Smiles all round in another home clean sweep for Northallerton Rugby Club

It was a busy weekend for the club with a sponsors’ lunch and both men’s teams at home on Saturday against Sheffield Medics before the ladies hosted Hartlepool RUFC and the U15s played Stockton RUFC on Sunday.

After a slight delay to kick off following heavy traffic on the motorway, the games got underway at the Lodge with the many spectators able to enjoy open running rugby in both the men’s first and second XV games despite the adverse weather conditions. The first XV game kicked off and from the start North asserted the dominant facets of their game. Kicking to the corner and setting a platform for the forwards to get to work. This created space in the corner for winger Josh Barrett to force his way over and open the scoring. Jedd Bainbridge kicked the conversion from out wide. Medics were quick to shake off the journey and made a line break from their own half, showing the threat they posed out wide. Fortunately scrum half Jack Tart was own hand chasing back to gather the long kick through and diffuse the danger. This set the tone for a game that was end-to-end in nature and entertaining for the spectators. Barrett was quick to add his second try of the match, another powerful charge into the corner making short work of the defender in front of him. This prompted a response from Medics who scored two tries in rapid succession, exploiting holes in the North defence and putting the hosts on the back foot. At this point the score board still favoured the hosts, a conversion the only difference between the sides. Towards the break North’s forward pack turned the screw on the visitors and number 8 Iain Swall charged his way over the line to extend the lead into the half time break.
The second half put an end to Medic’s scoring as the host’s stamped their authority on the game. Some determined efforts by the visitors meant they carried a permanent threat and, on several occasions, came close to scoring but for a final pass or a last-ditch tackle. The score board moved away from them as first Matt Argo and then Swall notched up tries, Argo’s from a pick and go around the fringes of a ruck, Swall’s from a pick off the back of the scrum and being too big to stop close to the line. Bainbridge converted the second of those tries to further the lead. After a spell of possession for the visitors in which the home defence was soundly tested, Barrett rounded off his afternoon with a hat-trick try in the corner when the ball was finally turned over and spun out wide. Centre Ollie Walter’s smart off load opening the gap for Barrett to run onto the ball and dot down. This drew the game to a finish with a final score of Northallerton 34 – Sheffield Medics 10. A big
thank you to the referee for the day for officiating the match and to all the volunteers who help make the game happen.

The second XV kicked off on a slightly muddier and stickier pitch than the first XV. In spite of this, both teams played an expansive and entertaining game. The tempo of the match started high and stayed this way through out. Centre Joe Argo opened the scoring for the hosts by chasing hard onto a kick through from fly-half Doug Mulholland. This began a flurry of scoring as winger Ross Easdon made himself known to the visitors, dancing his way past tackles, out pacing everyone into the corner for his first try and then running onto a loose ball kicked through. Fortunately, the mud stopped the ball in goal and allowed him to drop on top of it. Scrum half Ben Gray added the extras to that try. Prop Connah Richmond showed his strength by carrying hard and straight into the visitor’s defence and eventually bursting through to dive over and score another try. This was converted by Ben Gray. It was Gray who was the beneficiary of the next spell of possession. Commanding his forward pack around the pitch, North made swift progress up to the away side’s try line and, spotting a gap close to the ruck he dived over for a try that he then converted. Medic’s then put together a good period of play, moving the ball back and forth across the pitch their centre then spotted space in the middle of the pitch and stepped his way past the defenders to score an unconverted try.
It was then the turn of North’s other winger Reece Brammah to announce himself to the game. Showcasing his talents and speed, he made a typical line break and quickly covered the forty metres to score in the corner. Brammah and Easdon traded another try each for the hosts before the end of the first half. North by this time had established a commanding lead. The game resumed with the Medics reduced in numbers following several injuries. Thanks to the many players who volunteered to swap shirts to keep the game going. This injection of enthusiasm brought Sheffield to life and after a number of phases of possession they kicked over the top of the on-rushing defence to score
their second and last try of the day. Fortunately for the home side they could turn to their dominant set piece to reaffirm their dominance in the game. Experienced props Paul Dixon and Joe Osleton (Northallerton’s answer to the South African “Bomb Squad”) coming on at the break to take the scrum for a walk up the slope. From here on in it became one way traffic on the score board as Medics found it difficult to hold onto possession. Jack Radcliffe scored a highlight try, running past defenders from 50 metres out he threw several dummies to open the door for himself and dived over the line. Lewis Pratt and Will Harrison both scored from close range as Brammah, who clearly hadn’t had enough of scoring, volunteered to swap teams and then scored a break away try with his first touch of the ball. A hat-trick of sorts for the winger. The game ended with a final score of Northallerton 60 – Sheffield Medics 10. A big thank you to the referee for officiating the game.
Thank you also to the many volunteers at the club who helped make the day happen and to all the spectators for both the games who braved the rain and wind to provide the atmosphere.

