Field dominate to break their Blues hoodoo

RISHWORTHIANS lost this game in the first 20 minutes, when their mistakes led to four tries for the home side.

Each time they gave the ball away, they were hit on the counter by the swift Beverley backs, with their chief tormentor Yorkshire under 20s fullback Luke Hazell.

He started it off gathering a kick and setting his backs moving with Rishworthians struggling to stop them and conceding the first converted try. Minutes later he finished off a burst through the centre for a try in the corner.

The visitors came back well, though, until a dropped ball brought a speedy counterattack and Hazell was there again to give the final pass for a converted try in the corner.

It was a repeat performance soon after as another speedy counter-attack brought a fourth unconverted try in the corner.

At last the visitors started controlling the ball better and putting Beverley under extreme pressure, left wing Will McDonnell bursting through to score. Josh Kelly converted to make it 24–7 at half-time.

After the restart, a break by locks Callum Heseltine and Fraser Swarbrooke combined for an unconverted try for scrum half George Wright.

Soon after McDonnell got his second from a quickly taken penalty but, despite the pressure, Rishworthians could not break through again and Hazell proved their undoing.

He gathered a kick in his own half and set off, choosing the perfect line to glide through Rishworthian defence to touch down in the corner and end the visitors’ hopes. HUDDERSFIELD came away from Priory Park having managed to end the Macclesfield away day hoodoo with a 26-15 victory, helped by a Kian Stewart brace.

The bonus point win was underlined by a dominant performance throughout most of the game, Huddersfield keeping the Blues at arm’s length for the better part of the 80.

The only time Field looked like succumbing to serious pressure was when they were down to 13 and then 12 men in the latter stages, but always carried a dangerous counterthreat.

The first half largely failed to take off after Macclesfield opened the scoring in six minutes with a Tom Morton penalty. After that the half was a quiet affair for nearly half an hour, battling for territory, but playing the game more often than not in the Blues’ half. But following a Macclesfield yellow for Adam McCarthy, it burst into action for Field.

Using their man advantage, Dickie Piper exited the driving maul from ten metres on the blindside to touch down a fairly easy score, giving Huddersfield a lead, instantly punishing the 14 men.

If their opening try was from a straightforward penalty, their second was a show of how they can use the ball quickly.

From a penalty on the 22, Joe Green took a tap and run to set Field going. They worked the ruck well, finding Mark Pease who showed good composure and hands in assisting Kian Stewart from the wing with a score.

It was a glimpse from Pease, playing at 10 on the day, of his man of the match performance. The backs player/coach kicked well when needed and orchestrated his backs with authority at times. Will Milner kicked through a conversion from a tight position near the touchline to give Field the nine-point lead at the break. The whole side were having a good day, really pressing the issue with their hosts, and after the restart, went to put their boot on the neck of Macclesfield.

From another penalty 10 minutes into the second, Field kicked for a lineout in the corner. It was their powerful maul at play again, the forwards keeping the drive to the line going until finally forcing their way across the whitewash, Milner doing the business with the boot again to extend it to a 16-point lead.

Not to be outdone by their forwards, Field’s backs were to feature again in the next score.

Just inside Macclesfield’s half, the ball was turned over directly into Field hands, it found its way into Lewis Workman’s hands before the centre set off on a mazy 20m run through the defence.

The blues couldn’t handle the pace, and with Kian Stewart providing an overlap on the outside, Field were in for a fourth try, scored by Stewart and converted again by Milner. While much of the plaudits go to the scorers and the playmakers of the day, Tom Hodson at fullback earned his keep this week also. He impressed while being on the end of kicks and positioning himself perfectly to stem the flow of a period Macclesfield possession and attacks. It was work like this that gave Field the platform they had to go and play the way they did. At 26-3 with 15 minutes to go, it was nearly job done, but for a late Macclesfield onslaught. Starting with a James Hampson try straight from kick-off, the Blues won a penalty and kicked to touch. They worked the lineout forward to the line and moved the ball quickly across to one of two spare men on the far side, with Hampson being the one to run one in. Five minutes later, the Macclesfield lineout was Field’s undoing yet again. More quick play in Field’s 22 and a dash between the gap by Blues’ Lomax and they had some