Sat 24 Sep 2022
Match report by Ian Greenwood
The afternoon started well with a very warm welcome from our friends at Percy Road and an excellent lunch of Lamb pie, chips and mushy peas followed by the ubiquitous cheese board desert. Fuelled with lashings of red wine our small but vociferous support was led form the terraces by the irrepressible Mrs Akroyd and Mrs Smith.
Things started to turn at this point though, and not for the better. Jason Dodd suffered car woes and was unable to complete the journey to Pock. Loketi Manu, meanwhile, suffered a more physical breakdown with a re-occurrence of his knee injury during the warm up meaning he couldn’t join the starting line up.
With an iron lung at the standby our coaching staff stepped up and Oliver Akroyd started in the second row with Lee Imiolek taking the sole place on the bench. The average starting age was kept respectfully low by the invasion of youth into the squad this year.
Pock made the early running with strong pressure from their own kick off and a knock on from Brods gave Pock the first opportunity but they were pulled back for a forward pass. They regained possession swiftly and following some good passing down the back line they were able to forge an early opening with a try being scored wide on the left after 6 minutes. The conversion was well taken and it was 7-0 early doors.
The Brods replied with determination and were able to excerpt some strong pressure deep inside the Pock half but the home team defended well against multiple phases of Brods’ forward attacking. Eventually the ref judged Pock offside and with the resultant kick to touch Brods were able, from the lineout, to launch an impressive rolling maul which Jackson Wood finished with a lunge for the line after 15 minutes. From 15 m in from the touch we were unable to take the extra 2 points so 7-5 it was.
With the game having barely re-started Brods failed to properly execute a clearing kick and the ball was fed to the Pocklington 11 who danced his way through too many missed tackles to score by the posts. Transpires his footwork was such that he was quickly signed up by the BBC and was later seen wearing a sequin suit on Strictly. Poor defence though, all the same. 14-5 after 18 minutes.
The next passage of play sees Callum Bacon make an excellent break passing the ball to his inside where in usual fashion the barrelling Michael Briggs runs strongly and gives the Pock defence plenty to think about. Brods knock on and Pock are able to clear from the resultant scrum.
With 28 minutes on the clock Pock take a lineout and spin the ball across the park to the left. The Pock winger takes the ball, described by the their own coaching staff as being unquestioningly forward, and finishes off with a score under the posts. The conversion is kicked and it’s 21-5.
A disastrous 12 minutes from the Brods perspective follows.
In quick succession Pock take complete control and score 3 converted tries without reply. The tries coming after 35, 38 and 40 minutes with the bad news topped up with a yellow card for Callum Bacon.
It’s 42-5 at half time and our erstwhile head photographer is over heard chuntering “we may do well to keep them to double figures!”
Oh Ye of little faith Mr Sugden
Within 4 minutes of the restart Brods put the Pock pack under too much pressure at the scrum and Cam Wroot is able to carry over to score wide out. Unfortunately George Ayrton misses the conversion and it remains 42-10.
The fightback has started. Jimmy Hodkinson places a huge clearing kick deep into Pock territory and Brods get the lineout. Unfortunately the ball is knocked on at the crucial moment and Pocklington kick to clear. The excellent Elliot Craven, who was at the fore throughout the game, charged the kick down and was desperately unlucky that the ball ran dead before he could touch it down.
With 20 minutes gone in the second half the Brods have taken control and are playing with great resolve. Pocklington have barely been near the Brods half. After several passages of play the Brods are camped on the home try line but knock on at the crucial moment . This time Pock are able to clear but only for the visitors to continue the momentum and to retain possession for long passages of play.
On 28 minutes Brods are awarded a penalty and kick to touch. 10 meters from the Pock line and the lineout is won with Elliot Craven running the ball in hard but going down with what appears to be a serious clash of heads. He is assessed and it is clear he is ok to carry on. Perhaps one of the more aged members of the squad just needed a breather?
The visitors continue to heap on the pressure with Pocklington only enjoying one brief and threatening period of play in the Brods half through the whole of the second 40 minutes.
With the final whistle looming Brods have a scrum 10m from the Pock line. We lose possession but seemingly some illegal scrum skull-duggery has been committed and Brods are awarded a penalty. We opt for a re-scrum and put Pocklington under such pressure that, with their scrum going backwards at an alarming rate, they have no option but to collapse.
The ref awards a penalty try. The final passage of play and the game ends 42-17.
It was a “game of two halves” and the Brods should take huge encouragement from the fact they were able to bounce back from a first half battering to win the second half. The players showed great spirit and committed themselves admirably in the second half. The writing appeared to be on the wall from the start but everyone stuck to the task and with strong performances from many including Oliver Anderson I think we have plenty to take away as positives.
