An unseasonably warm weekend had North entertaining teams on both Saturday and Sunday at the Lodge. The men’s first XV welcomed Old Otliensiens in their Yorkshire two league match whilst the ladies first XV hosted distant side Stafford RUFC in the quarter final of the Women’s Junior Cup. The sponsors luncheon held before the men’s match was another well attended affair that helped build a jovial atmosphere as supporters spilled out on to the sidelines to cheer on the team. Many thanks to all who organised the event Tim and Vicki Phillips, Simon Warren and Craig Nasby who stepped in at last minute to cook the food.

Coming off the back of a rare loss in the league last weekend, North’s ladies were fired up for their cup quarter final match against Stafford RUFC. Affording no quarter to an unfamiliar team, the hosts started brightly with multiple phases of ball carrying familiar to anyone who has watched the team throughout the season. Quick support at the breakdown allowed the ball to be recycled through the hands with a pace that
kept the visitors off guard. Utilising several differing attacking options, North made their way up the pitch and forced Stafford to defend their own try line early in the game. The relentless pressure began to tell as, with gaps opening up, scrum half Trinity Earnshaw dived through to begin the scoring. Flyhalf Ellie Readman kicked the conversion.
From the restart, Stafford were able to bring their game plan to bear and made the hosts endure a prolonged spell of defensive work in the face of aggressive offensive play. As it sometimes is on the day, the last pass would not stick in the hand for the visitors and, with some tidy work from North’s back three players, any opportunities were snuffed out and quickly turned back around. Amy Parker on the wing was especially busy throughout, often disregarding any personal wellbeing for the good of the team to make sure nobody got through. The attempts from both teams to impose their will upon the game meant that the first half passed in a flurry of activity and at the interval, North still held their precious seven point lead.
The second half managed to maintain the fast paced nature of the first. North managed to see and hold onto a bit more possession, on occasion stringing a number of phases together to work the ball out wide perhaps a touch quicker than they had managed in the first half. This alteration in style paid off as winger Lucy Robinson found herself in space and with the ball to canter free and score North’s second try with Readman once again adding the conversion.
North capitalised on this newfound momentum and wasted no time in pinning the visitors back again. This time it was the forwards who, through their hard carrying at speed and with good support, gained the bulk of the yards towards the try line. Once within striking distance, prop Lisa Walker smashed through several defenders to score next to the posts, affording Readman another straightforward attempt on goal.
She dutifully kicked the conversion to take North’s lead out to twenty one points. Stafford to the great credit refused to capitulate and showed great team spirit to continue the battle deep into the second half. Stoic defending from North meant that it took over twenty phases of impressive and continuous play from the away side before they were eventually rewarded with a try out wide. North’s players made sure that this was a one time occurrence and kept Stafford at bay for the remainder of the game so that the match finished with a final score of Northallerton 21 – Stafford 5.
Player of the match was awarded to Ellie Readman, forward of the match to Emily McCormack and back of the match was given to Amy Parker. Many thanks to Stafford RUFC for travelling with such good support and for playing a game in great spirits. Thanks also to the referee for officiating the match, and to all of the many volunteers and supporters at the club who help make the day happen. In particular to Jo and Mark Linthwaite for their donation for the match teas.

The men of North’s first XV took on high flyers in the league, Old Otliensiens RUFC. Heading into the game the hosts knew it was likely to be a difficult encounter as traditionally, Otliensiens have favoured an expansive, fast paced style of rugby very different in its nature to how North typically play the game. It seemed imperative then, that North needed to impose themselves physically from the off and for a time this is what the forward pack managed to do. Carrying hard and keeping the ball tight meant that North were able to exert some pressure, testing out the defensive soundness of Otliensiens. Quite against the run of play, the opening try of the game occurred. The bounce of the rugby ball is notorious for its unpredictability, often unlocking the tightest of defences. Having turned the ball over at breakdown and made a few metres up the pitch, the visitor’s scrum half dabbed a small box kick over the top of the ruck into the space behind. Despite having the kick seemingly
covered, the bounce fell unexpectedly into the arms of the chasing winger who raced away to score under the posts making the conversion a simple kick.
This try turned the momentum of the game on its head. Otliensiens’ attacking play had far more flow to it from here on, epitomised by their elusive back three players who seemed to score almost with every touch of the ball. The second try was a longer range, solo effort from the visitor’s winger, beating five men with his footwork and pace to score under the posts. The conversion was kicked again. North managed a brief interlude to the Otliensiens onslaught. A familiar catch and drive routine from the lineout brought play up to the try line and, after a number of patient phases, flanker Billy Burgin barged his way through the tackles to cross the line.
This respite did no last too long though as the pace and fitness of Otliensiens’ players began to stretch North beyond breaking point repeatedly. The visitor’s other winger, keen not to be outshone, decided to take the ball and show his footwork by beating four defenders and scoring another impressive solo effort to extend the lead. Both wingers then rounded off their first half efforts with another try each before a
more concerted effort from the forward pack saw them crash over from short range to take the score at half time to 5-40 in the visitor’s favour.
The team talk at the break for North can not have been an easy one to muster. In spite of a clear dominance at scrum and lineout time, North were struggling to find an answer to the pace opposing them. However, when uncertain, playing to your strengths is often a good start and this North were able to do with success upon the resumption of play. Muscling their way up the slope, the hosts took their time about building the pressure, keeping the ball alive and supporting closely to avoid the turnovers. At long last, it was captain Jack Tart who darted underneath the onrushing defence to score the try before kicking the conversion himself.
This approach for North did manage to slow much of the scoring from Otliensiens for a significant portion of the half, frustrating them at every breakdown and competing fiercely in defence. Eventually it was the fitness of the visitors that made the difference as the continued to keep the pace of the game high, creating gaps and causing uncertainty in the North defence. The temporary deadlock was broken with a sumptuous line carved by the visiting number eight who looked right at home running hard in the midfield to go through untouched and score under the posts.
As the clock was approaching its end, both sides managed one last hurrah in their own inimitable styles. Otliensiens’ winger completed his hat-trick in the same fashion as his previous two tries, a long range effort beating multiple defenders en route to the try line. Whilst for North it was a spell of pressure culminating in a pushover scrum try scored by Iain Swall with the conversion added as well.
The game ended with a final score of Northallerton 19 – Old Otliensiens 54. An entertaining game to watch and one that will give North plenty of experience. Many thanks to all the supporters at the club who help make the day happen, to the referee for officiating the match and to Otliensiens for travelling in such good numbers.