This was more like it. After a below-par performance at Altrincham the previous week Beverley RUFC got back to their good form of recent weeks and secured a fine win against fifth placed Birkenhead Park. Today they never once looked like a side lying bottom of the table. In fact by the end of the afternoon they were no longer bottom and had risen two places towards safety. Penrith in eleventh place are now within their sights as are Burnage who are eight points clear but have still to visit Beaver Park.
Beverley RUFC got off to the perfect start. In less than five minutes they were six points up thanks to two well struck penalties by Phil Duboulay. For quarter of an hour they were on top and going well. Then within the space of two minutes they suffered a complete lapse in concentration and went 10-6 behind. First, from a catch and drive ten metres out the powerful Birkenhead pack surged to the line and hooker Stuart Brown touched down. Then two minutes later some uncharacteristically poor Beverley RUFC tackling let in winger Mark McKeon who went over in the corner for a second try.
But the Birkenhead lead was short lived and three minutes later Beverley RUFC were back in front. They moved the ball quickly right from a scrum on halfway and Richard Bussey broke to the line for a fine try which somewhat made amends for his failure to stop McKeon minutes earlier. Duboulay converted and after that Beverley RUFC never really looked back. Goran Jelencic would have scored another had the final pass to him not been forward but on the half hour Beverley RUFC did stretch further ahead. It was the try of the day. Veteran Stanley Gene in the Beverley RUFC centre simply scorched through the visitors’ defence from forty metres out with a speed that must have left many elderly spectators bewildered as to how legs of that age could still do it. Duboulay’s conversion took Beverley RUFC two scores clear and at 20-10 Beverley RUFC will have felt more than happy at halftime.
Direct from the re-start it got better. Birkenhead’s kick-off was fielded by Beverley RUFC, Junior Tupai broke through, Jon Stephenson carried it on, and Sam Atiola on the wing rounded it off by racing in for a third home try. It was all going swimmingly well for Beverley RUFC. Moreover they were increasingly looking the part. Their front row of Mark Hatfield, Kris Renwick, and Alex Ogilvie stuck at it bravely against an exceptionally powerful Birkenhead front three. Gavin Gibson and Max Alderson again showed that they are settling together into an effective second row and at the back flanker Tom Moody, outstanding yet again, is compensating admirably for the loss of David Worrall. Importantly the lineout is at last getting somewhere and apart from one or two wayward throws it worked well again today.
Ten minutes into the half another careless Beverley RUFC lapse let Birkenhead back into the match. A wild pass from the base of the scrum went high over Duboulay’s head and Birkenhead hacked through from halfway for fly half Anthony Hanley to race over and touch down. Full back David Hall’s conversion served as a reminder to Beverley RUFC that at 25-17 they were by no means home and dry. Duboulay responded with a penalty for Beverley RUFC but Birkenhead were noticeably getting more into it as the half wore on.
With the wind against them Beverley RUFC found themselves pinned for long spells in their own 22. They needed desperately to break clear and get the four try bonus point. In the end it was Birkenhead who got a fourth try of their own when Brown touched down following a penalty lineout from the last play of the match. Nonetheless it was a good day and a good win for Beverley RUFC and it sets up the prospect of a mouth watering encounter at Beaver Park next week against runaway leaders Darlington Mowden Park.
Final Score: Beverley RUFC 28 Birkenhead Park 22 | Reported by John Nursey
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