Beverley RUFC managed to lift themselves up to 5th in the Yorkshire County League One after an entertaining match at Beaver Park against West Leeds.
Both teams played inconsistently throughout the 80 minutes, but the neutrals will have found this an entertaining try-fest. Lack of structure and plenty of mistakes will have left both coaching teams frustrated, final score 42 – 29.
Beverley RUFC will welcome Keighley to East Yorkshire this Saturday as they look to end a three-game losing streak at Beaver Park.
This will be a testing fixture for Craig Hancock and his side with the visitors in good form. Keighley has won their last three matches while Beverley has failed to win in their last three games.
Beverley suffered a defeat in the local derby as they were beaten 50-36 by Hullensians. The Beavers had hoped for better ahead of the game but crashed to their third consecutive defeat.
It was not all doom and gloom for head coach Craig Hancock and his side. When they did get the ball they showed they can. However, it was Hullensians who opened the scoring early on.
Beverley RUFC coach Craig Hancock has praised his side after their win which saw them move to the top of the table. It was the perfect result for the club on a historic day at Beaver Park.
Visitors Dinnington RFC suffered a heavy defeat in the East Yorkshire sunshine by a rampant Beverley team losing 80-7. It means Beverley is the only unbeaten side in the league and also has a 100pc record after three games.
Dinnington RFC suffered a heavy defeat in east Yorkshire as they were beaten 80-7 by Beverley at Beaver Park.
This is a big season for the club which is marking 50 years of playing at Beaver Park. To honour that anniversary the club is playing in the same style strip they did five decades ago.
The first game of the 22/23 season kicked off for Beverley RUFC away at newly promoted Wetherby RUFC, so the Beavers were unsure what their opponents had to offer.
It was the first time that they had ever played in Yorkshire Division One and wanted to put in a fine performance in memory of life-long member Jerome Connolly.
Not necessarily the sort of last game Director of Rugby John Harris would have wished for before retiring after his long and devoted stint with the club.
What promised to be an open encounter with plenty of running rugby in fine conditions with nothing at stake for either side sadly descended into a farcical finish.
After a bruising encounter last week at top of the table Middlesbrough, where Beverley represented themselves well but didn’t bring back any points, an away trip to the bottom of the table Bradford Salem looked an easier fixture, but there are no easy fixtures in Yorkshire one when you’re going through a transitional phase with the team and under a new head coach.
That head coach, Craig Hancock, was very pleased by the end of the afternoon having had a hard-fought battle with the home team who were looking for their third consecutive victory at home.
The supporters and guests at Beaver Park were treated to one more early Christmas present with another thrilling game of rugby between top of the table Old Crossleyans and Beverley.
Both teams battled to the end and delivered a very entertaining game of rugby, very well refereed by Simon Franks who allowed a fierce competition to ensue without too much incident and saw the home team give the top team only their second defeat of the season, Beverley 25 – 15 Old Crossleyans.
A game between third and fourth prior to the fixture was always going to be a tight affair and so it proved on a filthy day at Beaver Park.
Selby kicked off towards the clubhouse and straight away Beverley were able to sustain possession through a series of phases and pin back Selby back with some clever kicking by Phil Duboulay. With the lineout and scrum functioning better than in recent weeks the Beavers were able to establish some control.
In perfect playing conditions both sides contributed to an enjoyable game in the crisp autumn sunshine providing plenty of entertaining running rugby.
Beverley RUFC were clearly the classier of the two teams and they turned it on in the second half with some exhilarating play to bring them a comfortable victory.
A bit of a curate’s egg here. There were flashes of scintillating rugby, mainly from Beverley, but for the most part this game never rose above the mundane.
Beverley deservedly won in the end but they made heavy weather of it. They were the better side but they were never quite at their best, probably through being without several of their key players.
Beverley RUFC will be looking to make it six wins in a row as the Beavers head to bottom of the table North Ribblesdale in the only league fixture of the day.
The Beavers have been in rich vein of form beating Old Brodleians, Keighley, Hullensians, Bradford Salem and Yarnbury in consecutive games.
Robert Smith who scored four tries in Beverley RUFC’s win over Harrogate says he is pleased to be back at the club and is looking forward to the new season.
Monsoon like rain throughout Friday night left the Beverley RUFC First team pitch waterlogged and this match was therefore transferred to the No 2 pitch which was also very wet but at least playable.