Stocksbridge 54 Wibsey 7

Stocksbridge welcomed back Oliver Walters and Andy Beal back into their pack and it showed how much both had been missed as the home side tore into the opposition right from the first whistle. A series of raking attacks came to nothing as the ball went forward. The resultant scrum saw the Bridge 8 shove the opposition off the ball and Walters picked up and made the 15 metres to the line, showing he had lost none of his pace. Bowskill converted and Stocksbridge were all over Wibsey like a rash as quick ball followed quick ball giving them no time to come up for air. This was the pace of game the crowd had yearned for and one of those quick balls was flicked on by stand off Ben Westby to Ben Senior for him to score wide out. The only thing missing from a near perfect opening quarter was the scrum half’s pass.

The lineout was monopolised by Beal ably assisted by his props James Lambert and Ian Dyson and only resolute defence stopped the score mounting quickly. A yellow card slowed things down for a while before the ball was slipped again to right winger Senior to dive over in the corner. With Scot Bowskill only missing once all day the score raced to 21. Bridge were tending to go a little too far with the ball, before releasing the pass, but you couldn’t complain about the effort. Another great run from Senior saw his hat trick and the bonus point in the bag. The ball was moved again to the right and centre Dave Potts decided he wouldn’t give Senior another, but sliced through himself to score under the posts. Leaving the half time score 33-0.

The second half was a bit of an anti climax as changes slowed the pace and complacency crept in. However, the forwards were in total command and with Paul Wingfield having another solid game in the second row, they secure enough possession for another 3 tries. From another scrum against the head, Oliver Walters fed Scot Bowskill as he entered the line and he did a pancake dive to score. In a blustery wind handling was not easy but at least the link between scrum half and stand off was restored, which gave some rhythm to the attacks. Replacement Ray Waller didn’t need a pass, as he picked up from the base of a scrum and spread eagled the defence to score under the posts. The feisty and alert Ben Westby completed the home sides scoring when kicking on a Wibsey mistake and winning the race to the line.

The visitors had the last laugh when a misplaced pass from 10 allowed a run through from their best player right winger Dale Green to score under the posts.

Man of the Match - welcomed back after injury Andrew Beal

Next match - Wensleydale 5th January - Away - Bus Trip