A cracking match and a fine win for Beverley RUFC over second placed Chester who had sustained only four previous defeats this season. It was exciting stuff from start to finish. In the end two late penalties gave a rather over-comfortable look to the final score since Beverley RUFC had been forced to mount a tremendous rearguard for most of the second half to protect a six point lead. Not that Beverley RUFC were outplayed.
Their first half performance was as good as anything we have seen all season and it was only after they were disrupted by injuries to two key forwards that they rather lost their momentum after the break.
Beverley RUFC started with great gusto and tore into their opponents. Within two minutes Tom Moody broke through only to be denied inches from the line. But play was brought back for an earlier offside offence and Phil Duboulay slotted the easy penalty to give Beverley RUFC the lead. Lloyd Hayes levelled the scores with a penalty for Chester but Beverley RUFC were not to be denied and deservedly went ahead again with a converted try on ten minutes. A Beverley RUFC back move on halfway sent Sam Atiola cutting inside from the right wing to set up a maul from which Craig Hancock showed a fine turn of speed to race over near the posts.
Beverley RUFC suffered a double blow on eighteen minutes when they lost number eight Fraley Hopa with a neck injury and then gave away a penalty which Hayes converted to reduce the lead to 10-6. Chester were fighting hard to get back into the match but they had their work cut out trying to contain a rampant home side who were playing their best rugby of the season.
Beverley RUFC found it hard going in the scrums but their lineout work until Hopa’s departure was sound enough and the slick movement and support play in the loose was first class.
On twenty eight minutes they stretched further ahead when Duboulay made a lovely break in midfield and put Richard Bussey away for second try. Turning round 15-6 up was no less than Beverley RUFC deserved for a wholehearted first half display.
After the break Chester came at them with renewed vigour and with a clear intent on turning the game round. Only a superb tackle by Stanley Gene prevented a try almost from the kickoff but Hayes soon kicked a penalty to bring it to 15-9. Chester were back to within a converted try of taking the lead. And how they went for it.
Chester have a fast and lively backline and they used it to attack at every opportunity. But Beverley RUFC’s defending was quite superb. They tackled like terriers with Gene and Junior Tupai in the centre especially getting through a mountain of work. For all their second half pressure Chester never once succeeded in crossing the Beverley RUFC line.
With Beverley RUFC’s Rob Marsdon limping off the loss of two of their big men left the scrum under pressure. Their lineout became less reliable and the scrum itself began to look distinctly lightweight. Basic errors started creeping into their game but the defending never faltered. Beverley RUFC were lucky to see two Hayes penalty attempts go wide and a yellow card for Mark Hatfield merely added to the nail biting finish as Beverley RUFC strove to keep their opponents out.
Although they were seldom out of their own half in the later stages they stuck at it superbly and with an odd twist of fate at the death turned a hard-fought victory into a comfortable one. Totally against the run of play Duboulay kicked a penalty and then added another in injury time when Chester were penalised for holding on after Goran Jelencic had kicked ahead into the visitors’ 22.
Given the quality of the opposition this was probably Beverley RUFC’s best performance of the season and victory over a very good Chester side will certainly have given the other teams in the relegation fight something to think about.
Reported by John Nursey | Final score Beverley RUFC 21 Chester RUFC 9
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