Finally after the Christmas break and a further 3 weeks enforced absence due to the weather, Beverley Colts were back in action against Malton.
This was a Malton team who had been heavily beaten the week before at Scunthorpe. The question therefore was what sort of shape would Malton be in mentally. Either beaten and done or determined to pick themselves up and smash into the game wanting to make amends for the week before.
Equally would Beverley be rusty or fit to go. The answer soon became clear; Malton buoyed up and Beverley rusty! Damn.
Beverley opened up with some penetrating play and looked like they could score quite easily however during the opening salvos were unable to finish. Leaving Malton who took the ball on from the halfway line and were moving forward at pace.
Jockey Holmes jumped out of the line to attempt the interception. When this didn’t happen Malton were left with a big gap and they made the most of it.
Three passes later they were in near the corner and had opened the scoring. The conversion went unconverted (0/5)
This did galvanise Beverley into action. With sustained pressure and well worked phases Joey Franklin went in for Beverley’s first try. Again this went unconverted.
A fabulously worked move by the Beverley backs saw jack Garvin released into space. With an almost certain run in to the line being called back having been adjudged as forward by the referee. Never mind!
The conditions were very wet and muddy underfoot and the pitch in parts was like the “bog of eternal stench” and this made handling difficult for both sides (By the way, a little nod to David Bowie there) with the difficult conditions handling faltered from both sides and there were a great many scrums.
However, by the 30th minute Beverley were really pressing Malton and a kick was charged down close to the Malton line. With deft thought and action Rob Cunningham pounced on the ball and slid over the line for a difficult and well taken finish. Again unconverted (10/5)
The halftime whistle blew shortly after and the two muddy teams trudged to their ends for a well-earned break.
The second half began and Beverley were now playing towards the “decent” end which could boast more grass than mud and would allow them to attack with more width.
After only 3 minutes of sustained pressure the ball went wide and from a very threatening position Joey Franklin dummied their back line and powered over for the first score of the half. Unconverted. (15/5)
With the majority of the play now taking place in the Malton half, Beverley were their own worst enemy spilling two clear scoring chances and with other opportunities were making life more difficult than it needed to be. We can chalk this up to the mud/rustiness combo.
Malton were still very determined and were giving it their all but by now Beverley were turning the screw. The ball was recycled several times giving room for Will Cook (Beverleys new no 8) to power past the opposition and go in for the bonus try. The try was converted by Joey Franklin. (22/5)
With the win assured the Beverley backs finally cut loose with great passing and hard running from the halfway line.
Conor Egan raced past the opposition on the wing and cut in to go in for the score under the posts for Beverley’s fifth try. Again converted by Joey Franklin. (29/5)
All credit must go to Malton who played to the end and gave it their all. This determination along with a little momentum refereeing saw Malton put together some good phases and finally with some well worked back play went in for the consolation try on the stroke of full time.
The conversion was missed and the final whistle blown.
Final Score: Beverley RUFC U19s 29 Malton U19s 5 | Reported by Phil Rann
