Four Tries From Beavers Keep Survival Hopes Alive

An enthralling match. It was fast, furious and never dull and it all ended happily for Beverley RUFC at Beaver Park. The upshot was that with the win and four-try bonus point Beverley RUFC are now level pegging in the scrap for the probable last remaining position of safety.

 

Now it is all to play for and with two games left the outcome looks certain to go to the wire. If Beverley RUFC can see it through with this level of performance they must surely have every chance of maintaining their National League Three status. Today was a mighty close run thing for much of the time but they played superbly and in the end two late converted tries left them with a comfortable victory.

Despite having little to play for Sandal came here fully intent on winning and they contributed hugely to a fast and thrilling encounter. Both sides ran hard and attacked from anywhere on the field. Sandal were well directed by Greg Wood at fly half and their backline always looked dangerous but their big pack was largely outplayed by the Beverley RUFC eight who were once again outstanding.

Oddly enough in spite of all the attacking play by both sides clear cut scoring chances were few and far between in the first half. Junior Tupai, Sam Atiola, and Goran Jelencic all made penetrating breaks for Beverley RUFC who probably had the edge in the backs. Up front Jon Stephenson, Brendon Hannam, and Tom Moody in the back row frequently made good ground but clear openings were hard to find against solid Sandal defending.

Eventually Beverley RUFC did look certain to take the lead with a penalty in front of the posts, but mindful of the need four tries they opted for a scrum and lost the ball against the head. Luckily for them the disappointment was short-lived. In a similar situation five minutes later Ian Archibald caught the visitors napping with a quickly taken tap penalty and Hanna went in at the corner for the only score of the half.

Sandal started the second half in determined fashion and in three minutes took the lead. Play swept from one end of the field to the other through Beverley RUFC twice losing possession by dithering at the base of the scrum and Wood touched down then converted his own try in the corner. It was a lead that lasted only a matter of minutes. Clever interplay between Tupai and Atiola in the centre left Atiola racing clear from fifteen metres to put Beverley RUFC back in front at 10-7.

After that the game was always finely poised.One minute Beverley RUFC looked capable of scoring a bundle of tries and running away with it, the next Sandal looked odds on to snatch victory. When Wood levelled the scores with a drop goal a tense finish seemed certain. Beverley RUFC rotated their bench bringing on Craig Hancock, Mike Bradshaw and newcomer Tom Steadman for Hannam, Archibald and hooker Tom Bagnall, all the departing players having put in a good stint.

Tupai in the Beverley RUFC centre became increasingly influential as the game wore on, several times using the wind to good advantage and always a threat with the ball inhand. One long raking kick into the Sandal22 brought a lineout which Fraley Hopa stole on the Sandal throw. The ball was moved quickly across field and Tupai cut clean through for a try which he converted himself.

Five minutes from time it was all finally done and dusted. Hopa made a scintillating run through the visitors’ defence and touched down under the posts for a converted try to give Beverley RUFC an unassailable fourteen point lead.

Sandal fought fiercely to the end but to no avail. It had been a tough match played in a good spirit and thrilling to watch. Much credit for this should go to the refereeing of Steve Penfold who handled the game unobtrusively and with the minimum of fuss throughout. Would that we saw more referees like him.

Final Score: Beverley RUFC 24 Sandal 10 | Reported By John Nursey

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