Ponte do league double against Barnsley

Yorkshire Division 2
Pontefract v Barnsley
The strength of the Pontefract squad and the work done by the junior section shone through on Saturday . With eight of the regular first team unavailable, their replacements readily stepped up to the mark to take on a Barnsley side that were much bigger in weight and height in the pack.
Barnsley kicked off on what for a change was a fine sunny afternoon suitable for Pontefract’s high tempo running game. Pontefract were under the cosh for the first quarter of the game as Barnsley used their forward weight advantage driving Pontefract back but sound work by Gonzales , Beddis and skipper Richard Scott made sure Barnsley never got over the whitewash and could only show a penalty goal for all their hard work.
Whenever Pontefract got the ball they showed their intention to run and get the ball out wide and this gradually drained the legs of the Barnsley pack and the tight five of Pontefract led by the Scholey brothers at prop began to get on top and drive the Barnsley scrum back. Intelligent marshalling of the line out by Rich Scott meant that Pontefract saw more line out balls as they disrupted the Barnsley jumpers and nullified their height advantage
On the 30 minute mark Pontefract pressure on the Barnsley back line forced a knock on. The centres drew their cover in wards leaving Josh Beecher unmarked out wide on the wing. A quick heel and feed to Boyd saw him give an inch-perfect kick which was collected at full tilt by Beecher who cleverly stayed wide drawing the full back before feeding full back Stewart Sanderson to cross unopposed . The extras were added to make score 7-3 to Pontefract.
Three minutes later it was Sanderson, with a fine attacking game all afternoon, who saw space on the left after a Barnsley clearance failed to make touch . He made a break up the centre before chipping on for Josh Beecher to show a fine turn of speed to again collect and touch down for a converted try . 14-3 to Pontefract.
With their pack gaining in confidence the Pontefract side began to go through the phases and pressure began to mount on the Barnsley team. Chris Sant and Ross Shand both made breaks but were hauled down close to the line. Jack Beddis made an excellent break going through a number of tacklers only to have his final pass ruled forward. However, in their eagerness to recycle the ball quickly Pontefract suffered a number of penalties which saw Barnsley set up a lineout inside the Pontefract 22. Using their weight they set up a rolling maul which initially Pontefract stopped but eventually the Barnsley pack drove over for an unconverted try. Score 14-8 which remained unchanged at half time.
Pontefract were on the score board again three minutes into the second half. Claiming their own kick off ball former junior Josh Hough drove powerfully off a ruck into the Barnsley 22. Quick recycling saw the ball whipped left for Luke Beecher to score a simple converted try on the left wing.
Within minutes Barnsley were themselves on the score board. A speculative pass to the left wing was intercepted by the Barnsley winger who found he only had Sanderson to beat , committing him to the tackle he found support on his inside for Barnsley to score near the posts. The extras were added score 21-15 to Pontefract. Sanderson , who caused problems all afternoon with his forays into the line ,had his revenge a few minutes later setting up the best score of the afternoon . Collecting a poor Barnsley clearance he skipped past 2 defenders before he chipped on into space with the line free. He was taken out by 2 defenders after the kick giving Pontefract a penalty line out on the Barnsley 22 line. Richard Scott took the ball off the top and the ball was spun wide to the left. Luke Beecher was held short but quick recycling found hooker Jonny Hill in centre field. He set off for the right corner, sold a dummy pass which allowed him to straighten his line, breaking two further tackles before touching down. Glenn Boyd added the difficult touch line kick to take Pontefract to 28 points.
Pontefract had two further strikes on the 70 minute mark. Ian Mattison who had moved to scrum half after an injury to Josh Walker picked off an interception on the Barnsley 22 as they tried to run a ball through the Pontefract defence . He converted his own try, score 35 to Pontefract.
From the kick off the Pontefract forwards put the backs into play, Sanderson joined the line cutting through the Barnsley defence, he found Ross Shand in support and handing on Shand ran to the wing before cutting back inside to score Pontefract’s final converted try taking their score to 42.
With the clock ticking down the referee awarded a penalty try to Barnsley which they converted, making the final score 42 – 22.
A fine performance showing increasing confidence in Club Coach Hugh Gumbs’ game plan and Pontefract move on to face top 3 contenders Roundegians next Saturday.
The Yorkshire RFU President who was in attendance at the game voted Pontefract No7 Jack Beddis as his man of the match for his all round play on the day.