What a match. This was thrilling stuff from start to finish with the result not settled until the very last action of the game. Eight times the lead changed hands as the advantage repeatedly swung from one side to the other.
Morpeth looked to have won it with a penalty try deep into added time but Beverley still came back to win it at the death. That Beverley won after having been steamrollered backwards in the scrums all afternoon was a tremendous achievement. Not only did they win but they did so with easily their most fluent rugby of the season.
Morpeth were quickly into the ascendancy with their big powerful pack making an immediate impact. They might have gone ahead in the first minute but Alex Ball was narrowly wide with a penalty attempt. In the event it was Beverley who took the lead with their first foray into enemy territory when Morpeth were penalised for holding on and Phil Duboulay slotted the kick.
Morpeth responded with a converted try from their outstanding full back Kieran Brown but Beverley were back in front again when Duboulay made a lovely break to send Sam Roe over. 10-7 and it quickly became 17-7 when James Graham rounded off a smart move from a tap penalty. With ball in hand Beverley were playing some scintillating rugby. Duboulay was enjoying a marvellous match and Roe in the centre was showing the dynamic thrust that he has long been promising but hitherto had struggled to produce.
But up front the Beverley forwards were finding it hard going against their powerful opponents. They lost Kris Renwick early on which brought additional problems with the lineout. But what the Beverley eight lacked in muscle in the set pieces they more than made up for in their tenacity in the loose. Only in the set scrums did the big visiting forwards get the better of them. Tarek Mursal was a threat all afternoon in a hard working back row and the ever-willing Martin Shaw was never far from the action.
Morpeth got back into it when a Beverley lineout throw on their 22 sailed over the top straight into Morpeth hands allowing wing Greg Young to score in the corner. Worse was to follow when Andy Rowbotham was yellow carded for persistent offside and with Beverley a man short Morpeth recaptured the lead with a penalty try on the stroke of halftime.
Having turned round 17-19 down Beverley were quickly back in front at the start of the second half, Duboulay kicking a penalty following an illegal tackle. Both sides were playing with bags of ambition and a thirty metre run down their left touchline brought a converted try for Morpeth centre David Lynn. Now it was 20-26 to Morpeth.
Duboulay brought it back to 23-26 with a penalty but Morpeth stretched away again to 23-31 with a try by flanker James Defty. With their big pack shovelling Beverley backwards at will in the scrums and the game going into its last quarter overcoming an eight point deficit now looked a big ask for Beverley. But they went all out for it. Duboulay kicked his fourth penalty and when Roe burst away from his own 22 to send Graham over under the posts Beverley were suddenly in front again at 33-31.
As time ran out Morpeth pounded the home line going for the win. The game was already well into injury time when they looked to have won it with their second penalty try to make it 38-33. Surely, we all thought, that must be it. But instead of blowing for full time the referee indicated three more added minutes remained. Beverley promptly threw everything into a final assault and at the very death Duboulay scuttled over for a fine solo try. With the scores level all now depended on the conversion. Duboulay had not missed a kick all afternoon and he coolly secured victory with a fine conversion from wide out.
Final Score : Beverley RUFC 40 Morpeth 38 | Reported by John Nursey
