Sat 24 Oct 2015
With a massive injury list beginning to stretch their resources, Stocksbridge Rugby produced a herculean defensive effort to thwart high flying rivals
With a massive injury list beginning to stretch their resources, Stocksbridge Rugby produced a herculean defensive effort to thwart high flying rivals Old Otleyensians at a busy Coal Pit Lane last weekend.
Missing many regular faces, Stocksbridge welcomed back barnstorming centre Dave Brown, & there were recalls for Ben Westby & Jordan Fletcher, whilst a tactical switch saw Liam O'Leary in the back row for this week's clash. The match ball was again kindly supplied by club bar steward Mick 'selwyn' Taylor.
Stocksbridge Rugby started like a house on fire with O'Leary & towering 2nd rower Andy Beal leading the charges. As early as the 4th minute Stocksbridge Rugby won a shortened line out, with a set play honed to perfection in training, & drove the visiting forwards fully 20 metres back over their own try line, for skipper Keenan, sponsored by Club Secretary Mick Gribbins, to plunge over the line from close range, scrum half Adam Frith, kindly sponsored by Brian Mill painting & decorating services, converted to give the Piggy's a 7pt lead. The visitors looked dangerous on the ball, & the home defence was tested & held firm on several occasions. The pressure began to take its toll & Stocksbridge were guilty of some indiscipline at the break downs, after a while the referee decided enough was enough & Jordan Fletcher was sent to the sin bin for a shoulder charge. Man mountain Tommy Bebb was introduced to shore up the front row, & vice-captain Frith had to leave the field with suspected rib damage to be replaced by the eager Dave Potts in a Stocksbridge re-shuffle. The home side managed to cling on to the lead & the half time whistle saw Stocksbridge Rugby ahead by 7pts to nil.
Utility forward Damien Pope replaced Jason Hirst in the back row & Connor Brown returned to the field for his 2nd spell just after half time, as the visitors began a siege on the Stocksbridge try line. The Stocksbridge tackling was much stronger than last week, & try as Ensians might to breach the blue line, they were repelled by eager, aggressive, committed defending. When they did threaten, full back Ryan Smith was on hand to save the day, well supported by Joe Jones & Pat O'Leary operating on the flanks this week.
The visitors did find a way through on 62 minutes, but good cover from Smith forced the try scorer out wide, too far out for a vital conversion. More pressure from Otleyensians, more penalties at the breakdown & more work for the defence, was the order of most of the 2nd half. Hirst returned & crucially Bowskill, sponsored by Byron & Theresa Turner, was introduced & announced his arrival with a monster 45 metre penalty to increase the lead for Stocksbridge. Still the visitors kept coming & still the defence repelled them, reminiscent of a scene from the Alamo. A further injury to Dave Brown forced him out of the action, & both Rhys Aspin & Ricky James were yellow carded for more 'ruck infringements' during a frantic last 10 minute spell, reducing the home side to just 13 men, when the visitors threw everything & the kitchen sink at Stocksbridge. A try seemed inevitable however, the home defence just would not yield, Connor Brown holding off a potential try with a crunching tackle. A might relieved home crowd erupted at the final whistle with a victory of 10 points to 5 in favour of Stocksbridge Rugby & a win that owed nearly everything to the guts & determination of the defensive effort.
In a rousing team display Andy Beal, sponsored by Club Chairman Nigel George, was awarded the Bradfield Brewery man of the match, whilst the consistent performances of Liam O'Leary, who is available for sponsorship, earned him the Bradfield Brewery player of the Month award for October.
'not for the faint hearted' said Coach Tyers afterwards, 'this is the reward for the hard work the group are putting into their defence during training' adding 'a great result for the lads to celebrate, & to send out a message about Stocksbridge Rugby'
Stocksbridge have a week off as the Rugby World Cup reaches its climax, 'it's no bad thing' said defence Coach Mick Shouler 'our changing room is like emergency ward 5, there are bits of players all over the place'
The free week will give the medics time to repair the players, & the players time to recover from the bumps & bruises of a titanic contest.
Missing many regular faces, Stocksbridge welcomed back barnstorming centre Dave Brown, & there were recalls for Ben Westby & Jordan Fletcher, whilst a tactical switch saw Liam O'Leary in the back row for this week's clash. The match ball was again kindly supplied by club bar steward Mick 'selwyn' Taylor.
Stocksbridge Rugby started like a house on fire with O'Leary & towering 2nd rower Andy Beal leading the charges. As early as the 4th minute Stocksbridge Rugby won a shortened line out, with a set play honed to perfection in training, & drove the visiting forwards fully 20 metres back over their own try line, for skipper Keenan, sponsored by Club Secretary Mick Gribbins, to plunge over the line from close range, scrum half Adam Frith, kindly sponsored by Brian Mill painting & decorating services, converted to give the Piggy's a 7pt lead. The visitors looked dangerous on the ball, & the home defence was tested & held firm on several occasions. The pressure began to take its toll & Stocksbridge were guilty of some indiscipline at the break downs, after a while the referee decided enough was enough & Jordan Fletcher was sent to the sin bin for a shoulder charge. Man mountain Tommy Bebb was introduced to shore up the front row, & vice-captain Frith had to leave the field with suspected rib damage to be replaced by the eager Dave Potts in a Stocksbridge re-shuffle. The home side managed to cling on to the lead & the half time whistle saw Stocksbridge Rugby ahead by 7pts to nil.
Utility forward Damien Pope replaced Jason Hirst in the back row & Connor Brown returned to the field for his 2nd spell just after half time, as the visitors began a siege on the Stocksbridge try line. The Stocksbridge tackling was much stronger than last week, & try as Ensians might to breach the blue line, they were repelled by eager, aggressive, committed defending. When they did threaten, full back Ryan Smith was on hand to save the day, well supported by Joe Jones & Pat O'Leary operating on the flanks this week.
The visitors did find a way through on 62 minutes, but good cover from Smith forced the try scorer out wide, too far out for a vital conversion. More pressure from Otleyensians, more penalties at the breakdown & more work for the defence, was the order of most of the 2nd half. Hirst returned & crucially Bowskill, sponsored by Byron & Theresa Turner, was introduced & announced his arrival with a monster 45 metre penalty to increase the lead for Stocksbridge. Still the visitors kept coming & still the defence repelled them, reminiscent of a scene from the Alamo. A further injury to Dave Brown forced him out of the action, & both Rhys Aspin & Ricky James were yellow carded for more 'ruck infringements' during a frantic last 10 minute spell, reducing the home side to just 13 men, when the visitors threw everything & the kitchen sink at Stocksbridge. A try seemed inevitable however, the home defence just would not yield, Connor Brown holding off a potential try with a crunching tackle. A might relieved home crowd erupted at the final whistle with a victory of 10 points to 5 in favour of Stocksbridge Rugby & a win that owed nearly everything to the guts & determination of the defensive effort.
In a rousing team display Andy Beal, sponsored by Club Chairman Nigel George, was awarded the Bradfield Brewery man of the match, whilst the consistent performances of Liam O'Leary, who is available for sponsorship, earned him the Bradfield Brewery player of the Month award for October.
'not for the faint hearted' said Coach Tyers afterwards, 'this is the reward for the hard work the group are putting into their defence during training' adding 'a great result for the lads to celebrate, & to send out a message about Stocksbridge Rugby'
Stocksbridge have a week off as the Rugby World Cup reaches its climax, 'it's no bad thing' said defence Coach Mick Shouler 'our changing room is like emergency ward 5, there are bits of players all over the place'
The free week will give the medics time to repair the players, & the players time to recover from the bumps & bruises of a titanic contest.
