It has been an eventful season for Northallerton RUFC in both the men’s and women’s leagues. After eight months of competition, the regular season fixtures are drawing to an end for the teams of Northallerton rugby club. To round events off in style, a double header fixture against Bridlington RUFC was organised at Brompton Lodge for the men’s first and second XV, whilst the ladies’ first XV finish their season off with an eventful encounter against Novocastrian’s RUFC.

Brompton Lodge was the venue for an afternoon full of rugby on Saturday. The women’s six nations was on in the bar, the sponsor’s lunch was once again a well-attended, highly enjoyable event that ensured a large crowd were in good voice once the matches kicked off. Many thanks to all the volunteers who spared their time and efforts to making the luncheon happen. A special thanks must be said for Sue Mulholland for her sumptuous cooking for the buffet lunch.
The men of the first XV took to the field for the last time this season against Bridlington RUFC, a team who stand at second in the league and looking to cement their chances of promotion with a win. Similarly at the bottom end of the league table, North were looking for the points that would guarantee staying in the Yorkshire 2 league for next time. The opening minutes of the game was an action packed sequence of big carry meeting big tackle. Bridlington were ferocious in their attacking intent and quickly forced North back to their own try line. In spite of the
determined tackling on show, the hosts were unable to stop the opposing centre from carving an intelligent running line right through the heart of the defence to mark the first try of the game. The conversion under the posts was a simple one and secured the full seven points for the visitors. North bounced back into action, this time on the offensive and put on a show for the spectators, undermining the difference in leaguepositions between the two sides.
There was a ruthlessness about Bridlington in attack in that, when given any opportunity, they made the most of it. The next try in the game went the way of the visitors who elected the more close quarters route to the line, using the strength of their forward carriers to bundle through the tacklers in front of them. The conversion was added to extend their lead. North refused to let the momentum of the game swing away from them completely and instead set about probing the defence across the full width of the pitch. A delightful series of passes and off loads eventually put the ball into the hands of centre Ed Neville who danced past the last defender to score out wide.
The tense nature of the game continued for much of the first half, neither team able to pull away or press home their advantage to any effect. The set piece remained an even contest for the most part, even as the heat of the day sapped the strength from legs. As the first half minutes looked to expire, an innocuous scrum to Bridlington in the middle of the pitch wheeled towards the blind side and set their scrum half on his
way, skirting past flailing arms he raced clear to the try line almost on the stroke of half time to take the visitors into healthy lead of 5-19 at the break.
After a quick refreshment, concise team talk and a regathering of thoughts, the teams swapped ends and resumed play, this time with North playing down the slope to the clubhouse. The introduction from the bench of centre Shayne Anderson provided some much-needed go-forward in the midfield, immediately breaking tackles and putting North on the front foot. An injury in the front row brought onto the field veteran prop Paul Dixon who was celebrating his last league appearance for Northallerton first XV with his decision to retire from rugby after a momentous 40 years of continuous senior men’s rugby at Northallerton RUFC. Truly the end of an era in the front row. Using his experience, he settled a creaking scrum that helped North to gain a penalty, kicked into the corner. The resulting phases created an attacking platform in the midfield from which Anderson barrelled his way over the try line to bring the hosts back in contention. Captain Jack Tart kicked the conversion in a difficult wind to narrow the deficit.
This score rejuvenated the home side and with determined carrying from all of the forward pack, alongside some hard-nosed graft from the backs, they built momentum to take them towards the opposition goal line once more. Hammering on the door on the defence for an interminable amount of time, the barricade eventually gave under the carrying of Ed Meek who was beaten to the try line only by the referee awarding a penalty try for professional fouling as Meek grounded the ball. The given conversion was a bonus as it brought the scores level, however Meek will surely be notching that one on his tally for the season.
Against all external expectation, North found themselves battling for much of the second half against a team at the top end of the table with honours even and playing some of their best rugby for it. The heat of the day, combined with the hard ground and the high intensity of the match had taken its toll on the side and, as the game crept into its last quarter, the visitors utilised their superior endurance to continually
pull apart the North defence. Eventually, in spite of some heroic efforts from the home side, the dam broke and a series of four quick-fire scores from Bridlington took the game out of North’s reach. A last try at the close of the game helped to pad out the scoreboard and finish the match with a final score of Northallerton 19 – Bridlington 52.
An entertaining and hard fought match that for much of it was closer than the score would suggest. A deserved victory for Bridlington and the club wishes them the best of luck in their promotion bid for next season. Many thanks to the referee for officiating the match, to Bridlington and their supporters for making the long journey in good numbers and to all of North’s supporters and volunteers for their support of
the team throughout the season. The run of results elsewhere looks to have left North in tenth position, safe from relegation barring any league reshuffles.

