Beverley Braves U13s put in their best performances of the season, the fighting spirit was on a par with the cup win against All Blacks and the game at West Hull when they came away with credit in defeat having played with just twelve players. This time they came away with credit in defeat but in different circumstances as they had a full bench for the first time this year.
Facing into a stiff breeze, the Braves kicked off through Jack Turner who was called on to do more kicking in the game and let nobody down. Defence was going to be key and the Braves tackled well, the usual suspects second rows Ethan Rowbotham and Oliver Gresswell were ably supported by Will Swainston, making his Braves debut.
Whilst the defence was tighter than in recent weeks the Braves continue to make errors in their own half, gifting the opposition field position. It was one such error that Wyke took full opportunity from, scoring the first try with barely four minutes on the clock. The Beverley heads did not go down however and on the back of neat half- back play from Lewis Egan and Ryan Deane the ball found several eager runners. Dan Tree, making his second debut for the Braves after a break of several years, really caught the eye in that respect. Time and again he had the Wyke defenders holding on for dear life as he powered forward like a steam train in a man of the match performance.
The Braves moved the ball up field well with further drives from Matt Brown and elusive running from Archie Murdoch and William Wallis – who were both strong in defence as well – setting up the position for Wallis to power over from acting half-back and level the scores. Wyke now knew there were in a game and it was end to end stuff as both teams looked to get the next score which eventually came to Wyke moving the score to 8-4 at half time with a try on the Braves left.
Half-time allowed a few changes to be made with Tom Cohen showing his versatility once again switching from the wing to the pack and Will Kirkup replacing him on the flank. Later in the game Kirkup would pull off a great tackle to prevent an almost certain try out on the left.
Adam Ramsden, the third of the debutants came on in the second row and safely took the ball from the kick off as well as putting in some good tackles, one of which dislodged the ball to regain possession for his team mates. Also on the field came Henry Hughes who showed some nice touches with the ball despite playing out of position and Josh Pearson who once again put in some big hits.
Wyke scored early in the second half, out on the left again, to make it 12-4. That score was followed by the try of the match, Beverley had a scrum 20 metres from their own line and loose man Tree picked up from the base and charged down the field. He was partially stopped 30 metres out but was able to regain his feet to get over the line and make it 12- 8. The strong breeze had made kicking difficult for both teams and Turner was unlucky to hit the upright with his conversion attempt.
Full back Ben Hodder pulled off some great tackles and was secure under the kicks to help keep Beverley in the game; Harry Vorwerg was the fourth debutant and the winger tackled well and looked dangerous every time he had the ball. Ewan Morton, ill during the week entered the fray late in the game to help some tired legs.
The next score was going to be crucial and once again gifted possession by an error Wyke worked the ball well to the left to score in the corner, 16-8. On another day Beverley might have got something from this game but their ‘never say die’ attitude was rewarded when Egan popped up a pass for Swainston to crash over from close range.
Final Score: Hull Wyke 16 Beverley Braves 12
