Beverley Braves Dig Deep But Are Beaten By West Hull

With 12 players available only the ultimate team performance would get anything from this game for Beverley Braves under 13s. An away game at West Hull is difficult enough, being one player short and therefore, with no replacements either this was going to be an uphill struggle.

Beverley dug deep and came up with that great team performance, working really hard for each other and keeping the errors down to a minimum. With solid defence, they cut the opportunities for Wests down and made a number for themselves which with a little luck, or even that extra man may have borne fruit.

The patched up pack led superbly by Ethan Rowbotham tackled their bigger opposite numbers with enthusiasm, Rowbotham was the top tackler with second row colleague Oliver Gresswell not far behind him. Props Tom Cohen and Mathew Brown drove the ball up throughout the match and ensured the Braves cleared their own line. Off the back of this go forward hooker Jack Turner began to find some gaps, and his distribution ensured the backs had time to cause the Wests defence trouble.

West Hull scored on the left quite early in the first half to make it four nil but the Braves did not let their heads go down, battling to the other end of the field with centre William Wallis causing problems out wide, whilst on the opposite side Ryan Deane had a great defensive game, earning him the joint man of the match.

Unable to make the most of their field position Beverley soon found themselves on the back foot, and West Hull scored under the sticks after sustained pressure on the Beverley line. Even at 8nil down the Braves showed no sign of their heads going down and when Rowbotham stole the ball after a loose carry from the Wests prop they had an opportunity to exert some of their own pressure.

At half-back, Lewis Egan probed and jinked before releasing his outside backs whilst Marcus Walker took the line on well, passes to Wallis and Ben Hodder timed to perfection by both half backs gave them an opportunity to attack. There was no further score in the first half, but this was partly down to a brilliant cover tackle from William Kirkup after a 60 metre break from the Wests wing who had fielded a Braves kick close to his own line.

The second half started badly for the Braves with West Hull scoring a converted try from their first set. Again at 14nil the Braves knew they could still get something from the game and played the rest of the half in that frame of mind. The team work was typified by full back Ewan Morton, who came into the line several times to take the workload off the forwards who had done such a great job.

Hodder and Wallis had half- breaks and Deane was a finger tip away from securing an interception.
The Braves were not going to give up. Walker then produced the moment of the match, chipping over the top, he re-gathered the ball wrong footed one defender before racing towards the line. The Wests full back just managed to grab his shirt five metres from the line but such a piece of skill not only needed to be recognised with a try but would have been a great reflection of the effort put in by the whole Braves team.

A tiring Beverley defence let West Hull break from a scrum inside their own 20 metres. The Wests player was seemingly clear but in a footrace for the line Kirkup (the other joint man of the match) managed to pull him down just a few metres short. There may have been a suggestion of a double movement but the West Hull player placed the ball over the line under the sticks and with the conversion, it was 20-0.

Back came the Braves again Gresswell having a great run and when they won a penalty 30 metres out slightly to the right of the posts Walker stepped up to coolly slot it over and ensure Beverley had some points for their efforts and were not nilled.

The battle continued with Beverley defending their own line as the final whistle sounded. A fantastic backs to the wall team performance from the depleted Braves which saw notable contributions from all on the field, a real positive for the season ahead and something they should be proud of.