The ladies picked the better day for a game of rugby however the foot traffic of the day before had left the pitches in a muddy state. Nevertheless North welcomed Hartlepool RUFC to the Lodge as their final new opponent of the season. Not sure what to expect, the mood before kick off was quiet and focused. The first twenty minutes of the match were hard fought, both teams scrapping for possession and neither giving an inch. Hard carries, big tackles and frequent turnovers ensued as both teams looked for an early advantage in what was proving to be a very entertaining contest. Eventually, from the team playing as a complete unit, number eight Gina Fothergill found herself in
space on the wing and screamed for the ball. Shipping it out wide she then powered her way over the try line, handing off players as she went. Hartlepool were quick to answer and managed to pin North back in their own 22 metre area with hard carries from their forwards. Maintaining
possession they eventually powered over to level the scores. North’s reply to this was to work through their patterns of play and forced the visitors back toward their goal line before pulling a training ground move out of the bag to put Emma Lawson through a hole and over for a try. This put North ahead, but only just, at half time. The second half kicked off and the intensity of the first half carried on. Both teams were pushing hard to subdue the other and it was only a bit of magic that was going to unpick the game. Who else to provide that magic for North than their resident magician Ali O’Brien who ran with ball in hand, cutting through the middle of the field leaving Hartlepool players in her wake to extend North’s lead. With plenty of the game left to play, North hoped to continue building their lead, however Hartlepool had other ideas and threw everything they had into attack. Their persistence paid off as they scored under the posts which allowed their kicker to slot the conversion and close the gap to three point game. The rest of the game played out with no change in the pace. North managed to have the best of the possession while Hartlepool held on with every bit of energy they could muster. Hard carries from the forwards gave the hosts a platform to attack from. Fothergill again showed her power, beating defenders with sheer brute force before the visitor’s stopped her just short. From this though the ball was quickly recycled to Sarah Rowe who went over the line but was held up to close the game with the final score Northallerton 15 – Hartlepool 12. Forward of the match was given to Anna Ridings, back of the match to Sarah Rowe and opposition choice was Ali O’Brien. A big thank you to Hartlepool for travelling and playing such a good-spirited game. Thanks also to the referee for officiating the game and to Jo and Mark Linthwaite for the post-match tea.

Northallerton’s under 15s team played local team Stockton RUFC in a rematch of the fixture earlier in the season. In what was a tight game from start to finish, both sides looked to carry hard and use their physicality to gain the upper hand. Spells of possession for North allowed them to showcase much of the improvements made in training and both teams played the game with an enthusiasm and enjoyment that made spectating it a delight. The game finished with a final score of Northallerton 10 – Stockton 7, the tries for North scored by Oli Patterson and Hayden Norton. Many thanks to the referee for officiating the match and to all the parents, spectators and volunteers who make games like this take place.
For any readers interested in playing rugby in Northallerton, the men train on Tuesday and Thursday 7pm, the ladies train on Wednesday 7pm and the juniors play on Sunday 10 am. All ages and abilities welcome.