North continue their winning ways at home

Taking centre stage this weekend was North’s U15 team. Moving quickly on from their significant victory over the Lower Dales barbarians they faced the test of hosting Stockton U15s at the Lodge. The men’s second XV played the day before on Saturday, again, having enjoyed multiple victories in previous weeks their confidence was high as they entertained a third XV side from Darlington RFC.

The U15s started the game putting together some strong opening phases met by solid defence from the visitors. Good tackling from James Burke created a turn-over which fly half Pattison capitalised on by beating several defenders to score in the corner. The inclement weather made North’s usual style of open play difficult, and some handling errors ensued that Stockton were quick to pounce on.
Evading the tackles of the home team, Stockton levelled the score line at five a piece with a well taken try just before the half time mark.
The second half started as the first had finished with both teams running strong lines and tackling well. North’s next score resulted from powerful carries by fullback Vauvert and centre Graham punching holes in the midfield. An offload from one of these carries found its way into the hands of Jake Stockdale to was tackled just short of the line. From the subsequent ruck, Evan Young powered his way over the try line to push North into the lead. As the game moved into the final ten minutes both teams worked hard to build some phases and gain continuity of possession. One such attack by Stockton was met firm resistance from the North’s hard tackling back row and midfield. Same Pearce-Hogg helped turn the momentum back in the home team’s favour by stealing the ball and charging fifty metres up the pitch to set up a platform for his forwards to work from. Having had several attempts on the Stockton line repelled, Robinson opted to move the ball wide to fellow half-
back partner Pattison who went over under the posts for his second try of the game and then added the conversion to take full advantage of the score. Stockton refused to roll over though and kept coming in attack, driving deep into the North ascendancy from the kick off and despite the best efforts of North’s defence, worked their way over the line for a well-deserved score on the last play of the game. The final score was Northallerton 17 – Stockton 10. Man of the match was awarded to Sam Pearce-Hogg for his ferocious tackling. Thank you to Stockton for travelling in such good numbers, to the referee for officiating the game and to all the volunteers and club members who
helped make the day happen. Benji the Labrador showed his enthusiasm for U15s by slipping his collar mid-way through the second half to run on and celebrate with his favourite players.

The men’s second XV hosted Darlington third XV for a fixture on a surprisingly dry and calm Saturday afternoon at the Lodge. The game set off with North firing on all cylinders. After a small number of phases from the forwards the ball was moved wide quickly into the hands of winger Josh Barrett who beat his defender for pace and used his power to score in the corner for yet another try this season. Darlington were not content to play second fiddle though and responded in sharply. They won a penalty on the halfway line and kicked for the corner, from which they used their big forwards to crash over and take the lead after the conversion was added. Continuing the fast start to the game North drove their way back up into the visitor’s territory and, after multiple phases in the red zone it was their young flanker Harry who powered his way over the try line off a lineout to retake the lead for the hosts. After such a frantic start to the game it almost seemed necessary for a period of steadier rugby to take place to allow everyone, including the spectators, chance to catch their breath. Towards the end of the half though both teams looked to take a lead into the break.
Darlington scoring another converted try under the posts after utilising their large forward carriers to get over the gain line effectively and force North onto the back foot in defence. The host’s responded with another try out wide, possibly the pick of the match. Great interplay that involved all of the backs saw several daring offloads stick to hand and allowed North’s scrum half the chance to dive over in the corner to score. A breathless end to the half saw the score at 15-10 to the home team.
The second half started much as the first had finished, number 8 Josh Ransom picked the ball from the back of an attacking scrum in front of the posts and showed a surprising turn of speed to beat all defenders and force his way over the try line. Ben Gray added the conversion. The second half struggled to match the level of intensity enjoyed in the first half of the game. A try from winger Ben Pilling was surely the standout moment as he beat several defenders in his customary fashion to race away and score out wide. Despite some committed running from Darlington and a refusal to give up, they weren’t able to add to their tally and the game ended with the final score, Northallerton 27 – Darlington 10. A big thank you to the referee for officiating the game and to all the volunteers at the club who helped make the day happen.

For any readers interested in playing rugby in Northallerton, training for the men is on Tuesday and Thursday 7pm, the ladies train on Wednesday 7pm and the juniors play on Sunday 10am. All ages and abilities welcome.