Pocklington thirds 15
Withernsea RUFC 50
Withernsea travelled to Pocklington on the back of two storming victories in the Merit Table, having fielded strong squads of 21 and 22 players.
This time, however, things were different. At one point, the Seahorses looked unlikely to have a full 15 available.
Enter the cavalry, with Alex Kirk and Jake Bowen moving heaven and earth to get to the game. Their arrival made a massive difference, particularly at centre and in the front row, which had only two occupants before Alex turned up.
Withernsea started strongly and it was that man Kiril Prigorkins who opened the scoring. Good hands from Dan Wardman, Ethan Wilson and Jake Bowen created space for Kiril, who showed his trademark stepping ability to cross for the visitors. Ethan converted to give Withernsea a 7-0 lead.
Pocklington, however, were determined to play some good rugby of their own and took the game to the Seahorses. Following sustained pressure and several penalties against Withernsea, the home side stretched the defence with a long pass to their centre, who had plenty of space to score.
By this point, scrums had become uncontested as Pocklington did not have two recognised props on the pitch, which was surprising given the number of big lads in their side.
With the score at 5-7, Pocklington kicked long to relieve the pressure, but the ball found dangerman Kiril, who characteristically raced past three defenders.
Good recycling saw the ball moved wide to Lewis Eldon, who bounced off several tackles like a pinball.
From the resulting ruck, the ball was popped to Reegan Fox, who crashed over from five metres.
Withernsea maintained the pressure following another kick, and when the home side conceded a penalty, Ethan Wilson took a quick tap to send Jake Bowen over from close range. Ethan’s second conversion from three attempts gave the Seahorses a 17-5 advantage.
Pocklington responded positively and, following a Withernsea knock-on, the loose ball fell kindly to a home player. He was shown too much respect as the defenders fell away, allowing him to score and reduce the deficit to 10-17.
It was now a very even contest, with both sides looking capable of winning.
After good ground was made by Kiril and then Jake, a Withernsea ruck provided the opportunity for Dan Wardman to cleverly scoot through a gap, making the half-time score 24-10 to the visitors.
The second half began with a sense of déjà vu as Dan produced another trademark scoot, this time from the back of a scrum, to extend Withernsea’s lead to 31-10.
From the restart, Phil Tindall drove downfield before Ethan’s follow-up kick was charged down. The loose ball went to Lewis, who made a superb 50-metre run past several defenders before finally being stopped.
Good support play saw Ethan pop the ball to Kiril, who crossed for his second try.
At 36-10, the visitors were now out of sight, but Pocklington continued to play some good rugby. A fine passing move along the line saw the home side deservedly score in the corner.
Withernsea, however, finished strongly. Chris Sayers went close and earned an attacking scrum before Reegs was stopped just short of the line.
Alex Kirk then crashed over from five metres to add another try.
The Seahorses continued to exert pressure right on the Pocklington line, with Ethan going close from number eight.
The ball was recycled and Reegs again barged over from five metres, producing a neat spin to escape the tackle and bring up the half-century on the scoreboard.
The game was almost finished in spectacular style when Ethan attempted a 50-metre drop goal, but his effort drifted narrowly wide.
The final score of 50-15 represented a phenomenal effort from a team that had looked vulnerable on the morning of the match.
Thanks go to everyone who played, especially those who had family events to attend immediately afterwards and those who managed to squeeze the game between work commitments.
Withernsea are now one of only two unbeaten teams in the league, alongside Beverley seconds, and are playing some fantastic rugby, having scored more than 20 tries in their opening three games.
Saturday, October 24, sees Driffield fourths travel to Fouracre Park for a top-of-the-table clash, kicking off at 3pm.
Bob Wardman
