Chester Vs Beverley RUFC

Chester 28 Beverley RFC 18

After two fine victories to get their season going this was a rather disappointing performance by Beverley who looked a shadow of the side that had played such sparkling rugby in their previous two games.  They were not helped by early injuries to and but they had a strangely pedestrian look about them and nearly all the good rugby came from Chester.  The game itself was not up to much either.  Somehow it never really got going.  It had its occasional moments but mostly it spluttered along with numerous stoppages for set scrums and injuries.  An appalling din from the tannoy blasting out pop music before the game and after every Chester score also helped to make this a day you wanted to forget.

Beverley started brightly in spite of losing Tupai after only nine minutes.  They led from an Ian Archibald penalty before disaster struck on twenty minutes.  After crashing headlong into an opponent Jelencic was left lying motionless on the ground and was out cold for the best part of ten minutes during which time the players returned to the dressing rooms.  It was a disturbing and worrying few minutes for both players and spectators.  Happily he was eventually able to walk with assistance from the pitch but it almost certainly had an unsettling effect on the Beverley side and perhaps for this reason they never quite looked the same again.

Fly half Rhys Hayes levelled the scores with a penalty for Chester and then put them ahead with a try after Beverley had lost their own lineout five metres out.  With halftime approaching a Beverley clearance kick failed to find touch, Chester counter attacked, and Hayes was on hand to gather a chip through and touch down.  Ten points adrift it looked like being a long afternoon for Beverley.  Disrupted by the loss of two key backs they could produce little fluency in their movement, or accuracy in their passing.  Duboulay, who otherwise had a good match, strangely persisted in kicking the ball down the throats of opponents who merely ran back with menace.  Richard Bussey and Jade Gardiner made several powerful runs but poor passing meant nothing ever came of it.  In the absence of Tupai Beverley looked generally disjointed in the centre although wing forward acquitted himself splendidly on the wing after Jelencic went off.

None the less, Beverley somehow managed to keep in touch right to the end.  A lovely break by Duboulay sent Bussey in at the corner and at 13-8 Beverley turned round only one score behind.  Sadly Bussey was less impressive in his defending than in his attacking.  The second half was only five minutes old when he was caught dithering on his own line and winger Marcus Lyon pounced to cross for a third Chester try.  Back came Beverley with a fine jinking try by Phil Dale under the posts which Archibald converted.  Again only one score in it, but again Chester stretched ahead when poor tackling let Hayes in for a fourth try.

Part of Beverley’s problem was that once bogged down in their own half they invariably made heavy weather of getting out of it.  This meant they were able to make little impression at the other end.  A splendid run by David Worrall did nearly bring a try, as did another from Bussey, before Archibald kicked a long range penalty to reduce the deficit once again to five points at 23-18.  Needing only a converted try the chance was still there for Beverley to snatch victory, harsh though it would have been for Chester who had been the better side throughout.  Sadly for Beverley with five minutes left a poor clearance kick out of defence and more dithering on their own line led to winger Gareth Coy powering his way over in the corner for a fifth Chester try which finally settled it.

Related Links –

Pictures from the Bandits Vs Bridlington

Pictures from the Beverley RUFC 2nd XV Vs Pocklington



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