18
Local Sport
7th September 2017
Issue 973
www.looklocal.org.uk
Call 0114 283 11 00
Stocksbridge go down in tough encounter
Stocksbridge 12-41 Old Otliensians STOCKSBRIDGE RUFC were convincingly beaten 12 - 41 at home to Old Otlensians, with the away team scoring seven tries to two. The Pigs were the first on the score sheet a minute in when great pressure from the kick off caused the visitors to knock on.
The ensuing scrum was skilfully turned into a rolling maul, which was powerfully driven over the line for Ben Brown to score. Unfortunately, and to the disappointment of a large home crowd, that was about as good as it got for the Pigs in the first half, as the Otliensian backline broke the home defence time after time, racking up a quick scoreline of 5-17 before play was halted for a serious injury.
War Memorial take impressive win Norton Oaks 1-3 Oughtibridge WMFC DESPITE having several key players missing the visitors got off to a winning start although the home team probably shaded the opening few minutes. They found debutant goalkeeper Aurellian Masson more than equal to anything that came is way, the War Memorial soon started to dominate and started to threaten the Oaks goal. They took the lead when Ross Brown fired an unstoppable shot from the edge of the area. Oughtibridge kept on dominating before Oaks equalised with Smedley following up a free kick which came back off a post. Soon after Kassim was in the thick of the action when he finished a great move which involved Watson and Sampson. In the second half Oughtibridge had great chances to finish off the game until, with five minutes to go, Harrison was blatantly pushed over with the referee perfectly positioned. From the resulting penalty Callum Chambers made no mistake in sealing the three points.
After a lengthy stoppage, the game resumed and ‘Ensians looked to be the more alert, scoring almost immediately after the restart to give a half time score of 5-24.
However, they did show fight and determination when they could quite easily have capitulated, but instead they spent prolonged periods of time in the oppositions half.
The second half didn’t bring much more luck for the Pigs as they lost Joe Smith, Ben Brown and Dan Lowe through injury.
Ultimately though, Otliensian’s skilful backline again showed why they are favourites to win the league, as they scored three more tries in reply to Jack Spencer’s effort for the home team, giving a final score of 12-41.
Hawks U16s control game in Warrior win Whinmoor Warriors 20-26 Sheffield Hawks SHEFFIELD Hawks under 16s scored four excellent tries against an aggressive and defensive Bradford side and played with a consistency and awareness that made their top three opponents look ordinary for much of this game. Sheffield Hawks took the initiative from the kick off. Hardly any sets were incomplete throughout the match and the standard of tackling and tactical nous was excellent. Wibsey were forced into handling errors throughout the match. Line speed and aggression in contact often forced Wibsey back. Reuben Kateregga and Harry’s Scott and Edgar were excellent defensively in the centres. Saul Hinchliffe, Will Burns and Ryan Pel-
legrina were a constant presence in attack and defence, tackling and running hard. Pat Wakefield opened the scoring after 10 minutes with a penalty goal after excellent pressure from the Hawks players. Wibsey were difficult to break down but Will Burns crossed after excellent driving play from Tom Clarke and Saul Hinchliffe. Man of the match Tom Griffith showed excellent awareness throughout from scrum half, scoring a hat trick of tries from the play the ball. Throughout his defensive work was equally impressive and shows how well the Hawks as a unit have improved in the last two matches.
Wibsey raged against Hawks, losing control to such an extent that they lost two players to injury and a straight red card for foul play. Hawks weathered the storm and their tactical choices were spot on, restricting Wibsey to kicks from their own 20 metre line in an attempt to even the scores. Every Hawks player played well, despite provocation and attempted intimidation from their opponents. Pat Wakefield led by example, scoring with all his kicks and kicking well tactically. The score flattered their opponents as Hawks controlled this game from start to finish.