The last few years have seen Beverley Braves start the rugby season against top team Skirlaugh Bulls and this was no exception. A blustery morning at Longcroft saw Skirlaugh pile on the pressure from the off and Beverley were forced to defend their own line.
Skirlaugh broke through but a try saving tackle from Beverley knocked the ball from their hands for what would have been a certain try.
Confident though, Skirlaugh knew they had Beverley on the back foot and their centre broke free to open the scoring for the visiting side. Braves kicked off and the chasers made Skirlaugh knock on giving Beverley their first run in the Bulls half but whether it was nerves, their constant need to keep the ball alive resulted in many loose balls being dropped.
Crunching tackles from Callum Officer could be heard clearly on the side line and Kurt Pelham throughout the match made some text book tackles, going in low and hard and stopping the players in their tracks.
Newcomer James Sherwin battled hard in defence and looked very fast going forward. The Bulls continued to find gaps though and scored another 2 tries despite hard work from the defence.
Officer went in again stunning the Skirlaugh player and forcing the knock on and from the resulting scrum Joe Wardill broke free to power over the line and place the ball down under the sticks, Owen Harrison kicked to bring the score to 6 – 14 at half time.
Against the wind in the second half, Beverley knew they had to work hard to halt this side. Skirlaugh responded with another try as Beverley could not complete a set of six. The Braves were making it so hard for themselves as a failure to hold on to the ball meant they were constantly having to defend.
Harvey Lazenby made some excellent kicks under pressure and Harrison’s work rate is to be applauded especially considering his age. Special mention must go to Harry Gray as Skirlaugh’s outstanding centre broke free and ran over the line.
Gray did not stop chasing though and before he could put the ball down to score Gray flung the player and ball over the dead ball line stopping a certain try. Skirlaugh scored twice more though to edge the game away from Beverley but the Braves did not give up. Jamie Branton tackled non stop and James McGahey worked tirelessly both in attack and defence. Jay Black’s passes throughout the whole match were faultless.
Beverley were finally rewarded as an outstanding run from Dylan Clifford, side stepping the Bulls defence saw a much deserved try for the home side and bring the final score to 12 – 38.
Man of the match went deservedly to Clifford as his defensive work rate was stunning. Beverley’s effort was awesome throughout the match but their performance sadly let them down putting themselves under immense pressure.
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