Mrs Akroyd thinks her son still has a few more games in him. A statement I doubt he will be swift to endorse.
UTB!!
Things started to turn at this point though, and not for the better. Jason Dodd suffered car woes and was unable to complete the journey to Pock. Loketi Manu, meanwhile, suffered a more physical breakdown with a re-occurrence of his knee injury during the warm up meaning he couldn’t join the starting line up.
With an iron lung at the standby our coaching staff stepped up and Oliver Akroyd started in the second row with Lee Imiolek taking the sole place on the bench. The average starting age was kept respectfully low by the invasion of youth into the squad this year.
Pock made the early running with strong pressure from their own kick off and a knock on from Brods gave Pock the first opportunity but they were pulled back for a forward pass. They regained possession swiftly and following some good passing down the back line they were able to forge an early opening with a try being scored wide on the left after 6 minutes. The conversion was well taken and it was 7-0 early doors.
The Brods replied with determination and were able to excerpt some strong pressure deep inside the Pock half but the home team defended well against multiple phases of Brods’ forward attacking. Eventually the ref judged Pock offside and with the resultant kick to touch Brods were able, from the lineout, to launch an impressive rolling maul which Jackson Wood finished with a lunge for the line after 15 minutes. From 15 m in from the touch we were unable to take the extra 2 points so 7-5 it was.
With the game having barely re-started Brods failed to properly execute a clearing kick and the ball was fed to the Pocklington 11 who danced his way through too many missed tackles to score by the posts. Transpires his footwork was such that he was quickly signed up by the BBC and was later seen wearing a sequin suit on Strictly. Poor defence though, all the same. 14-5 after 18 minutes.
The next passage of play sees Callum Bacon make an excellent break passing the ball to his inside where in usual fashion the barrelling Michael Briggs runs strongly and gives the Pock defence plenty to think about. Brods knock on and Pock are able to clear from the resultant scrum.
With 28 minutes on the clock Pock take a lineout and spin the ball across the park to the left. The Pock winger takes the ball, described by the their own coaching staff as being unquestioningly forward, and finishes off with a score under the posts. The conversion is kicked and it’s 21-5.
A disastrous 12 minutes from the Brods perspective follows.
In quick succession Pock take complete control and score 3 converted tries without reply. The tries coming after 35, 38 and 40 minutes with the bad news topped up with a yellow card for Callum Bacon.
It’s 42-5 at half time and our erstwhile head photographer is over heard chuntering “we may do well to keep them to double figures!”
Oh Ye of little faith Mr Sugden
Within 4 minutes of the restart Brods put the Pock pack under too much pressure at the scrum and Cam Wroot is able to carry over to score wide out. Unfortunately George Ayrton misses the conversion and it remains 42-10.
The fightback has started. Jimmy Hodkinson places a huge clearing kick deep into Pock territory and Brods get the lineout. Unfortunately the ball is knocked on at the crucial moment and Pocklington kick to clear. The excellent Elliot Craven, who was at the fore throughout the game, charged the kick down and was desperately unlucky that the ball ran dead before he could touch it down.
With 20 minutes gone in the second half the Brods have taken control and are playing with great resolve. Pocklington have barely been near the Brods half. After several passages of play the Brods are camped on the home try line but knock on at the crucial moment . This time Pock are able to clear but only for the visitors to continue the momentum and to retain possession for long passages of play.
On 28 minutes Brods are awarded a penalty and kick to touch. 10 meters from the Pock line and the lineout is won with Elliot Craven running the ball in hard but going down with what appears to be a serious clash of heads. He is assessed and it is clear he is ok to carry on. Perhaps one of the more aged members of the squad just needed a breather?
The visitors continue to heap on the pressure with Pocklington only enjoying one brief and threatening period of play in the Brods half through the whole of the second 40 minutes.
With the final whistle looming Brods have a scrum 10m from the Pock line. We lose possession but seemingly some illegal scrum skull-duggery has been committed and Brods are awarded a penalty. We opt for a re-scrum and put Pocklington under such pressure that, with their scrum going backwards at an alarming rate, they have no option but to collapse.
The ref awards a penalty try. The final passage of play and the game ends 42-17.
It was a “game of two halves” and the Brods should take huge encouragement from the fact they were able to bounce back from a first half battering to win the second half. The players showed great spirit and committed themselves admirably in the second half. The writing appeared to be on the wall from the start but everyone stuck to the task and with strong performances from many including Oliver Anderson I think we have plenty to take away as positives.
Mrs Akroyd thinks her son still has a few more games in him. A statement I doubt he will be swift to endorse.
UTB!!
.jpg?v=638050918487060785){kind=link}
