This week had the men’s first XV away at Halifax RUFC in the semi final of the cup, whilst the ladies’ first XV ventured up into the Yorkshire Dales to play Wensleydale Heifers in their NC2 league match.

North’s men made the long journey across to Halifax to play a match billed as a double jeopardy fixture. League rescheduling and availability meant that in the interest of both teams it was agreed to play this fixture as both the league match and the cup semi-final. Knowing the ferocity of competition they were likely to face, North were urgent in their desire to make a quick start and were duly rewarded when early territory and pressure, both through set piece and open play, yielded a try to centre Shayne Anderson, powering his way through the tackles from close range. Ed Neville was on target with the conversion. The pressure from North kept coming as the lineout, a strength of the side, featured heavily in a kicking centric opening quarter. Ross Easdon was the next name on the scoresheet, popping up in the attacking line from fullback to take a delightful loop pass from number 8 Iain Swall.
Halifax looked to their heavy forward runners to gain them some momentum in the match. By spreading the ball from coast to coast before punching it up hard in the middle, they managed to stretch the North defence and find a gap down the blind side to get themselves back in contention. This seemed to swing the game back in the home favour and from here Halifax looked to exert their gameplan on proceedings. A good line break inside their own half culminated in another try under the posts. With the conversion kicked, the scores were tied.
An attempted long range penalty kick fell agonisingly short for the home side, however another opportunity presented itself within minutes that was nudged over the cross bar from over forty metres out. With this, Halifax crept into the lead. As the half came to a close, North mounted a last surge of attacking endeavour. A kick to the corner brought forth a chance to deploy the well tried catch and drive routine.
Hooker Seamus Talbot was able to nail his throw before running round to guide the maul over the try line to take the lead on the stroke of half time.
As play got underway again, North refused to let up in their pressure, attacking with coordination and aggression to get within reaching distance of the host’s goal line. David Baker provided the critical push to get the ball over the try line in the corner. Halifax were willing to throw the ball around from anywhere on the pitch and managed to catch North unawares, running back a loose kick from their own goal
line. A handful of smart offloads and some pacey wheels out wide and Halifax were over North’s try line in the corner. The attacking lineout was where North drew their platform for the game from, managing to set the stage for letting loose the pace North have out wide. Swift hands down the line put Easdon into a one-on-one position against his opposite man. A shuffle of his hips was enough to take him gliding past and over the try line out wide. Neville was once again on target from the touchline to take the extras.
As the minutes ticked down, the game opened up as both sides looked score the crucial try that would decide the outcome one way or another. A charged down kick in the midfield from Halifax bounced kindly for Northallerton and with some astute handling to move it into space allowed Anderson to kick forward, chase, gather and score under the posts making the conversion a simple one for Neville. The pressure on the game was ever mounting and North sensed it was there for the taking. An attacking lineout looked to be the key to securing the game however the ball spilled out and from here, Halifax were able to mount their offensive that ended up in a last try in the corner to end the match.
The final score at the full-time whistle read Halifax 25 – Northallerton 36. A tremendous performance on the road from the team to take them into the cup final. Many thanks to Halifax for their generous hospitality, to the referee for officiating the match and to all the supporters who travelled to cheer the lads on. On Sunday, the ladies’ first XV were back in league action with a trip up to Wensleydale RUFC. The tie has been fiercely contested in recent seasons and, having met twice already with honours between the teams tied, everything seemed to be up for grabs. Dale started brightly, showing early dominance in almost every facet of the game as North struggled to contain their ferocity. An early converted try shocked North into life, along with some stern words from coach Robbo. This woke the visitors up and a strong, organised defence ensued that slowed down the Dale attack. When North held possession they were able to keep the ball well between phases, asking plenty of questions of the hosts. In spite of these efforts, North were unable to make an impact on the scoreboard. Instead, it was the Heifers who stretch out their lead to three converted tries. On the half hour mark, Dale were on the attack again before an interception from North’s winger Sarah Rowe on her own twenty-two metre line and used her searing pace to break clear and score the visitor’s opening try. This proved to be a brief respite for North as the relentless attack from Dale brought them another try before the half was out. The score at the interval was 28-5 in the home side’s favour.
The second half started better for North as they carried on building their phases of possession to reach the host’s end of the pitch on several occasions. Fly half Trinity Earnshaw managed to delay her pop pass just long enough to draw in the defenders and create a hole for Gina Fothergill to storm through to score. Wensleydale were ruthless and precise in their attacking endeavours and, as North began to feel the strain of the game on their depleted bench, the hosts scored two tries in quick succession to take them further into the lead. It was North who managed the last say in the game though, mounting another attack the culminated with another delicate pop pass from Earnshaw the captain Abby Rollings who charged straight through the defence to round the day off.
The final score at the end was Wensleydale 40 – Northallerton 15. Player of the match was awarded to Sarah Rowe, forward of the match to SJ Pritchard, and back of the match to Emma Thompson-Brooke. A valiant effort from both sides with Wensleydale justified winners on the day. Another closely contested match will surely be in the offing again soon. Many thanks to Wensleydale for their generous hospitality in hosting and with a large crowd to watch certainly made for a special occasion on International Women’s Day. Thank you also to the referee for officiating the match, and to all of North’s supporters who came to cheer the team on.