Penswick in horror injury

Hollinwood player recovering from fractured cheekbone

HOLLINWOOD’S Rob Penswick suffered an horrific-looking fractured cheekbone as his side slipped to a 30-10 home defeat by Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks in division four.
Looking good on both attack and defence, Hollinwood were leading 10-6 at the point that the unfortunate full-back sustained his injury in an accidental collision.

In tackling an opposition winger, Penswick’s head made contact with a knee and the heavy contact left him bloodied and drifting in and out of consciousness.

The game was held up for almost an hour as a result of the injury, as the player was assessed and then carried off to hospital in an ambulance. Penswick was kept in for 24 hours for observation.

Hollinwood official Fred Halliwell confirmed that the player has recovered well and will revisit a specialist to find out if surgery is necessary. He faces a minimum of around six weeks out of action.

“He looked like he had been hit by a tram at first,” Halliwell said, “but thankfully it wasn’t as bad as was first feared.”

At the time of the accident, Hollinwood were looking good. A pair of tries from Alistair Williams and a single Darren Cooper goal had given them a 10-6 lead, but on the resumption of play the Sheffield outfit took control.

A mistake in the first set following the restart saw the ball go to ground, with the visitors kicking upfield to score a converted try to take the lead.

Hollinwood, clearly shaken by preceding events, went to pieces and the visitors went on to secure the game with a further three tries.

Alan Dalton was voted in as Hollinwood’s man-of-the-match, with strong performances elsewhere from Alistair Williams and Mark Johnson.

Penswick’s injury was concerning in the light of recent events elsewhere in the Pennine League.

A minute’s silence was held before kick-off across all matches in memory of Chris Brown, who died after suffering serious head injuries in a match involving his team, Silsden Park Rangers, and Meltham All Blacks.

The 24-year-old was helped from the field following an accidental clash of heads but passed away on Wednesday, September 16.