BEVERLEY RUFC got their season off to a disappointing start with a 44-15 defeat against Morley.
They never quite recovered from a blistering start by Morley, who went 17-0 up after only 20 minutes through tries by Bradley Marshall, Tom Clough, and Tom Moody and a conversion by Mark Chester.
Beverley had lost their scrum-half Rob Smith early on and he now joins his fellow half-back, skipper Phil Duboulay, on the sidelines, possibly for some time.
It looked like being a calamitous afternoon for Beverley, but they rallied well in the second quarter and got back into the match with a try by Anthony Maka and a conversion and penalty by Jamie Gill.
Morley played the whole of the second half with 14 men after prop Dave Wightman was red-carded, but Beverley were unable to make the extra man count.
Two penalties and a converted penalty try took Morley 20 points clear at 30-10 and Beverley too were reduced to 14 when Martin Shaw received a second yellow card.
The match was beyond Beverley's grasp but they stuck at it bravely and Alex Ogilvie crossed for a second home try.
The game became increasingly error strewn and in a relatively scrappy last quarter Morley romped further ahead with two tries by Luke Watt, with Chester adding both conversions, to make the final score 44-15.
