Stocksbridge restored their winning form on Saturday with an emphatic win against Stanley Rodillians, having last earned a victory in the reverse fixture in September.

Bridge did not stand on ceremony as the game kicked off, immediately finding a hole in the Stanley Rods defence. A clinical back line play found the returning Ben Senior who rolled back the years as he powered through the line, stepped inside the full back and dotted down under the sticks. Scott Bowskill dutifully added the extras to make a 7-0 lead.

At every juncture Bridge looked like extending the score as they remained dominant during the opening exchanges, but an eagerness to capitalise on the pressure meant that chances were forced and opportunities missed.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the lead was doubled as quick ball off the line out found Pete Newton on the fringe who gratefully made the most of a huge gap in the stretched Rods defence to slide in for a try.

The home side would have to absorb a period of pressure on their own line as Joe Jones was sent to the bin for repeat offside offences. Solid defence prevented Rods from adding a score of their own, before defence quickly turned into attack when Andrew Beale picked off an overthrow at the line out and carried purposefully to halfway. With quick ball Rods were unable to scramble and Newton provided a quality assist for Senior’s second try of the afternoon. 21-0 the scores.

Rods then made the mistake of kicking a short restart straight to tight-head prop Joe Smith who ran the ball deep into the opposition half, dragging many a defender along with him. Gary Woodcock emulated Smith with another strong run, and looked for all money as though he would score, but alert full back Bowskill was on hand to finish the move for his seventh try of the season and secure the bonus point win on the stroke of half time.

Bridge didn’t let up in the second half and quickly added to the score. Fly half Paul Kelly reacted quickly to spark an attack from a quick line out and Smith embarked on another trademark run through the middle of the Rods defence. Man of the Match on the day Jordan “Spud” Fletcher received the offload and powered over the line for a try of his own.

With the scoreline out of sight the bench was emptied and they soon made their mark on the game. Jamie Christian snatched an opposition line out and expertly drew his man to feed scrum half Adam Frith who would not be caught as he ran in from half way to score his try. Moments later James Neal took a quick tap penalty from close range and bust through to score the games final try. Bowskill made it a perfect day from the tee to take the scores to 49-0.

At this point a valiant Rods side were down to just 12 men and with the result beyond doubt both captains and the referee made the decision to end the game there.

It was fantastic to see the Stocksbridge lads playing with smiles on their faces and enjoying their rugby. They sit fourth in the table, with their destiny very much in their own hands as they head into some key fixtures.

Updated 08:51 - 20 Nov 2018 by Lewis Bowman