Beverley End The Year In Fine Style

 

A workmanlike display and a good win for Beverley. Apart from a scrappy twenty minute spell in the second half this was an enjoyable but unspectacular game.

Five tries all converted by Phil Duboulay, although one was unaccountably disallowed, saw Beverley home. It means they arrive at Christmas sitting comfortably in sixth place in National League Three, a situation they would probably have been happy to settle for at the start of the season. It would have been higher had several games not been thrown away through carelessness after having been all but won.

After Duboulay had struck the upright with an early penalty attempt Beverley took the lead when Percy Park lost the ball and James Holland burst thirty metres into the visitors 22. The ball was moved quickly left and Goran Jelencic easily outpaced his opposing wing for the game’s first try. Jelencic was on hand again after twenty minutes when he came in off the wing to cut through the middle for a second try following a penalty line-out on the 22.

Percy Park were playing with plenty of spirit but they found it difficult to break through some solid Beverley defending. A missed penalty by wing Toby Davison was the nearest they came to scoring and it was no surprise when Beverley stretched further ahead with a third try touched down by Sam Kerry who powered his way over from 30 metres.

21-0 up Beverley looked comfortable with halftime approaching but within a minute of each other James Holland and Joe Pickets were both yellow carded. It left Beverley with a sticky ten minutes to get through at the start of the second half. In fact down to thirteen they more than held their own and would have scored a fourth try had Junior Tupai released Davison outside him instead of cutting back inside.

For twenty minutes play got very scrappy and Percy Park steadily worked themselves more into the match. For the second consecutive home game and from an identical position an ill advised hoof from scrum half presented the opposition with an easy try. Percy Park gathered the ball in midfield and substitute flanker Johnny Dubois touched down with Davison adding the conversion from wide out.

21-7 up Beverley still looked comfortable but it might have all gone pear shaped had Percy Park not knocked on when they won a lineout on the Beverley line. What Beverley needed was another try to seal the win and get the four try bonus point. However, for a lengthy spell it was Percy Park who looked the more likely scorers and it was only good defending that was keeping them out.

With a quarter of an hour left Beverley regained the initiative and they cruised home with two late tries. Davison from full back started it with a fine forty metre break out of defence and Rob Smith got the ball away quickly from the resulting ruck to set up an attack down the left. Slick handling and Tomasi Tanumi was sprinting clear through the middle for the bonus try.

In the dying minutes the gloom was such that play on the far side of the pitch was barely discernable. But Beverley were home and dry and they ended the game with a try by Pickets who harried the home defence on their own line and somehow seized the ball to touch down.

It was a good win for Beverley and there were several fine performances. It almost goes without saying that the back row of Tonci Buzov, Pickets, and Holland were hugely influential, Duboulay had an outstanding game with his kicking and tackling and Smith had an impressive ten minutes at scrum half while Tom Steadman was in the sin-bin.

Steadman is a talented young player but if he is to persevere at scrum half Beverley will need to prevail upon him to tidy up his passing and eliminate ill advised kicking from the base of the scrum.

Final Score: Beverley RUFC 33  Percy Park 7 | Reported by John Nursey

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