Beavers U11s Return From South Yorkshire With Silverware

Beverley RUFC u11s came home from Doncaster on Sunday with some well-earned silverware. Their first pool match with Selby was an evenly matched and hard-fought affair, ending in a scoreless draw. The next match, against Sheffield A, was equally tight and Beverley were unlucky to let a try past them early in the first half.

Digging in deep they continued to play good team rugby, the match ending one try to nil. The pool matches finished with Beverley, and Selby tied and, after a short lunch break, a rematch was called to decide the pool rankings. A scoreless first half saw some hard rugby from both teams.

Despite some strong defensive work and some superb confident play from Laws, Selby finally succeeded in crashing through the Beverley back line, sending Beverley out of the hunt for the competition Cup and into a final game against Wortley for the Plate.

By now, the sunny spring weather had deteriorated, and the hail was lashing down. The boys focused well and were unlucky when, after several phases of good defensive play, they let Wortley get in the one extra pass, they needed to get a man over the line.
Trailing one-nil, the second half needed something inspirational – and the boys delivered. A couple of well-timed passes from Coughlin and Lawley set Barnard up with just the space he needed on the right to stretch the defence and score an equaliser. The clock was ticking down when, with just a few minutes left, a beautiful supporting run down the left wing by Lazenby saw him collect the ball from Barnard and set off for the try line.

Unfortunately, he was pulled up short by a crunching tackle from the Wortley defence. Receiving a badly jarred shoulder for his troubles, Lazenby’s game was over and Beverley were down to 11 men. The remaining Beverley forwards rose to the challenge, pinning Wortley against their try line. With just seconds to go, a quick ball collected from the base of a ruck saw Crockett dive through for the winning try.

This win was richly deserved with a lot of the rugby across all four matches being of a high standard, and mistakes few and far between. Beverley were unlucky to lose some very hard fought and close matches during the day, and their determination and self-belief paid off. The forwards played well together, with Dixon slotting into his new role of hooker with his usual prowess. Ashley too, starting in the forwards for the first time this season, looked comfortable all day.

At times, Lawley’s work in the loose was inspirational and, together with Coughlin and Dixon. He set up numerous attacks for the Beverley backs, whilst Lazenby’s runs got stronger as the day wore on. In the backs, Gunn had a great game at full back and put down a strong marker for claiming the position. Barnard, at fly half, had a strong game putting in countless tackles.

Man of the match though went to the scorer of the winning try, Crockett, playing at scrum half for the first, but probably not the last time this season.