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Both these sides served up a quality pre-season friendly for the big crowd that assembled at the Beverley Leisure Centre. The West Riding outfit gave Guy Adam’s side just the kind of tough examination he was looking for, and he will draw many positives from it.
The most pleasing aspect was surely the way they defended repeat set after set. The visitors’ time in possession looked to be around the 65% mark- a figure which usually spells a heavy defeat.
The game started shakily for the hosts with two kick-offs going out of play on the full immediately handing the initiative to the visitors. They posted two tries inside ten minutes to lead 10-0. The hosts then settled down to the task and started to look dangerous with the ball in hand with centres Mike Cooper and new signing Ben Calvert catching the eye.
Beverley’s reply came with a defence splitting long ball from Steve Davidson which full back Steve Connolly latched onto and drew his man perfectly to send Lee Falcus over in the corner.
Ryan Watkin added the touchline conversion. The momentum continued, and Gavin Proctor’s smart scoot on the blind side sent Ryan Watkin over in the corner for another converted try.
An awkward bounce of the ball following a kick on the last tackle saw the visitors pounce to score and go into the interval 16-12 to the good.
The second half turned into a war of attrition as both sets of forward ground out the hard yards. Nicky Cross looked the pick of the forwards at this stage. There were also a number of heroic cover tackles as the visitors threw everything but the kitchen sink at Beverley.
The scores remained locked until the visitors posted a try in the 65th minutes which proved to be the game breaker. The home side, however, refused to lie down.
Ryan Wakin’s break up the middle sent Gavin Proctor away who was unlucky to be pulled up 20 metres short. However, when a penalty was awarded for interference, a quick tap saw Steve Davidson scamper away to score. The conversion was added but there was no time left for another score.
The committee man of the match award went to Gavin Proctor who impressive on his return to the game. He worked himself to a standstill prompting and probing from the dummy half position and playing the full 80 minutes on a very hot and humid day.
In upbeat mood coach, Guy Adams commented afterwards
“I’m pleased with our first hit up this season particularly the defence, and if we can just cut out a few of the handling errors and complete our sets things are looking rosy for the new season.”
The new Hull & District season will start on 8th September. The club has also entered the Yorkshire Cup with the first round taking place on 15th September.
Final Score : Beverley ARLC 18 Wortley Dragons 22 A Reported by Nick Robinson
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