Thirsk snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as they beat visitors Castlefords 3rds 11-10 in a game that despite Thirsk dominating for long periods could of seen them the losing side.Thirsk started well determined to keep their 5 game unbeaten home record in tacked and played the better rugby of the two sides on show,Castleford showed from the off it was going to be a physical encounter as they tested the metal of both Thirsk and the Referee with some borderline legal hits both high and late,but Thirsk kept focused and stuck to the task but with cynical play at the tackle area and breakdown By the visitors Thirsk struggled to get into any rhythm and secure any effective possession.
Thirsk took the only points of the first half after the referee awarded them a penalty one of many now being given away by Castleford but being in range of the posts Chris Wood stepped up and stroked the kick over for Three points,With good platforms from line out and scrum Thirsk enjoyed plenty of pocession and looked in control but with only a three point lead they would need to work hard to turn pocession into points!
Castleford continued in a similar vein in the second half as they looked to spoil play and unsettle Thirsk, but at times did show that they were more than capable of attacking rugby if they allowed themselves to put the ball through hands and with good kicking from Their Number 10 they gained good field position asking serious questions of Thirsks defence but sadly in the main they continued to sink into non constructive rugby as the penalty count mounted for late tackles, high tackles and handling on the floor saw Thirsk enjoy good field position.During this period Thirsk were awarded a line out inside the vistors 22 metres and from the set piece Thirsks hooker Doug Smith took control of the ball at the back of the subsequent rolling maul and navigated his driving pack over the try line before touching down to add five points to the score and open his account for the season,With Thirsks front row responsible for four tries in the last three games they are proving to be more than just set piece specialists.
After Thirsk scored they allowed themselves to lose a bit of focus despite only leading by 8 points,and the visitors took the opportunity to get back in the game as they enjoyed a 10 minute spell of dominant rugby,a mix of strong running and accurate kicking gave them good field positioning which eventually bore fruit as they crossed the try line for five points before adding the extra two points to put them right back in the game.
This was the wake up call Thirsk needed and from the restart pinned Castleford in their own half and pushed for the try line with a mixture of running rugby from the backs and pick and drive forward play,but they still struggled to turn pressure into points and Castleford fort hard to keep them out ! But as Castleford again gave away another penalty Thirsk decided to build a scoring platform from their strong line out and kicked into the corner 10 metres out, Thirsk took control of the ball from the throw and looked to have good position to add points but Castleford illegally pulled
down the maul and somehow end up with the ball on their side of the subsequent ruck with the referee waving play on Castleford broke up field and crossed into Thirsk half,Thirsk scrambled defence held strong but gave away a penalty out wide,the visitors decided to kick for points but to Thirsks relief the kick was missed, but bounced back off the posts and was knocked on by a Thirsk player as they scrambled to clear the danger 30 metres from their own try line,Castleford were awarded a scrum but Thirsk were not about to role over and pushed hard to put pressure on Castleford scrum,Thirsk looked to have pushed them off the ball when the referee blew up and reset the scrum,Then a tactical injury to a Castleford prop saw the scrum turn to uncontested for the reset and Castleford set up for an attempt to kick a drop goal which despite Thirsks attempted charge down sailed over to put the visitor two points in front with only three minutes left in the game.
Thirsk of old would of fallen off the rails and conceded the game,but instead showed why they are unbeaten at home this season,leading from the front captain Matthew Barr charged up field and timed his hit on the fielding Castleford player to a perfection to give Thirsk a sniff of a turn over which was secured by the rest of Thirsks pack hitting the breakdown to clear out the whole Castleford defence on mass! The ball was then driven up field in 5 metre waves
towards the 22 metre line then predictably the visitors strayed off side and the referee awarded Thirsk the penalty they needed inside the last minute of the game,This time the decision was taken to kick for points Wood coolly kicked the three points On offer and gave Thirsk the victory 11-10 with what was to be the last kick of the match