Old Brodleians’ bandwagon rolls on

The Hipperholme pitch has never been in such good condition at this time of year and that, combined with the unseasonal excellent weather, allowed both sides to play rugby which was a great advert for Yorkshire One.

The game was well refereed by Francesco Camisa and a good crowd enjoyed a game which was competitive throughout.

The sides were level on points at the start of play with both striving to gain a top four spot.

Boro opened strongly and dominated early territory and possession playing down the slope with a breeze at their backs. The Teessiders pinned Brods in their own 22 but the Hipperholme boys’ disciplined defence resisted their attacks and regularly turned over ball.

Brods eventually broke up field and produced some good handling. After 25 minutes they were attacking well when Callum Thompson was poleaxed in a tackle and went off with a knee injury. Alex Dawson came on and a reshuffled Brods continued to press.

From good scrum ball, Matt Carbutt created the space and provided a perfectly-timed pass for Phil Town, who sprinted 30 metres to the line. Town converted for a 7-0 lead after 30 minutes.

Middlesbrough hit back immediately with a penalty to give a 7-3 score line at the end of the first half.

Brods pressed from the restart and took the initiative through Michael Briggs, who used his power to resist several tacklers on his way to score under the posts. Town added the easy conversion.

Brods took control with some good running rugby and looked certain to score when Alex Murphy broke the defensive line but the final pass went to ground.

The home side drove the ball 15 metres following a lineout and having crossed the line, Joe Kafatolu arose with the ball for a try in his final game for the club. The conversion was missed but at 19-3 with seven minutes remaining, Brods went in search of the bonus point.

Rob Jennings broke clear but the No 8 stumbled on his way to the line. The ball was retained and recycled, however, and Kafatolu’s off-load gave powerful lock Dawson the opportunity to build up a head of steam and he ran strongly to the line for the fourth try and a 24-3 lead.

The Woodhead boys were now rampant. A surge by Briggs created momentum and the ball was moved swiftly to the left wing where Harris Morris showed great pace to finish in the corner. Town converted

from the touchline to complete a fine afternoon’s work by the home side.