Game day for Beverley Braves and this was probably the biggest game of their careers to date. A large crowd had come to support the youngsters against a top division one Yorkshire side. It was their greatest challenge so far and they had the perfect start as James Sherwin forced an error with a strong tackle.
It was not long though before Oulton started the attack and despite fantastic defensive play from Callum Officer the Raiders found a gap out wide and scored the first points. Within minutes Beverley’s concentration had lapsed and the Raiders punished them with another try.
Shell shocked, the Braves looked totally dominated but an incredible pass from James McGahey found Dylan Clifford charging through at speed and he broke the line and powered over the white wash for a superb try.
This was just what the Braves needed and gave them the confidence to fight back and give the Raiders an excellent game of rugby. Owen Harrison showed his strength making a great run and kept pumping his legs making excellent yards despite several players hanging off him. The Braves were not afraid and hit the attackers hard. Harry Bulleyment came on from the bench and powered down the middle of the pitch with impressive runs.
The pace was electric and Beverley were forcing errors by the visiting team. Jay Black was again strong against much bigger players tackling low and hard and pressure on Oulton’s line almost resulted in a try when Bulleyment was held up.
Will Johnson, despite carrying an injury, was putting in fantastic defensive tackles time and time again with relentless determination.
Oulton had a run down the wing and came close to scoring but Joe Wardill forced the player into touch with a perfectly timed cover tackle. Beverley almost held them to the half time whistle but a moments lapse saw another try to make the half time score 4 – 18.
Beverley remained confident as they came out for the second half. They knew this would be the test as with only one sub because of injuries fatigue, at the pace the game was being played, is always a threat against a top side who also had the luxury of four subs.
Beverley had early pressure following a brilliant high kick from Harrison but decisions were not going Beverley’s way as a period of pressure on the visiting line was released with a succession of penalties against them. They had to dig deep and a brace of tries from Oulton pulled the game beyond the reach of Beverley.
They should be proud of their commitment as this did not deter them from continuing to take the game to the Raiders. Nathan Collinson distributed the ball around well yet again and Darren Benstead had a stunning game giving one hundred percent.
Conor Egan and Keenan Barker worked tirelessly down the left side of the pitch and Connor Davies runs were strong and hard breaking tackles time and time again.
In the end this classy side could not be broken and deserved the win but the score does not reflect the amount of possession Beverley had as they took the game to them and for this they should be so proud.
Final score 4 – 42 but the Braves played from the heart and should be applauded for their endeavour and feisty performance against such an excellent opposition. Man of the match voted for by the opposition was Joe Wardill for a great game at full back.
Reported by Sue Wardill
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