Big wins and narrow escapes

Determination seemed to be the key theme for North this time in the men’s and the ladies’ first XV games, both played away from home. The men travelled over for their rearranged fixture at Halifax whilst the ladies overcame the adversarial weather conditions to organise a last-minute match away at Acklam RUFC.

The ladies’ first XV managed a last-minute scramble to take a squad of seventeen to Acklam after the original fixture was cancelled and North’s pitches flooded. Acklam hastily pulled together a squad of twelve and in exhibiting the true spirit of rugby, both teams agreed to swap players and play a 14v14 match to allow a game to go ahead. North started the game strongly and fly half Trinity Earnshaw found space out wide, shipping the ball through the hands to fullback Emma Lawson who scored the first try of the game. The ball was slippery and possession changed hands on a number of occasions. The back row of the visitor’s pack carried the ball hard over the gain line, SJ Pritchard benefiting in the end from numerous attacking phases as she glided through a gap and dived over the line for the visitor’s second try of the game. Stalwart of the pack Abby Robinson was quick to get in on the scoring action. Despite some spirited defence from the hosts, tackles coming in low and hard, it wasn’t enough to stop the number eight who barged her way over the top of the defenders to score under the posts. The try was converted by Pritchard. A number of injuries to the home side meant that several re-shuffles took place to allow the game to continue at fourteen-a-side. This presented an opportunity for players to try out different positions on the pitch, usual centre Emily McCormack slotted into the number eight role and used her handling skills to create space for hooker Lottie Jones to score another try for the away side.
The half time whistle came and went and North had established a commanding lead. Acklam were having to do a lot of defending as the previous night’s wet weather made retaining possession difficult, so North were often the beneficiaries of spilled passes. Lucy Robinson was the next player from the visitors to score a try, crashing through numerous tackles and using her power to get her over the try line. In spite of the difficulties in retaining possession, North managed to create some good attacking platforms and put into practice their patterns of play from the training paddock. Second row Hannah Metcalfe was imperious in the line out, allowing North to build phases and cross the try line on several more occasions. The centre partnership of Nat Gardiner and Lucy Robinson both got their names on the score sheet to extend the away side’s lead. Unfortunately, it was at this point on the 65-minute mark that, due to a number of injuries to players from the home side, who the club hope recover well, time was called on the game as both sides ran out of players to continue with.
The final score for the match was Acklam 0 – Northallerton 37. Congratulations to player of the match Gina Fothergill, back of the match Lucy Robinson and forward of the match Hannah Metcalfe.
A huge thank you is for the ladies from Acklam RUFC who dropped their Sunday plans at very short notice to hastily arrange a fixture at their own club. Thanks also to the referee for the match who likewise officiated at short notice, and thanks also to all the supporters of both teams who turned out to watch an entertaining match.

North’s men’s first XV played their re-arranged fixture away against Halifax RUFC. In similarity to the ladies’ game on the Sunday, wet weather conditions the night before made for a slippery ball that caused a myriad number of handling errors. It was the hosts who struck the first blow of the game. Coming out of the blocks with a fire and determination that took them within striking distance of the North try line, they showed patience to convert the pressure into an unconverted try. North were quick to pull themselves into gear and set about their typical patterns, relying on the set piece to establish a platform from which scrum half Jack Tart was able to snipe around the fringes of the ruck and score another try for his season’s tally. This was also unconverted which levelled the scores. There was very much a tit-for-tat feel to the game as both sides searched for a way to build a lead. Halifax kicked a penalty to take them ahead briefly as Jedd Bainbridge replied with a penalty to keep the scores even. It was the lineout for North that proved to be a source of stability. The familiar catch and drive routine that has served so well in the past delivered once again. Number eight Iain Swall benefitting from the collective efforts of the away side’s pack to score an unconverted try in the corner of the field. Halifax quickly brought themselves back into the game by using their big forward runners to bash dents into the North defence and give them field position that they were able to take advantage of. Employing some good ingenuity, the host’s scrum half chipped the ball over the top of the on rushing North defence and read the bounce of the ball well to gather and run in to the try line. The conversion was kicked to push the hosts into a slender lead.
The game continued in much the same fashion of both teams searching for the crucial score that would either level things again or build the lead to secure the match. A theme of high, hard tackling from the hosts resulted in yellow card being issued three times for them whilst North’s Alex Hugill was given ten minutes in the bin for a professional foul. These cards offered both sides opportunities to get on top in the game. Halifax must surely have thought they had done enough to secure the points when their scrum half once again produced a moment of magic by kicking through the line and gathering to repeat his feat in the first half. The unsuccessful conversion attempt would come back to haunt the hosts though. North scored a try in the last throws of the match, again from their driving lineout. This time it was flanker Matt Clarke who steered from the back of the maul and drove it over to claim the try. Bainbridge was on target with the crucial conversion from out wide that levelled scores and made sure the honours were shared for the match. The final score was Halifax 20 – Northallerton 20. Many thanks to Halifax for hosting the match and to the referee for officiating. Thanks also to the many travelling supporters who made the long drive to support the club.

For any readers who would like to play rugby in Northallerton, the men train on Tuesday and Thursday 7pm, the ladies on Wednesday 7pm and the juniors on Sunday 10am. All ages and abilities welcome, please contact the club on social media for more information.