Simultaneously, North’s second XV were hosting the second XV of Bridlington in a fixture that demonstrated many of the admirable qualities of amateur rugby. Travelling with only twelve players but still keen to play, Bridlington made use of the offer to borrow some of North’s players to make the game happen. As was the case with the first XV fixture on the neighbouring pitch, the second XV encounter was a fast paced affair, the hard ground facilitating some wonderful running rugby. Bridlington clearly felt their strength was in the wider channels, whereas North stuck to their forward pack to provide the muscle needed to get over the gain line. Bridlington were the first to get on the scoreboard, registering a couple of early tries that saw the best of their handling capabilities from the passes in the build up. North struck back swiftly with captain Jack Radcliffe breaking off the back of a lineout maul, ambitiously set up around the half way line and sprinted clear down the blind side to score in the corner. Bridlington wasted no time in striking back with another score of their own before second row lock Jim Duggleby helped steer a driving maul from a lineout closer to the try line, grounding the ball to put North back in contention.
The set piece once again for North, as it has been all season, was the main source of strength and on this day proved no different. A scrum won against the head for North saw the ball pop out unexpectedly. Quick thinking by Radcliffe had him kick the ball forward to be chased down by flanker Will Harrison who scooped it up and raced away to score North’s third try of the day. This gave hope to North of a close finish, alas, as was happening on the other pitch, the last quarter of the game proved to be a decisive one for the match. A handful of tries scored in the wider channels by Bridlington helped them seal the win with a final score of Northallerton 15 – Bridlington 40. An enjoyable sign off in the sunshine for the second XV and another season with many improvements for the squad seen. Many thanks to the referee for officiating the match, to Bridlington for their determination to make the game happen and to all the supporters and helpers who cheered the team on.

The ladies’ first XV had a bus trip up the Newcastle to face Novocastrian RUFC second XV in their final league game of the season. Both teams wanting to end on a high saw the first ten minutes of the game played at a frantic pace, the ball regularly changing hands and some of the big game players making sure the opposition knew who they were. Fullback Lucy Patey had to be relied on more than expected in the opening exchanges to keep the home side out after they broke through the defensive line. Novos were the first to break the deadlock with a try after their inside centre smashed through a gap to score. North bounced back quickly though, forcing the home side to spill the ball through their aggressive pressure in defence. With a scrum on the ten metre line held still by North’s forward pack, scrum half Trinity Earnshaw shipped the ball from the base towards the backs, finding its way quickly to Ellie Readman at outside centre who carved her way through the host’s defence to score under the posts, adding the conversion herself to put North in the lead.
Earnshaw and Readman added another try each in short order, Earnshaw’s effort from around thirty yards out and Readman’s starting from deep within North’s half. Both were fantastic solo efforts and highlighted the athleticism of the players to extend North’s lead. The conversions for each were sailed over the posts to take the score to 5-21. The home side fought back to score a well worked through of their own after several heavy carries from their forward pack. A first half injury to one of North’s second row players saw veteran player Emily McCormack take the field and she wasted no time in making an impact. With thumping carries from herself, and the back row of Gina Fothergill, SJ Pritchard and captain Abby Rollings, the pack worked their way towards the host’s try line once again. McCormack finished off the move to end the half with the score reading 10-26.
The second half began as a continuation of the first in many ways. Possession changed hands regularly and both sides showed they still had plenty of fight. With the home side give away a penalty on the half-way line, Earnshaw took a quick tap and raced away through the slow-to-react defence to score under the posts. The conversion was slotted by Readman again as North carried on building their lead, starting to look in control of the tie. In both attack and defence the ladies held their nerve, even when pinned back on their own tryline by some good Novos’
possession. A turnover was eventually gained after patient but disciplined defending. Once the ball was in Readman’s hands she made no hesitation and pinned her ears back to run the length of the pitch, scoring her hat-trick third try of the day before kicking the conversion once she had caught her breath.
The home side were determined to make something of the game. A few substitutions were made and they started to play some good cohesive rugby. Scoring one try and forcing North backwards again after the restart, they built pressure on the visitors. North’s discipline began to slip as Rollings was shown a yellow card with less than ten minutes to go, ending her season a touch earlier than she would have hoped for. Novos capitalised on the extra player and scored another try to bring the score to 22-40. North, determined to have the last laugh, got to work after the restart with Fothergill leading the charge, bulldozing her way through the home side’s defence, flattening the fullback before finally being brought down by a retreating centre but North had the field position. Earnshaw made no mistake from there and stepped her way past the last few defenders with ease to complete her hat-trick as well. Readman was on target once more from the tee for the conversion and the game ended with a final score of Novocastrian’s 22 – Northallerton 47.
Player of the match was awarded to Trinity Earnshaw, forward of the match to Gina Fothergill and back of the match was given to Lucy Patey.
Many thanks to Novocastrians for their generous hospitality, thank you to the referee for officiating the match and a big thank you to all of the many travelling fans who supported the ladies on this day as well as throughout the season regardless of where they were playing. A last thank you must be said to all of the players who pulled on a shirt for the team this season, giving their all each and every time.

For any players wanting to join the rugby club, the regular season is now over however there will be a summer touch rugby competition that is a great way to get into the club. Please see social media or contact the club for more information.