‘frustrating & hugely disappointing’ was the reaction of Head Coach Andy Tyers, as Stocksbridge Rugby came close to pulling off their 2nd away win of the campaign away at Leeds MD at the weekend.

Missing at least 7 first team regulars, Stocksbridge were still able to field a competitive team, capable of winning this fixture in front of a sizeable following, on a nice, dry Autumnal day.

Stocksbridge Rugby began well, with Andy Beal making his mark almost immediately with a good catch & drive from the first whistle, the eager hosts incurred a succession of early penalties, & as the visitors worked their way down the field, a further indiscretion gave Scott Bowskill the chance to open the scoring with a well taken penalty kick. Stocksbridge & Bowskill came close to improving this lead & some good possession allowed Stocksbridge Rugby to gradually gain some momentum. Talismanic centre Liam O’Learly broke his nose in a typically brutal clash with his opposite number & had to be replaced by the evergreen Dave Potts. As Stocksbridge Rugby tried to find a chink in the home side’s armour, they too began conceding penalties & possession, & a lost scrum allowed the Leeds MD back rower far too much room to draw the cover & send the winger scampering home for a try, too wide to convert.

Shortly afterwards, with Beal in the sin bin as the referee stamped his authority on the game, Bowskill got caught with the ball & it was turned over, with further weak tackling compounding the error as the home side scored & converted. Although Stocksbridge enjoyed parity in possession they just couldn’t seem to make the vital breakthrough although a few bustling charges from Craig Donaldson did cause the home side some problems, & a taste of things to come. Stocksbridge were guilty of turning over possession far too easily & then conceding penalty after penalty at the break down area to let the home side off the hook, & they were successful with a penalty kick after further misdemeanours from the Stocksbridge pack. Stocksbridge gifted the home side a further try as no one seemed to want to tackle the oncoming back line & they just picked their holes in the defence & scored a very simple try to take the half time score to Leeds MD 22pts – Stocksbridge Rugby 3pts.

The visitors improved in the 2nd stanza, & the sheer power of Joe Smith & Craig Donaldson in particular smashed through the defence, & from one surge Smith crashed over the line, & Bowskill converted to give the visitors some hope. The burley figure of Donaldson was on hand to complete a line out move, bursting through 3 tacklers to register a further try for the visitors, again Bowskill converted to bring Stocksbridge Rugby within 5pts of the home side, & into bonus point territory. The luckless Pat O’Leary was harshly sin binned for a repeat team offence, & a re-jigged defence allowed the home team to outflank them, & a poor effort to clear the ball coughed up possession to gift a simple try to restore the lead. Still Stocksbridge kept coming & they were rewarded again with the wrecking ball that is Craig Donaldson again using his physical strength to force his way over the line. Try as they might Stocksbridge just couldn’t force their way through the defence again & as time drew close, the home team scored in the corner to seal the victory by 32pts to 22pts, & Stocksbridge left without even a losing bonus point for all their hard work.

The Bradfield Brewery man of the match was Craig Donaldson with an imposing display, & he was well supported by the consistent Joe Smith & Andy Beal.

‘this was one that we let slip through our fingers’ said Tyers afterwards ‘we gave them 3 soft tries, & just didn’t do the things we asked of them beforehand’ adding ‘some of our defence was weak, & we must smarten our discipline up at the breakdown as this is killing us week in , week out’

Stocksbridge Rugby must learn & learn quick as they entertain high flyers Old Otleyensians at the weekend, kick off 3pm at Coal Pit Lane & everyone is welcome.

Tyers is promising changes in the line up for this week & said ‘we’re giving teams a start & by the time we realise we can compete, it’s too late’ adding ‘we’re not too far off, & the lads know this, so I expect a reaction next week