Easy win for eight-try Brods

Four tries in each half, including doubles for returning pair Tom Hanson and Phil Town, helped steady the ship after back-to-back defeats and lifted the Hipperholme side to sixth in Yorkshire One.

Akroyd, an experienced player but new to the head coaching role this season, said: “If you lose three on the bounce you may start to worry that the way you want to play and your philosophy is not right.

“To get a win against a large side is great and our execution in attack was fantastic.”

Like Brods, Dinnington had also won two of their four previous games but they had little to offer apart from some muscle up front and in truth it was a fairly comfortable afternoon for the home side.

Brods received the kick off and their forwards made good ground up the slope with Hanson, Alex Murphy and Danny Vento showing the way.

After at least a dozen phases of play, a high tackle gave centre Town a fairly easy penalty chance but he missed; a sign of things to come as Brods managed only four points from nine shots at goal.

The respite was only temporary for the visitors as prop Joe Kafatolu powered over from close range on seven minutes to give the home side a 5-0 lead.

A knock-on from the restart allowed Dinnington some welcome possession. A failure to pass cost them a try wide on the right but stand off Jonny West kicked an easy penalty.

Home flanker Ben Hoyle, otherwise excellent, managed to get himself sin-binned while Brods were in possession and Dinnington had their best spell, a couple of scoring chances going begging after careless knock-ons.

Michael Briggs, Brods’ pocket battleship centre, eased the pressure with one of several breaks and shortly after he brushed off a couple of defenders near the left-hand touchline to score a fine try and make it 10-3 after 24 minutes.

Dinnington lost a prop to the sin-bin and Brods had Kafatolu temporarily sidelined through injury.

The home scrum suffered the most from the changes but it didn’t stop Brods adding two tries in four minutes at the end of the first half.

Hanson plunged over at the side of the posts and Town, who converted that score, then outstripped the cover on a 40 metre run to the line after Hoyle had produced turnover ball and Briggs had cracked the defensive line.

Trailing 22-3 with the slope to face and bereft of ideas in attack, there looked no way back for Dinnington. So it proved.

Murphy added Brods’ bonus point try three minutes after the restart but after concerted pressure the South Yorkshire men made their scrum advantage count and flanker Oli Rodgers touched down.

Young stand-off Joe Potter made a diagonal run towards the corner but was caught just short and winger Jason Dodd was ruled held up over the try line. However, Hanson made it 32-8 from a lineout catch and drive on the opposite side of the pitch shortly after,

Dodd cashed in after more good work from Briggs with 11 minutes left but West replied from Dinnington’s rolling maul from 35 metres out.

The final try came when Town, having failed to find touch with a penalty, gathered the clearance kick and weaved through the Dinnington ranks to score with his trademark swallow dive at the side of the posts. Jimmy Hodgkinson, the third Brods goalkicker on the day, completed the scoring with the conversion.