BEVERLEY 41 WEST PARK ST.HELENS 13

A fine autumn day and the enjoyable anticipation of a new season. Beverley did not disappoint and produced a workmanlike performance to get their season off to a fine start. For half the game they made fairly heavy weather of it. They played some good penetrating rugby and ought to have been out of sight by halftime. But sloppy handling in the backs in the first half repeatedly let them down with the result that they somehow contrived to find themselves 13-11 behind at the interval. In the second half they comfortably turned it round and in the end a final victory margin of twenty eight points was probably a fair reflection of the overall run of the play.

After half an hour the only scores had come from two well-struck Ian Archibald penalties and one in reply from West’s centre Craig Orrick, although Jade Gardiner (pictured) had been unlucky to see the ball drift over the dead-ball line after he followed up a kick ahead and won the race for the touchdown. Eventually Beverley’s supremacy brought results when some slick passing down the right sent winger Goran Jelencic racing in at the corner. Archibald’s conversion attempt from the touchline went narrowly wide but Beverley by now looked in total command. When James McKay was sent to the sin bin for killing the ball Orrick put West back in contention with a second penalty. Almost immediately afterwards West then made an interception in their own half and broke away for Orrick to score under the posts and add the conversion.



Given the run of play it seemed unbelievable that Beverley could be turning round two points behind. Despite this it cannot be said that they ever looked like losing the match and they wasted no time in recapturing the lead with another Archibald penalty early in the second half. Five minutes later from a tapped penalty in the corner the pack drove to the line, Archibald jinked over for Beverley’s second try, and really that was that.



Territorially West got more into the game in the second half but they seldom looked like breaking down a solid Beverley defence in which Jelencic in particular was outstanding. One tremendous crossfield covering tackle when West did look certain to score was enough to make nearby spectators wince. Despite being up against a distinctly meaty pack the lightweight Beverley forwards were most impressive as a unit, invariably quicker to the breakdown and frequently driving their opponents back. Francis Pickering’s opposing tight head prop had such a torrid afternoon that he will not want to remember this game in a hurry.



In the later stages Beverley stormed away with further tries from Jade Gardiner (2), full back Richard Bussey, and winger Vinnie Collingwood, Phil Duboulay adding one conversion. Duboulay had a good day at stand-off, always keeping his line moving well and never missing an opportunity to attack. In fact it was an agreeable feature of the game that both sides endeavoured to keep the ball in hand at all times. There was very little kicking to touch other than from penalties. With Jelencic and Collingwood adding plenty of punch down the wings Beverley now look to have a potentially dangerous backline providing they can tidy up their passing. The yellow card for James McKay apart it was an altogether satisfactory day for Beverley. On this showing they have plenty of cause for optimism, although it must be said that the opposition hardly looked like a side which is going to set National Division Three (North) alight this season. The visit of promotion favourites Birkenhead Park to Beaver Park next week will almost certainly provide a far sterner test.