Stunning Start To The Season For Beverley Braves

It was almost a perfect start to the new season when new signing Harry Inman nearly scored within the first few minutes with a brilliant run and although there was no points on the board it certainly sent the right message to the opposition and set the tone of the game.

Connor Davies, back from a lengthy lay off, tackled with renewed vigour and was so impressive. Another near try followed when full back Joe Wardill crossed the white wash but was deemed to have touched the corner flag. The Braves continued to pile on the pressure and broke down the defence when Inman made another superb run twisting his way over the line to open the score for Beverley.

With continued pressure it was not long before Inman expertly twisted his way through the Tigers line again to place the ball firmly under the posts, converted well by Owen Harrison. Beverley piled on the pressure now and Wardill made a strong run from his own line, pushing aside strong defensive tackles and released Will Johnson whose support play was nothing short of superb. Johnson pulled away from the chasing players to score a fantastic try with Harrison converting once again.

The team play was great to watch and all those long hours at training were definitely paying dividends. Keegan Bartlett made a scintillating cross field kick which was expertly taken by Harry Bell to score another great try. Harrison added the two points. Darren Benstead showed everything he has got today with tackle after tackle and as aggressive as always.

Wardill added to his tally with another lovely try with Harrison securing the extra points. Callum Officer did some powerful runs as always and is so solid in the middle with hookers Jay Black and Nathan Collinson both consistently passing the ball well. Dylan Clifford’s pure strength was rewarded with an immense run and he literally forced his way through numerous Cottingham players to secure a deserved try.

Harrison added the conversion. The Braves passed the ball around the field with great accuracy and as it passed through many hands it found Johnson who scored another great try. Continuing the attacking play the ball then found James McGahey who passed it cleanly to Wardill who released it back to McGahey who charged over the line for a first class try. Harrison converted to make the half time score an impressive 44 – 0 to the Braves.
McGahey, as influential as ever, then made another inch perfect pass for a charging Clifford which completely split the Tigers line for a simple yet stunning try. Harrison again kicked for the extra points. Clifford followed this with another storming run which saw him release James Sherwin who was waiting on his shoulder to add further points.

Sherwin then added another try as he used his pace to be on the end of another fantastic kick from Bartlett. Harry Bulleyment nearly secured a try of his own after a lovely set move worked with Bell. By this time Cottingham were really struggling with injuries and were loosing players fast so to even the game Beverley took further players from the field to keep it fair.

The Braves had a lot of respect for the Tigers as they wanted to continue the game and keep battling and were rewarded with two tries of their own before Harrison scored and converted his own try to finish the game 64 – 12. Man of the match was Will Johnson who is a complete all rounder being really strong both in attack and defence.

Reported by Sue Wardill