Once again so near and yet so far for Beverley RUFC. They led here for threequarters of the match and with three minutes to go had the game won.
Sadly and not for the first time this season poor decision-making did for them. They needed only to retain possession and run the clock down as time petered out. Yet for some unaccountable reason the ball was hoofed aimlessly upfield straight into the hands of the opposition who promptly ran it back for a match winning try. It was a sad end for Beverley who had played some thrilling rugby and for much of the time had outplayed a very good Huddersfield side who head the table and look promotion certainties.
It was a marvellous match, played throughout at breakneck speed and full of exciting running. Huddersfield started with a bang and were ten points up within eight minutes. Centre Tom Owen went over in one corner and three minutes later fellow centre Ben Mitchell crossed in the other. Beverley could hardly have known what had hit them and they looked destined to be in for a long afternoon.
But with ball in hand they started to make their own impact. On a quarter of an hour James Holland made inroads down the middle and set up wing Rob Smith who sprinted over from thirty metres for a fine try which Phil Duboulay converted. Beverley were suddenly back in business and within three minutes they had taken the lead. Joe Pickets powered his way into the visitors 22 and Duboulay romped clean through for a second converted try.
A feature of the game was the speed and excellent play of two exciting back divisions. Impressively quick though the Huddersfield backline was Beverley were giving as good as they got. A superb forty metre run down the touchline by Holland put Smith clear only for the wing to slip as he went for the line. Tom Carr then knocked on when Richard Bussey outside him would have had a clear run in. However, five minutes before halftime Pickets did get over for a third converted try and Beverley turned round two scores clear at 21-10.
Huddersfield started the second half as they had the first. In less than two minutes their outstanding full back Tom Hodson went over for a try which he converted himself, reducing the deficit to just four points at 21-17. Beverley’s response was immediate. A penalty line-out and drive to the line brought them their fourth try with Pickets getting the touchdown. Duboulay converted from the touchline and Beverley were again two scores clear.
Huddersfield threw everything into pulling it round. After their sterling play Beverley were beginning to tire. Their throwing at the line-outs was again erratic and too much possession was needlessly kicked away. This was particularly foolhardy because when they kept the ball in hand they were posing all sorts of problems. Hodson kicked a penalty and then Huddersfield got back to within a point at 28-27 when Beverley lost a lineout on their own line, the throw going clean over the top straight into Huddersfield hands. No surprise there. Huddersfield moved the ball quickly across field to their left flank where Beverley’s defence, after Smith went off injured, was practically non-existent and wing Mike Clark had an easy touchdown for a converted try.
A well worked try in the corner by Mark Hatfield took Beverley to 33-27 only for Hodson to cancel it out with one for Huddersfield seven minutes for time. In a thrilling finish it looked as though Beverley would see it out and they would have done had it not been for the ill-fated hoof upfield which right wing Elliot Hodgson gleefully made the most of to win the day for Huddersfield. It was a heartbreaking defeat for Beverley but two bonus points was at least something and against a side of Huddersfield’s calibre Beverley would probably have settled for that before the start.
Reported by John Nursey
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