Sat 19 Dec 2015
Stocksbridge Rugby & Rotherham Phoenix shared the points at the weekend
Stocksbridge Rugby & Rotherham Phoenix shared the points at the weekend, after an entertaining if unspectacular 8 all draw.
The visitors belied their lowly position at the foot of the Yorkshire League Division Three table &, in truth, deserved a bit more than a draw for their efforts.
Still missing Andy 'groot' Beal & Dave Brown, the promising Tom Spencer was given his full league debut, & there was a welcome return from injury for 'the deepcar express', Steffan Kazmierski along with club Vice Captain Adam 'Rothwell' Frith.
Stocksbridge started well enough with Ben Brown making immediate inroads into the Phoenix defence, well supported by Tom Spencer however, just as the home side threatened, a penalty was conceded, & territory was given up, more than once.
Slammin Sam Whitaker was heavily involved in the early exchanges, but had to be replaced after just 10 minutes with the first of three similar looking ankle injuries to be suffered by the home side.
Another cheap penalty gave the visitors the opportunity to kick themselves ahead, before the luckless Spencer had to be withdrawn with ankle injury number two. The tigerish defence & line speed of the visitors gave Stocksbridge Rugby little room to play, & as a result too much ball was coughed up cheaply. Rotherham had clearly come with a defensive game plan, & to their credit, they executed very well. When they gained possession on the back of a Stocksbridge error, they managed to score the game's first try as some weak tackling allowed a touchdown in the corner for the visitors, fortunately too wide out to convert. Stocksbridge were forced to use their third injury replacement as Connor Brown limped off, with yet another ankle injury, to be replaced by the raging bull Joe Smith.
Stocksbridge got into their stride with skipper Keenan off loading nicely, & they really should have scored when Ryan Smith broke the defence, but he ignored an overlap & got help up inches from the line, & the chance went begging. Stocksbridge were awarded not one, but two very kickable penalties as the first half came to an end, but chose to run the ball as they were building pressure & momentum however, the ball was lost & the visitors cleared their lines to retain an 8 points to nil advantage at the break.
The visitors tactics began to frustrate the home side, & Rowett was sin binned for taking the law into his own hands or feet & stamping on an infringing Phoenix player, James 'chopsey' Lambert followed him just 2 minutes later, for a late an illegal hit on his opposite number, & Stocksbridge Rugby were reduced to 13 men again ! The yellow card was shown again soon after, but this time to a Phoenix player for a high shot halting a Joe Smith rampage. Stocksbridge Rugby clawed their way back into the game as Bowskill kicked a simple penalty, but soon afterwards the home side were reduced permanently to 14 men when Rowett was somewhat harshly red carded, this time for a late shoulder charge on the opposing scrum half. Still Stocksbridge pressed, & still the over worked Phoenix defence held firm, the home side dominated possession & territory in the final quarter of the game, & were eventually rewarded for the efforts when Ben Westby latched onto a neat flick pass from smiling assassin Pat O'Learly & scampered over the line, much to the delight & relief of the watching supporters. Bowskill's conversion attempt fell agonisingly short, & both teams eventually settled for a draw & a share of the points. In his short time on the pitch, young Tom 'frank' Spencer made enough impact to take the Bradfield Brewery Man of the Match award, whilst Scott Bowskill received the Bradfield Brewery Player of the Month award for his contributions during December.
Stocksbridge Rugby break for the holiday season now, in a considerably better position than they were in this time last Year, their next game is a trip to Baildon on 9th January, so the squad will have time to rest & repair from the bumps & bruises of a tough few weeks.
'it's a game we should have won, but could have easily lost too' reflected Head Coach Andy Tyers afterwards 'so perhaps a draw is a fair result, you have to give them credit for their game plan & the execution of it' adding 'we were a bit off the pace today, but still created enough chances to win this game, we just need to be a bit more clinical with our decision making'
The Coaching Staff would like to wish all the Players, Officials & supporters a very Happy Christmas & thank them all for their part in the progression & development of Stocksbridge Rugby, we can all look forward to a positive 2016 both on & off the pitch.
