Another afternoon of thrilling rugby and another good win for Beverley RUFC. Beverley at the moment are in a rich vein of form, averaging over 35 points a game in their latest ten matches. Not that today’s win was by any means a pushover. Sandal despite having several players out with long term injuries still came here on the back of a six game unbeaten run. They came to win and even when 20-3 down were still going for it with some ambitious attacking rugby. That Beverley ended up comfortable winners was largely due to their being a bit sharper in the backs and also making better use of the windy conditions. They also slightly had the upper hand in the forwards.
Both sides started at a cracking pace. Ian Jackson was wide with a penalty for Sandal in the first minute and when play switched to the other end Phil Duboulay lost the ball on the point of touching down after cutting clean through. Play swung from end to end. It was cracking rugby with two good attacking sides countered by two hard-tackling ones.
Beverley eventually broke the deadlock after eighteen minutes with a well struck penalty into the wind by Dubaulay. On half an hour they went eight points clear through a fine try touched down by Aaron Carroll after James Holland had burst clear through the middle. With both sides tackling each other out of the game scoring chances were rare despite plenty of endeavour and ambition. Sandal eventually got on the scoreboard on the stroke of halftime when Duboulay was penalised and yellow carded for a high tackle. From the touchline it looked a pretty harsh decision and it was certainly not well received by the spectators. Jackson kicked the penalty to take the score to 8-3 at the interval.
There were only five points in it as they started the second half. Beverley needed an early score to give them a bit more of a comfort zone while for Sandal a converted try would give them the lead. For some time it could have gone either way. Beverley then got the crucial score when Duboulay hacked a loose ball deep into the Sandal 22 from where it was moved quickly left to Junior Tupai who touched down wide out on the opposite flank.
Three minutes later the outcome was as good as settled when Beverley took a quick tap penalty and a clever inside pass from Tupai to Holland completely opened up the Sandal defence. The Beverley skipper simply cruised over for a third try which Duboulay converted. Seventeen points behind at 20-3 it was really all up for Sandal but they never stopped going for the win. Both sides might easily have added to their score but each was denied by fine defending. With ball in hand Beverley probably looked the more dangerous with Richard Bussey, Lee Birch, Tupai, and Tomasi Tanumi all making some scything runs
After a long spell of Sandal pressure on the Beverley line their lock Jim Stewart got over for a converted try. At 20-10 Sandal might still have got back into it but a fourth Beverley try touched down by Tonci Buzov late on finally settled it. Duboulay’s conversion rebounded from the post but the win and the important four try bonus point had been secured.
A feature of the game was the tremendous endeavour shown throughout by both sides and the fine spirit in which the match was played. Sandal will have been disappointed in the end to go down by fifteen points while Beverley will have taken great satisfaction from another good all round team effort. The absence of several first team players with injuries was hardly noticed and Carroll, who filled in for Joe Pickets at number six, was deservedly voted man of the match. Beverley’s next fixture away at Stockport in a fortnight will be another stiff test but on this form they should go into the match with plenty of confidence.
John Nursey
