A trip to West Yorkshire to face basement club Knottingley RUFC turned out nicely for Globe Holidays sponsored Stocksbridge Rugby as they won their 3rd league game in a row with a 22pts to 7pts result, which cements 3rd position in the Counties 4 Yorkshire South competition. A new front row of Cuttell, Bowman & Watts was selected by Head Coach Aaron Kaye, with Sam Porter moving to the No8 berth to accommodate 'slammin' Sam Whitaker in the boiler room with skipper Andy 'clock tower' Beal. That man Adam Frith passed a fitness test, & was able to take his place at scrum half, & a welcome return for former skipper Adam Roles-Middlehurst in the centre, with evergreen Ben Westby at full back, added some experience to the squad.
A slow start by both teams was interrupted by a swift, but harsh yellow card & 10 minutes in the sin bin for Reece 'diesel' Aspin, for failing to retire the required 10 metres at a penalty kick. On his return to the field, Aspin turned from zero to hero as he latched on to a sweet pass from Beal to open the scoring with a rare try for the hard-working back rower. Aspin is kindly sponsored by club chairman, Mr Philip Watts. Veteran goal kicker Scotty Bowskill, sponsored by Stocksbridge Fire Station, landed the conversion & nudged the visitors further ahead with a simple penalty goal just before the interval following a ruck infringement. Half Time: Knottingley RUFC nil points - Stocksbridge Rugby 10pts.
The home side began the 2nd stanza with some purpose & intent & breached the travelling blue wall with a score, to get themselves back into the contest. Adam Roles-Middlehurst, sponsored by Lemark Office Equipment, spotted a gap in the defence & using all his experience, shrugged off 2 would be tacklers to extend Stocksbridge's lead. This time too far out for Bowskill to add the extras. That man Adam Frith, sponsored by E+J Landscaping, enjoying his return to the starting line up, sneaked over for an opportunist score after good work from his forward pack, & this time Bowskill was able to convert to leave the final Full Time score : Knottingley RUFC 7pts - Stocksbridge Rugby 22pts.
The Wilson Construction man of the match award went to talismanic skipper, Andy 'clock tower' Beal for a great display, leading from the front. Beal is kindly sponsored by club secretary Mr Mick Gribbins.
Speaking afterwards, a delighted Beal said, 'I can't remember the last time we won over here, so it feels good', before adding, 'it wasn't pretty at times, but this is a tough place to come, & the lads will gain in confidence from a performance like this one'.
This week , Round 8 sees the local derby fixture with Wortley RUFC at the Coal Pit Lane Arena, with a kick off time of 2.15pm. Both teams are hitting form, so this should be an entertaining watch. Entry is free, & all are welcome to watch the Fox Valley derby. Stocksbridge visit the students of Sheffield Medics on 22nd November following a bye week after the Wortley clash.
Written by Andrew Tyers
