Wed 16 Apr 2025, 18:30
A short mid-week trip across to Wath for the 2nd leg of the midweek cup semi-final proved a bridge too far for plucky, Globe Sponsored Stocksbridge Rugby last Wednesday. Already trailing 6 tries to 4 from the 1st leg, Stocksbridge faced an uphill task, but they gave it a go before falling a way to a 28pts to 7pts defeat. Whilst this defeat shuts the door on the midweek Bowl competition, Stocksbridge have qualified for the Final of the midweek Vase Trophy against either Maltby or Dinnington 2nds who play next week. Despite long term injuries to Reece 'diesel' Aspin (foot) & Mason 'grump' Goldsworthy (ankle) Stocksbridge were able to field a near full strength team with veteran campaigner Ricky 'rooney' James enjoying his comeback, & a promising young centre partnership of Harrison 'the storm' Norman alongside Jake 'bristol' Bevan, with young flier Cole 'pup' Staley-Howson retaining his place on the wing.
Stocksbridge tore into their more illustrious hosts right from the off & most of the play was deep inside Wath's own 20 metre area, 'slammin' Sam Whitaker made several turnovers & the visitors dominated the scrum area, allowing evergreen fly half Bowskill room & time to release his back line to test the Wath defence. Tragedy struck when a loose pass from the back of another scrum win, went straight into the hands of a suspiciously off side looking Wath winger, who gleefully accepted his gift & scooted 50yds to open the scoring on the night. The Stocksbridge response was almost immediate as skipper, Andy 'clock tower' Beal lead his troops downfield, & a forward rumble gave promising back rower Finn Dodsworth enough space to crash over for a try to pull the visitors level on the night, Bowskill making no mistake with the conversion. Stocksbridge could & maybe should have increased their try tally however, a combination of a hard-working Wath defence & a couple of mis placed passes kept the tie level approaching the half time whistle. From a rare 1st half attack, on the final play of the half, the blue wall finally cracked & the home finished the half in front. Half Time : Wath RUFC 14pts - Stocksbridge Rugby 7pts.
Although Stocksbridge were still in the game, & just about still in the tie as a whole, the superior class of a Division 1 side began to take it's toll on a tiring visiting defence. The home side forwards gained some dominance & momentum allowing their swift & skilful backs time & space to run in 3 further tries to kill the tie & the contest. Further disruption as scrum half, that man Frith was forced to leave the field with a groin injury, added to knee injuries sustained by Jake Bevan & full back Tom Kerr, left a patched up Stocksbridge team to see the game out.
A final score of: Wath RUFC 28pts - Stocksbridge Rugby 7pts again flattered the victors however, the lesson for Stocksbridge is to turn possession & territory into points when they have the opportunity.
A performance full of endeavour & commitment should give player/coach Aaron Kaye & his charges confidence for whoever they come up against in the Vase final, the progress of this squad is clear, & further silverware would be a fitting end to an improved season.
The Asphalt Grid Systems man of the match award went to 'slammin' Sam Whitaker, sponsored by S&M Pipeworks, who was a thorn in the Wath team's side throughout the game, & on both sides of the ball, including an attempted kick thru !! Callum 'whippet' Green was not far behind, & the back row of Watts, Dodsworth & Josh Kerr were a handful for the home side to deal with.
Assistant Coach Andy Tyers said afterwards, 'it was all about the reaction from last week & the performance from the boys tonight, the result was secondary,' before adding, 'I asked the boys to concentrate on 3 specific areas & I got the response I was after, so credit to them'.
Meanwhile, the 100 club draw for April has been won by Mick Gribbins (£100) & the 2nd prize by Cy Kippax (£25) ,with the focus now on next Friday's Presentation Evening at the Manchester Road Clubhouse with a 6pm start, & a celebration of the progress & development of the team under Kaye's guidance & Beal's leadership.
Written by Andrew Tyers
