Stocksbridge RUFC

Missing talismanic skipper Andy 'clock tower' Beal with a chest infection, Stocksbridge also lost workhorse flanker Reece 'diesel' Aspin, injured his hamstring during the warm up. Sam Porter moved into the 2^nd row as Mason 'grump' Goldsworthy received a late selection to the starting XV. Worse still, back rower Josh Kerr rolled an ankle at a line out & had to be replaced after only 8 minutes. Neither side could manage any real dominance in either territory or possession, & Stocksbridge were guilty of neglecting the basic skills as they missed two or three guilt edged try scoring opportunities. The reliable boot of Luke Jagger nudged the visitors ahead with a penalty, & extended the lead shortly after as the home side infringed at the break down. From a period of sustained pressure, a forward's rumble saw young Jack 'the big rig' James plunge over from close range to score his first ever try for the senior 1st XV. Scotty Bowskill, sponsored by Stocksbridge Fire Station, judged the breeze perfectly to add the conversion. Jagger added a 3^rd penalty, just before the break, as Stocksbridge failed to learn from their previous indiscretions, & the half ended with a score of : Stocksbridge Rugby 7pts - Wortley RUFC 9pts.  

Neither Coach could be satisfied with the displays of their sides, & the break gave them the opportunity to fine tune & address some of the issues. It seemed like the players on both sides weren't listening & tried to force the result individually instead of playing as a team, this led to a frustrating & error strewn 2^nd stanza. With the breeze dropping Bowskill edged the home side back in front with a simple penalty, then Jagger delivered for the visitors to regain their narrow lead, after further infringements by the home forwards. Stocksbridge did apply some pressure late in the game, but were guilty of inaccuracy in their passing, or taking the wrong option when attacking. Bowskill managed to hit the post twice & slice a simple penalty wide, as an away win began to look more likely. With time running out, Whitaker & Woodcock punished a tiring Wortley defence & Sam Porter opened his try scoring account for his new club, diving over from a rolling maul, much to the delight of his team mates. Again, Bowskill failed with the conversion attempt. Wortley briefly threatened but the blue wall held firm for a final score of: Stocksbridge Rugby 15pts - Wortley RUFC 12pts, & the narrowest of victories for the home side, to move them into 2^nd place in the league ladder. 

A strong display in the set piece & several barnstorming gallops saw Gary 'pecker' Woodcock win the Dyson Funeral Services Man of the Match award, in what was a disappointing game & a disappointing performance. Stocksbridge gave away far too many penalties, dropped far too many passes & missed far too many 1^st up tackles to be anywhere near satisfied. 

Head Coach Aaron Kaye said afterwards, 'there's not much we can take from this performance, plenty of endeavour but no real quality', before adding, 'we have to respect the opposition & respect possession better, or we will come unstuck !' 'Still, we grabbed a win, which says plenty about the character we have in this squad' 

Stocksbridge have a free weekend next week, where they ought to spend some time on the training field practising the basic skills, before a tricky trip to the students of Sheffield Medics on 22^nd November, followed by another testing trip to Maltby the week after. The next scheduled fixture at the Coal Pit Lane Arena is the Christmas Jumper match on December 6th, when Withernsea RUFC will make the journey from the East Coast, kick off is 2.15pm & all are welcome.  

Written by Andrew Tyers