CRICKET & RUGBY
POCK 7S
The 59th John Smiths Pock 7s saw six hours of nonstop rugby come down to a Yorkshire v Lancashire finale , with Leeds Beckett University defeating Manchester Met University 24-14 in a keen tussle .
As in previous years , there were a large number of OPs attending this annual 7s event , both in the crowd and on the pitch with several teams made up of OPs .
The Old Pocklingtonians team gave a good account of themselves , getting through to the quarter-final stage of the main competition for the second year in a row . Dave Hill ( 90-97 ) made a comeback after a few years off and as the most senior OP in the team , took on the role of captain . Other regulars on the team were Josh ( 96-03 ) and Lewis ( 96-03 ) Papa , James Watkins ( 98-07 ) and Tom Hardy ( 01-09 ). James Tyson ( 01-09 ), Lewis Pearson ( 03-12 ), Tom Sowersby ( 05-12 ) and Gerald Fenton ( 03-12 ) all made a welcome return to the squad and making their debut for OPs were Jacob Sherwood ( 05-12 ) and Jimmy Quinney ( 08-17 ). Unfortunately , Jonty Atkinson ( 06-17 ), also on his debut , was declared unfit at the last minute and thanks go to OP 7s stalwart , Alex Smith ( 89-92 ), who stepped in to take his place .
OPs took centre stage on the front pitch in the opening match of the day against Ionians Last Minute . It was an evenly matched game with only a few points in it throughout the match until a break away try by Tom Sowersby in the dying seconds sealed the win for the OPs .
In the second round , Rotherham failed to show up giving the OPs a bye into the quarter-finals where
they came up against Hymers Presidents . Again , it was another close match but OPs were up against it with a few decisions not going their way and a disallowed try adding to their frustration . With the opposition a converted try ahead in the last quarter , the OPs ran out of time to come back despite some well-worked breaks in the final minutes of the game .
Full results for all the matches are below :
First Round : Old Pocklingtonians 17 Ionians Last Minute 15 ; Hymers Presidents 31 Three Feathers 10 ; Malton & Norton 10 Hull Ionians 14 ; Woldgate OB 26 Old Hymerians 7 ; Driffield 24 East Yorkshire Penguins 5 ; York Saints 34 Goodemanham 17 ; Beverley 24 Bridlington 12 .
Second Round : Queen ’ s Own Yeomanry 0 Hymers Presidents 56 ; Manchester Met University 36 Hull Ionians 0 ; Pocklington 17 Woldgate OB 21 ; Bishop Burton 38 Driffield 0 ; Northern Exiles 31 Wot-A- Pullet 10 ; Leeds Beckett University 45 York Saints 5 , Brookfield 22 Beverley 26 .
Quarter Finals : Old Pocklingtonians 21 Hymers Presidents 28 ; Manchester Met University 17 Woldgate OB 10 ; Bishop Burton 15 Northern Exiles 14 ; Leeds Beckett University 33 Beverley 0 .
Semi Finals : Hymers Presidents 0 Manchester Met University 50 ; Bishop Burton 17 Leeds Beckett University 21 .
L-R ( back row ): James Watkins ( 98-07 ), Jacob Sherwood ( 05-12 ), James Tyson ( 01-09 ), Alex Smith ( 89-92 ), Lewis Pearson ( 03-12 ), Josh Papa ( 96- 03 ), Lewis Papa ( 96-03 ), Tom Hardy ( 01-09 ), ( front row ): Tom Sowersby ( 05-12 ), Dave Hill ( 90-97 ), Gerald Fenton ( 03-12 ), Jimmy Quinney ( 08-17 ).
Final : Manchester Met University 14 Leeds Beckett University 24 .
Plate Competition – Semi Finals : Malton & Norton 5 Old Hymerians 45 ; Wot-A-Pullet 35 Bridlington 29 .
Final : Old Hymerians 14 Wot-A-Pullet 29 .
Thank you to all who played for the Old Pocklingtonians team and thank you to all OPs who participated both on and off the field in support of Pocklington Rugby Club .
See you next year !
BOXING DAY RUGBY 2016
The Boxing Day game for the Bottomley Trophy has produced numerous cliff-hanger outcomes on either side over the years , but the 2016 result is likely to be a first as Pocklington came back from the dead to grab a 29-29 draw with Old Pocklingtonians .
The fixture drew another bumper festive crowd , and it was decided to go ahead with one game consisting of two big squads , rather than spread resources thinly into two matches .
With the wind advantage from the Burnby Lane end , the OPs raced into a 29-5 interval lead before Pocklington scored 24 unanswered second half points to pull back to level .
The OPs made good use of the space out wide in the first period to set their flying wingers free . And their first try after five minutes was typical , raiding down the left from inside their own half then switching right where wing Billy Higgins ( 00-07 ) scampered to the corner .
But Pocklington were soon back on terms , several forwards carrying strongly in midfield to take them to within sight of the line , then skipper and hooker
Dave Birch ( 98-02 ) plunging over on the short side . Pocklington immediately shot themselves in the foot , allowing the restart to bounce for the OPs to win the ball back . The OPs fielded a bevy of Wilsons , none of them related , who combined up the middle before going wide for wing Higgins to dart to the line .
Having got their noses back in front the OPs then pulled clear . James Wilkinson ( 99-10 ) and Lewis Wilson ( 14-16 ) made the inroads and Tom Sowersby ( 05-12 ) finished on the flank . Higgins rarely appears on the big stage but invariably makes an impression , and a good break freed the Shiptonthorpe
racer to sprint down the left and round to the posts for Sowersby to convert . Then the OPs broke from deep and Sowersby was on hand to go under the bar and add another conversion .
Much of Pocklington ’ s play thus far had been disjointed , but there was a hint of things to come as they improved at the close of the first half to end it on the attack .
A reshuffled line up and the wind advantage saw Pocklington maintain momentum into the second period and good work from the Britland brothers ,
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