Beverley Sitting Pretty For Christmas

Beverley RUFC opened the second half of their league season in fine style. Morpeth for the second time this season were unlucky to come up against them when they were in rampant mood. One breathtaking try simply followed another. The young home side stuck at it bravely and never gave up but they were never able to come to terms with the experience and sheer pace of the visitors who exuded confidence in all areas.

Beverley RUFC kicked off under a grey Northumberland sky and were fifteen points up in as many minutes. Phil Duboulay got them on their way with a penalty after three minutes, Tomasi Tanumi touched down in the corner, and James Holland forced his way over for a second try when Morpeth conceded a scrum on their own line. Beverley RUFC were in full flow and already a big score looked on the cards.

Morpeth were never allowed to get going and could make little impact, especially outside the scrum where their runners were nearly always cut down before they could cross the gain line. Beverley RUFC in contrast looked likely to score whenever they ran the ball, and they ran it from anywhere. Their support play was terrific and their passing lightning quick. Few sides in the league could have lived with them today.

Holland added another try on twenty five minutes when he picked up and stormed over after Beverley RUFC took a ball against the head five metres out. James Phillips kicked a penalty for Morpeth to get them going but on the stroke of halftime Junior Tupai gathered a lovely high kick to the corner from Tom Steadman and touched down for Beverley RUFC’s fourth try.

A red card for Sam Kerry after a brief fracas left Beverley RUFC a man short for the whole of the second half but they made light of it. They turned round 25-3 up and quickly added another twelve points. The first try, in the first minute of the half when they ran the ball from their own line, was the highlight of the day. Duboulay made a lovely break, Lee Birch carried it on and terrific interplay in midfield left Sam Atiola racing clear for forty metres to the posts. This try on its own made the long journey to Northumberland worthwhile.

Two tries in the space of a minute from Leki Atiola and Steadman took Beverley RUFC to 44 points with a quarter of the game still left. Morpeth however stuck at it and deservedly got a try when prop Karl Campbell crashed over with Phillips adding the conversion. Up front Morpeth gave it everything in attack but they could seldom escape the clutches of the Beverley RUFC back row of David Worrall, Joe Picketts and Holland. Manu Kirkwood and Alex Ogilvie too both had splendid games. On one occasion Kirkwood broke clear and found himself facing the alarming prospect of a fifty metre sprint to the line but luckily support suddenly appeared at his shoulder.

Holland went over for his third try and Sam Atiola added another to take Beverley RUFC over the fifty point mark. They would have had yet another had Leki Atiola not foolishly indulged in some triumphalist posturing as he raced over. He was rightly penalised and hopefully it will be a salutary lesson. Triumphalism of this sort appears to be acceptable in international rugby but is totally out of place in club rugby where a more sportsmanlike attitude is expected.

An unusual feature of the match was the rare off-day Duboulay had with his kicking, slotting only four of his nine conversion attempts. But it was of little consequence. Beverley RUFC can now look forward to Christmas with thirteen wins out of fourteen under their belt, and 45 points or more notched up in over half of them. In only one match have they failed to get a bonus point. All this and ten points clear at the top of the league at Christmas. You cannot ask for more than that.

Final Score : Morpeth 10 Beverley RUFC 54 | Reported by John Nursey