Clean sweep of wins and promotion secured.

This week saw all three of Northallerton’s senior teams in action. Both the men’s first and second XV were away on Saturday to Rotherham Phoenix and Barnard Castle respectively. The ladies’ faced off against Houghton Hornets at the Lodge in the only home fixture of the week.
Northallerton men’s first XV travelled away to play Rotherham Phoenix RUFC in a game where a bonus point win would guarantee a promotion spot. North kicked off and immediately set about implementing pressure on the hosts by trying to gain territory from which to attack. Wise to North’s usual tactics from the previous encounter this season, the fly half from Rotherham cleared the danger on several occasions, kicking long down field and making life difficult for the visitors to exit their own 22-metre area. After a period of sustained defensive work, North managed to not only clear their lines but also gain the territory they sought using a combination of hard carrying from the forwards and the backs to take the game to Phoenix. This long spell of continuous possession was justly rewarded with the opening try of the game to North, having battled the full length of the field to earn it. Flanker Matt Clarke grabbing the honours with a tidy drive over from short distance. Rotherham were quick to respond and made the most of a favourable bounce of the ball to race away from the trailing defence and score a converted try to take the lead. The lead changed hands again in the first half as winger Ben Pilling found space out wide after the ball had been moved swiftly through the hands of the backs to score out wide. Jedd Bainbridge knocked over the conversion. Before the half was through, North scored their third try from the forward pack again, having been applying relentless pressure to the host’s try line. Rotherham’s cause wasn’t helped by a red card for a high tackle.
The game resumed after half time with North sitting in a commanding ten-point lead. Spurred on by the promise of promotion, the visitor’s laid siege to the Phoenix line once again in the hunt for their bonus point fourth try. It turned out the only spaces to be found were tight in close to the ruck as Rotherham’s excellent defence out wide shut down most attacking opportunities. After some time, the bonus point try was secured and with it promotion sealed. Phoenix weren’t to be stopped though and they made the most of their possession to put real pressure on the North defence, testing it both in narrow and out wide. The rewards for their efforts came right at the end of the game, scoring in the final plays of the match. With the whistle blowing to end the game the final score stood at Rotherham Phoenix 12 – Northallerton 22. A big thank you to Rotherham for their generous hospitality, to the referee for officiating the game and to all the travelling support.

The sun was shining for the first time in a while when the ladies’ first XV took on Houghton Hornets and whether it was the extra vitamin D or the large crowd that had gathered to watch but the ladies put on a show from the first whistle. Quickly into their stride, the ball was shipped around between everyone, carrying hard and with purpose. It wasn’t long before the backs strung together a few nice passes and Sarah Rowe was in for the first try of the game. Houghton were not put off by this and came back at the hosts with some strong attacking phases that required dedicated defence to hold out. In the end a turnover for North helped keep their lead. Possession changed hands several times through superb work at the rucks from both teams, the game looking like an evenly matched affair. Pushing into Hornets half, North strung several swift, precise passes together to give winger Lucy Robinson the ball and she ran in North’s second try. Not long after the restart, seasoned player Ali O’Brien found a gap and in her usual fashion exploited it to run in her first try. She then kicked the conversion to bring the score to 19-0. Houghton’s best spell of possession came next, forcing the home side to defend stoutly. Eventually the visitors found themselves with good field position and fighting hard to break a hole in the defence. Despite this sustained pressure, North were able to force the turnover and O’Brien kicked the ball deep up field for Robinson to chase. Using her speed she beat everyone to the ball and ran in her second try of the match.
The second half brought on much of the same. Houghton, having sustained several injuries, borrowed a few North players to keep the game going. There was no let in up in the attacking play from North though and this relentless stream of pressure led to tries from SJ Pritchard, Emily
McCormack and two from fullback Emma Lawson. At this stage in the game the score board seemed to have moved beyond the Hornet’s reach however the game certainly had not. The ferocity with which every play was contested, particularly at the breakdown, meant that the crowd was well entertained for the whole match. The visitors were unlucky on several occasions not to turn this possession into points.
In the latter stages of the game during another attack from North, winger Robinson ran a terrific support line after a meaty carry from Gina Fothergill around the halfway line and set off with much to do. Cutting inside several defenders she found a way to the line and to her hat-trick. The last play of the game saw O’Brien round off proceedings with another of her trademark tries. Finding a space and weaving her way past tacklers to dot down over the line. Converting her own try she brought the final score to Northallerton 58 – Houghton Hornets 0. Forward of the match was awarded to SJ Pritchard, back of the match to Rachael Bailey, opposition choice to Natalie Gardiner and congratulations to Emma Kirby who made her debut for the club and won the “top pint sinker” award. Many thanks to Houghton for travelling down with such good support, to the referee for officiating the match and to all the volunteers at the club who helped make the day happen.

Northallerton men’s second XV travelled to Barnard Castle RUFC in what promised to be a thrilling encounter. It did not disappoint the travelling support. The game started at a fast tempo and it wasn’t long before Northallerton got themselves onto the score board with a few passages of forward carries leading to young flanker Harry Robinson scoring his first try for the club. Shortly after it was the turn of prop Connah Richmond to use his strength and power, pushing himself over the line from ten metres out before dotting down. The conversion was added by Ben Gray. Having weathered this onslaught from the visitors, Barnard Castle brought themselves back into the match by using similar tactics of carrying hard in the forwards to secure two quick fire tries which were converted to take a two-point lead. It wasn’t long though before the visitors surged back into the lead. By bringing their backs into the game, North were able to exploit the spaces out wide. Winger Reece Brammah was next on the score sheet when he ran from one side of the pitch to the other, gliding past four defenders whilst doing so and scoring in the corner on the stroke of half time.
At the start of the second half North continued to apply pressure the hosts in much the same fashion. The forwards played a pivotal role in dictating how the game was being played and it wasn’t too long before prop Stephen Porter crashed his way over the try line to extend North’s lead. Barnard Castle wasted no time in responding and, in a game where the spectators were certainly well entertained, they took a quick tap penalty before passing the ball through the hands and dotted it down in the corner to reduce the deficit to three points. It was North though, who managed to clinch the game. Flanker Ray Humphreys spotted a loose pass off a Castle lineout close to their line and intercepted the ball to charge over the line and score the crucial, game deciding try. The remainder of the game was taken up by some solid defence by North and ferocious attacking play from the hosts however the final score held at Barnard Castle 19 – Northallerton 27. Man of the match was given to North’s number 8 Trevor for his heroic ball carrying and work around the pitch. A big thank you to Barnard Castle for the generous hospitality. Thanks also to the referee for the game who officiated well and many thanks to the travelling supporters who helped spur the team on all game.