A humdinger of a match. Eighty minutes of thrilling rugby and it all ended appropriately in a tense and nail-biting finale. Had Phil Duboulay’s conversion attempt from the touchline with the last action of the match not narrowly dropped the wrong side of the crossbar after bouncing off the post Beverley RUFC would have got the draw they deserved. Darlington, given the relative league positions, might have expected an easy ride here. They certainly did not get it and in the end were probably more than happy to hear the final whistle.
It all began disastrously for Beverley RUFC. Within a minute of the start they were 7- 0 down after Darlington burst through some dilatory tackling and wing forward Luke Wisnowski touched down to leave fly half Tom Hodgson with an easy conversion. Eight minutes later it got worse. Beverley RUFC were attacking in the visitors’ 22 when the ball was cleared high but not very far. No Beverley RUFC player was in sight as Darlington winger Chris McTurk caught the ball and sprinted away for seventy metres before sending in centre Chris Peace for a second converted try.
Already 14-0 down and hardly ten minutes gone Beverley RUFC looked in danger of getting blown away. But Beverley RUFC these days are made of sterner stuff. They came back with great determination and crucially got the next score. They broke through in midfield, took play deep into enemy territory through Junior Tupai and Mike Bradshaw, and scored a try with Tom Moody getting the touchdown. Almost immediately they very nearly got another but Sam Atiola after a lovely break threw a wayward pass to winger Ben Johnson who would have had an easy run to the line.
After their sparkling start Darlington began to look less impressive as Beverley RUFC got stuck into them. Hodgson did kick a penalty to increase the lead to 17-5 but Duboulay quickly wiped it out with one for Beverley RUFC. Then on the stroke of halftime Beverley RUFC were right back in the match with an excellent try.
Darlington’s backs were noticeably losing their edge and when they dropped the ball in midfield Tupai pounced, sprinted up the middle and fed Johnson with a delightful flick pass which sent the winger sprinting in at the corner. Duboulay’s conversion from the touchline sailed between the posts. From being 14-0 down in less than ten minutes Beverley RUFC at half time had got back to 15-17.
For twenty minutes the second half was an even affair. Both sides were at their most impressive when going forward and both went hard at it. Suddenly out of the blue Darlington got the breakthrough that eventually clinched the result. Beverley RUFC were penalised for crossing and McTurk caught them half asleep by taking a quick penalty, kicking high to the line and outpacing the defence for a simple touchdown. Beverley RUFC responded determinedly although it was only through a superb last ditch tackle in the corner by Tupai that Darlington winger Paul Shepherd was prevented from increasing the lead even further.
Play swung from end to end but the latter stages increasingly belonged to Beverley RUFC. Only excellent Darlington defending kept them out. Chris Infield foraged well around the fringes and the pack, with Jon Stephenson impressive at number eight, eventually ended up in total control against far meatier opponents. At last the opening came for an easy run-in for Goran Jelencic but Richard Bussey not for the first time ignored men free outside him and hung on.
Eventually Beverley RUFC’s constant pressure did bring its reward with a lovely second try for Johnson who came into the line and raced over at the corner. Duboulay’s conversion attempt from the touchline to level the scores bounced heartbreakingly off the post and that was that. Despite Beverley RUFC’s narrow defeat few spectators will have failed to enjoy what was a marvellous game of rugby. Beverley RUFC may not have won but they did themselves proud, got a useful bonus point, and gave the league’s runaway leaders a good run for their money.
Final Score: Beverley RUFC 20 Darlington Mowden Park 22 | Reported by John Nursey
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