Brods took the Yorkshire Shield Trophy in fine style at the final held on the artificial grass pitch at Keighley on Thursday night .

With a deluge of rain for an hour before the kick off the conditions were going to be difficult however the pitch drained well with no standing water and Brods adapted to the conditions better to take the Yorkshire Shield Trophy for the first time in their history .

Brods opened brightly and in the first ten minutes earned two penalties in Heath territory however although struck well from some distance the attempts drifted wide for the game to stay in the balance . In the opening quarter the scrums were being shared and Heath looked to have the advantage in the lineouts however Brods started to dominate possession and territory with some big hits in midfield producing turnover ball from their industrious forwards . Brods took first blood when Cameron Wroot broke down the left wing and his deftly placed kick through was chased down by Jason Dodd who dived on the ball to register the opening score . The touchline conversion was missed however Brods continued to maintain the initiative with good recycling and solid defence Heath finally made it into the Brods 22 and following an infringement in a ruck provided the chance for Danny Cole to pull 3 points back with a penalty goal 5-3 after 30 minutes

The Hipperholme boys responded well and were rewarded themselves with a penalty which Phil Town converted from within the Heath 22 to restore the five point differential 8-3 . The game was highly competitive and Brods conceded a second penalty which Cole converted on their next visit to the Brods 22 ,8-6 . A crucial point in the game occurred when The Heath fullback upended Phil Town in the tackle ,the referee checked with his assistant before showing the red card . Rob Jennings received a yellow card with minutes to half time following an accumulation of penalties and the game was still in the balance as the Half time whistle blew .

The Woodhead boys were first to score minutes following the restart when the referee spotted hands in a ruck and Phil Town calmly stroked the ball over to extend the lead further 11-6 . Brods defence was solid throughout and Heath could not find a way to break the line , The crucial point in the game emerged when Jennings re-joined the game and Tom Hanson entered the fray for a scrum awarded to Heath some 10 metres outside their 22. With an almighty surge the Heath pack was shunted off their own ball and in their disarray Brods stole possession to attack . The ball was moved from left to right and some good handling saw Phil Town break through the Heath line from some 20 metres out . Town’s strength and pace beat any covering defenders and he came in field to touch down and present himself with an easy conversion . With the converted try Brods were in a winning position 18-6 and despite Heaths efforts Brods maintained their discipline to control the game .As play moved towards full time some cool defence from Joe Armitage and Harris Morris combined with their excellent clearing kicks kept the Heath side at bay and the Hipperholme boys ran out worthy winners much to the delight of the large crowd in attendance.

Richard Turner

Team

1. Benny Pritchett
2. ⁠Liam Stapley
3. ⁠Alex Dawson
4. ⁠Peter Williams
5. ⁠Alex Murphy
6. ⁠Daniel Vento
7. ⁠Ben Hoyle
8. ⁠Rob Jennings
9. ⁠Joe Armitage
10. ⁠Joe Potter
11. ⁠Matty Hoyle
12. ⁠Matt Carbutt
13. ⁠Michael Briggs
14. ⁠Jason Dodd
15. ⁠Phil Town

16. Tom Hanson
17. ⁠Joe Sealey
18. ⁠Cameron Wroot
19. ⁠Peter Ashton
20. ⁠Harris Morris
21. ⁠Ross Minney
22. ⁠James Krishnapillai

Old Brodleians RUFC

Match details

Match date

Kickoff

Team Sponsors

Login