Beverley Battle Hard To Win At Beaver park

Not much quality rugby here but Beverley RUFC came out of it with the win they badly needed and a bonus point to go with it.

 

For much of the game Beverley were outplayed and could hardly get their hands on the ball.  At 20-7 down early in the second half and penned in their own half they looked to be heading towards another defeat.

But the game was completely turned on its head by the arrival from the bench of their talisman David Worrall who inspired a remarkable recovery despite obviously still not being fully fit.  With Worrall on the pitch Beverley suddenly started to play with more belief and they went on to win the game scoring twenty two points in the final quarter.

Altrincham started the game far more positively than Beverley whose defending was only marginally less woeful than the previous week at Birkenhead Park.  It was no surprise when Altrincham took the lead after ten minutes, fly half Rob Holloway slicing his way through the defence following a five metre scrum.  Five minutes later Phil Duboulay with a lovely break almost levelled the scores but Mark Hatfield was unluckily penalised for holding on just short of the line.

After twenty minutes Beverley did edge ahead when Junior Tupai created an opening for James Graham to go over under the posts for a try which Duboulay converted.  Beverley then had a poor spell just before halftime during which they conceded a penalty by winger Callum Yates and two converted tries by flanker Tristan Laga and centre Matt Hulse.

Once again dreadful defending was to blame.  Martin Shaw was again playing outstandingly well up front, albeit in the second row, but generally there was rather too much idling about and not enough getting stuck in.

Yet all was not lost.  Turning round 20-7 down Beverley had the advantage of the stiff wind in the second half and two converted tries would be enough to give them the lead.

Sadly they carried on as poorly in the second half as they had finished the first.  Another Altrincham score then would probably have settled the result.  As it was, Beverley brought on Worrall in place of Dale Hodgson and the pattern of the game immediately changed.  Worrall brings more to Beverley’s cause than merely a rampaging flanker.  With his arrival on the pitch the whole tempo increased and Beverley immediately started to play with a good deal more vigour.

Within minutes they had struck back with a lovely try.  A breakout from their own half was carried on by Graham who put Ben Reville-Jones away down the right touchline.

The young winger making his debut for Beverley showed a fine turn of speed to race clear and touch down.  Suddenly Beverley were right back in it.  Junior Tupai dummied his way over under the posts for a third try and five minutes later they took the lead when Tupai put Duboulay in for a fourth.  Duboulay kicked both conversions and then added a penalty.  From being virtually down and out Beverley were suddenly two scores clear at 29-20.

They should have had a fifth when Worrall made a lovely break and moved the ball quickly left to create a clear overlap.  Steve Johnson at full back had not enjoyed the happiest of afternoons and he it was who inexplicably threw an aimless pass inside when both he and Rob Smith outside him could almost have strolled over.  Never mind, the win and bonus point had already been secured.

Beverley still contrived to spoil it slightly at the end when centre Simon Edwards ran through some statuesque defending to score a final converted try and allow Altrincham to go away with two bonus points.  Luckily it was the last play of the match and Beverley with the win were able to breathe a sigh of relief for the first time in some weeks.

Photos by Paul Linton & Matthew Linton | Reported by John Nursey

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