A fine day, a lovely ground, superb conditions; all that was needed here was an afternoon of good rugby. Plenty of good rugby there was but unfortunately most of it came from Percy Park. Beverley had an afternoon to forget. They had a poor first half and the second was mostly pretty average although in an exciting finish they did nearly snatch victory.
The first half was an altogether disjointed affair largely due to some pedantic refereeing by Mr Ben Davis whose whistle was seldom silent. By half-time nineteen penalties had been awarded – an average of one every two minutes. Not that this was any excuse for some disappointing play by Beverley. They had plenty of early possession and tried to play an expansive game, but it was hard to remember a back move which did not founder through a poor pass or wrong decision.
After five minutes the home side nearly went ahead with a penalty but Toby Davison’s kick, which from the stand looked to have sailed straight between the posts, was adjudged to be wide. Beverley then had another let-off from a missed penalty after backchat to the referee had cost them ten metres and taken the kick to within easy range.
After twenty minutes sloppy play eventually cost Beverley dear. A home kick upfield was allowed to bounce, Percy Park gathered and took play to the Beverley line where flanker Liam Scott went over for a converted try. Immediately from the restart Beverley lost a lineout on their own throw, Percy Park kicked upfield, and centre Guy Pike sprinted over from 30 metres for a second converted try.
The home side were playing with much more composure and control than Beverley. A yellow card had looked increasingly likely and it duly arrived ten minutes before halftime when James McKay was dismissed for persistent offending. Tom Carr briefly raised Beverley hopes with a spirited run down the left but nothing came of it and they turned round 14-0 down. They were lucky it was not more.
Things could only get better for Beverley. You always felt they had the wherewithal to turn things round but they struggled to produce it. At last a superb try by Lee Birch did spark them into life. A loose ball in Beverley’s half was moved right and Phil Duboulay put Birch away on halfway.
Two or three defenders in his path are seldom a problem for Birch and he glided under the posts for a try which he converted himself. A Birch penalty then brought Beverley back to 10-14. Another try would give them the lead. Sadly, discipline in their own 22 has never been one of Beverley’s strong points and a careless infringement allowed Davison to restore the seven point lead.
With ten minutes left a draw now looked the best that Beverley could hope for, especially as Percy Park were playing with increasing confidence and control. But Beverley had considerably upped their game in the second half and they went for it in determined fashion.
A lovely try by Junior Tupai carving through the defence from forty metres was vintage stuff from the Beverley skipper. Birch’s conversion brought the scores level. Five minutes left. It was now an exciting finish as Beverley threw everything into going for a winning try. Sadly a home foray into the Beverley 22 led to the inevitable penalty and Davison had a simple kick to see Percy Park narrowly home.
Beverley could have few complaints. At this level you cannot afford to wait until the second half before you start getting your act together.
Luckily Beverley defended well – Joe Pickets in particular tackling anything in sight – and if they had played the first half as they did the second Beverley would almost certainly have had a comfortable win. But overall it was a disappointing day.
Beverley have enough quality to make an impact in this league but they will not want too many more performances like this.
Final Score : Percy Park 20 Beverley RUFC 17 | Reported by John Nursey
