You have to go back to 28th September to recall the last Stocksbridge defeat, & this win left Rugby Supremo Keenan purring after overseeing a resolute & committed defensive performance. This win opens up a 10 pt gap between the Piggys & 4th place, & they are now only 1 win away from securing 2nd place in the table, & leapfrogging Mosborough in the process.
The match was in some doubt beforehand as a still mist engulfed the field, making viewing difficult on a chilly autumnal day. Missing Aspin, Westby & Tom Spencer with injury, young back rower Jack ‘milky’ Martin again held his position in Keenan’s starting line up, & responded with a trojan individual performance.
The Stockbridge pack, with Joe Smith recalled to the front row, were on the front foot from the start, shunting the visitors off their ball in the scrum, & making inroads in the loose with 2nd rowers Beal & Whitaker in tandem, supporting the willing skipper Rowett making good ground. Bowskill seemed to find an extra 10 meters in his boots making his kicking from hand very effective in pinning Mosborough back when they tried to launch an attack. It was a very dominant display from the whole team during the 1st half, Bowskill, sponsored by Mr Byron & Mrs Teresa Turner slotted 2 simple penalties as the Mosborough pack struggled to cope with the pressure exerted from the rampant home 8. Disaster struck as from nowhere & completely against the run of play a stray pass from fly half Jack Spencer was intercepted by the pacey Mosborough winger & he won the footrace to the line to bring them back into the game. Credit to the home side, as they continued with their combative, physical approach forcing all but a few minutes of the half to be played deep inside the visitors territory. A sniping break by that man Frith, lead to an overlap & veteran flyer Joe Jones, sponsored by Clarach Building Contractors scorched in at the corner just too far out for Bowskill to convert. Rowett should have scored from an attacking scrum, the official considered a penalty try award, but left it for Rowett to score however, he managed to butcher the 2 opportunities.
Mosborough were relieved to hear the half time whistle trailing by only 11pts to 7 pts.
The visitors gradually clawed their way back into the contest in the 2nd stanza, only some resiliant defence kept them at bay, Frith, Fletcher & Ryan Smith making some devastating hits. A trade mark, training ground move from a line out, gave player/coach Keenan, sponsored by United Fried Chicken, an opportunity to barrel his way over the line from close range to improve the scoreline. That was the way it stayed with defences on top & neither side able to establish any real control. Mosborough scored another converted try to bring them within 2 pts of victory, but then spurned the chance of victory when their kicker missed a simple penalty from right in front if the posts, & a jubilant Stocksbridge crowd cheered as the final whistle fell with Stocksbridge victorious by 16pts to 14pts.
The Bradfield Brewery Man of the Match award went to the hard working, Slammin Sam Whitaker, sponsored by S&M Pipeworks, for an all round classy display. That man Frith, Joe Jones & Bowskill also gave their all in a gritty team performance.
Rugby Supremo Keenan summed it up afterwards, ‘we’re in the promotion hunt now, & must focus on getting a result next week’ adding ‘we could have thrown this game away however, the lads stuck at it & we got a reward for our efforts today’.
Stocksbridge Rugby travel to York next week for a tricky fixture at Nestle Rowntree, where a win will keep the pressure on the 2 teams above them at the top of the league.

Match report by Andy Tyers, Director of Rugby