The visitors belied their lowly position at the foot of the Yorkshire League Division Three table &, in truth, deserved a bit more than a draw for their efforts.
Still missing Andy 'groot' Beal & Dave Brown, the promising Tom Spencer was given his full league debut, & there was a welcome return from injury for 'the deepcar express', Steffan Kazmierski along with club Vice Captain Adam 'Rothwell' Frith.
Stocksbridge started well enough with Ben Brown making immediate inroads into the Phoenix defence, well supported by Tom Spencer however, just as the home side threatened, a penalty was conceded, & territory was given up, more than once.
Slammin Sam Whitaker was heavily involved in the early exchanges, but had to be replaced after just 10 minutes with the first of three similar looking ankle injuries to be suffered by the home side.
Another cheap penalty gave the visitors the opportunity to kick themselves ahead, before the luckless Spencer had to be withdrawn with ankle injury number two. The tigerish defence & line speed of the visitors gave Stocksbridge Rugby little room to play, & as a result too much ball was coughed up cheaply. Rotherham had clearly come with a defensive game plan, & to their credit, they executed very well. When they gained possession on the back of a Stocksbridge error, they managed to score the game's first try as some weak tackling allowed a touchdown in the corner for the visitors, fortunately too wide out to convert. Stocksbridge were forced to use their third injury replacement as Connor Brown limped off, with yet another ankle injury, to be replaced by the raging bull Joe Smith.
Stocksbridge got into their stride with skipper Keenan off loading nicely, & they really should have scored when Ryan Smith broke the defence, but he ignored an overlap & got help up inches from the line, & the chance went begging. Stocksbridge were awarded not one, but two very kickable penalties as the first half came to an end, but chose to run the ball as they were building pressure & momentum however, the ball was lost & the visitors cleared their lines to retain an 8 points to nil advantage at the break.
The visitors tactics began to frustrate the home side, & Rowett was sin binned for taking the law into his own hands or feet & stamping on an infringing Phoenix player, James 'chopsey' Lambert followed him just 2 minutes later, for a late an illegal hit on his opposite number, & Stocksbridge Rugby were reduced to 13 men again ! The yellow card was shown again soon after, but this time to a Phoenix player for a high shot halting a Joe Smith rampage. Stocksbridge Rugby clawed their way back into the game as Bowskill kicked a simple penalty, but soon afterwards the home side were reduced permanently to 14 men when Rowett was somewhat harshly red carded, this time for a late shoulder charge on the opposing scrum half. Still Stocksbridge pressed, & still the over worked Phoenix defence held firm, the home side dominated possession & territory in the final quarter of the game, & were eventually rewarded for the efforts when Ben Westby latched onto a neat flick pass from smiling assassin Pat O'Learly & scampered over the line, much to the delight & relief of the watching supporters. Bowskill's conversion attempt fell agonisingly short, & both teams eventually settled for a draw & a share of the points. In his short time on the pitch, young Tom 'frank' Spencer made enough impact to take the Bradfield Brewery Man of the Match award, whilst Scott Bowskill received the Bradfield Brewery Player of the Month award for his contributions during December.
Stocksbridge Rugby break for the holiday season now, in a considerably better position than they were in this time last Year, their next game is a trip to Baildon on 9th January, so the squad will have time to rest & repair from the bumps & bruises of a tough few weeks.
'it's a game we should have won, but could have easily lost too' reflected Head Coach Andy Tyers afterwards 'so perhaps a draw is a fair result, you have to give them credit for their game plan & the execution of it' adding 'we were a bit off the pace today, but still created enough chances to win this game, we just need to be a bit more clinical with our decision making'
The Coaching Staff would like to wish all the Players, Officials & supporters a very Happy Christmas & thank them all for their part in the progression & development of Stocksbridge Rugby, we can all look forward to a positive 2016 both on & off the pitch.
