a maul after a dominant line out took the home side close to the line. This was the sign that Stocksbridge were back in the game, & a further penalty for off side, added to another for a ruck infringement, were both converted by veteran goal kicker Scotty Bowskill to bring the home side to within a point of the visitors & with growing momentum. The students also had a man sent to the naughty step for 10 minutes after their persistent offending stretched the official's patience. Whitaker was forced to leave the field with a calf injury, & the students found their mojo to rip into the tiring home side & score 3 quick tries, all unconverted, to seal the game & the bonus point victory with a final score of: Stocksbridge Rugby 13pts - Sheffield Medics 29pts.
Once again, the gallant Stocksbridge team gave their all & the effort & commitment cannot be faulted, the decision making & execution remains an area for development as there is more strike from the outside backs & they need to be used more often.
youngster Tim Burton capped a fine individual display which saw him take the Enzygo Environmental Consultants player of the match award, whilst Tom Kerr looked safe under the high ball & Georgie Watts enhanced his growing reputation with another hard working effort.
Club Captain Andy 'clock tower' Beal said afterwards, 'it's been a tough season, we have suffered with injuries throughout & have had to contend with too many free weekends, but I'm immensely proud of the boys & the progress we have made with this group.' then he added, 'we all know there is room for further improvement & for us to grow as a squad'.
Stocksbridge will now turn their attention to the Uniplex Mid-Week cup competition, where they will entertain Division 1 side Wath RUFC in the semi-final first leg on Thursday evening, kick off time at the Coal Pit Lane Arena is 6.15pm.
Writte by Andrew Tyers
