On Sunday 18th October, Northallerton Ladies travelled up the A19 to play Durham City Dragons and returned with a resounding 5-52 victory.
Following on from last week the ladies continued with their free flowing direct rugby that has served them so well so far this season.
With captain Gina Fothergill leading from the front, North ran in 8 tries, 6 of them expertly converted by Ellie Readman who strikes the ball as good, if not better than most of the men’s team - especially Tart.
Amy Parker started the try fest with a wonderful arcing run on the wing before side stepping the last defender, Readman with the conversion.
Readman then added two tries for herself with the two next conversions to take a 21-0 lead within the first fifteen minutes. The ladies had an eye on matching or hopefully beating last weeks 99 point haul but Durham Dragons had other ideas as they defended like their lives depended on it and forced North into a few handling errors.
Parker however was unstoppable out wide with her speed giving her the edge over everyone else to score under the posts. Again Readman making the conversion look simple.
On the stroke of half time Carla Luck playing in an unfamiliar role of prop for the first time ever - however she is used to wrestling with a big fat hairy person (Dan) - and barged her way over the line for an unconverted try.
Just after the restart of the second half it was Cara Williams turn with a try similar to Lucks for another unconverted try.
Ellie Readman capped one of her best performances with her third try on the hour mark with a head spinning side step followed by a blistering turn of pace to get away and score, also converting nonchalantly with a drop kick.
Sophie Bedford then added two quick tries on the wing but showed great maturity and savvy to touch down closer to the posts making Readmans conversions slightly easier.
The home team refused to lie down though, they pressed back into their own 22 for the last five minutes and got their just rewards with a try in the corner.
No surprise that the opposition voted Ellie Readman as player of the match while Carla Luck got forward of the match and Laura Isherwood back of the match.
Special mention should be given to the ‘old lady’ of the team Natalie Tart coming back after a giving birth to baby Mavis in the summer.
Northallerton Ladies next game is a cup game at home against Penrith Panthers on Sunday 25th October with a 2pm kick off.

On Saturday 17th October Northallerton men’s first team, still looking for their first win of the season, made the journey to the impressive looking Ilkley rugby club to play their second string.
After last weeks heavy loss North put in a much improved performance and with a bit more luck could have sneaked the win in a close encounter that Ilkley finally emerged triumphant in by a score of 31-27.
North started the game positively and with Will Robinson pulling the strings at scrum half, looked confident going forward.
North took the lead after only ten minutes when flanker turned hooker Matt Clark, continued his fine form with a try after good forward work from Phil Swall and Ed Meek, Jack Tart added the conversion for a 7-0 lead.
Ilkley levelled the score soon after when North missed a couple of tackles in midfield, allowing them to score under the posts.
The scene was now set for the afternoon as the game ebbed and flowed with neither team dominating for long spells but swapping tries on a regular basis.
After twenty minutes good work from German debutant Hans Rause, who made a break from inside his own half before off loading to the supporting Tart to score in the corner.
Again Ilkley came back into the game following strong work from their sizeable number five who took three North players over the line with him to score.
On the stroke of half time North regained the lead when John Clouston pinned the home team into their own 22 with a pinpoint accurate penalty kick. From the ensuing lineout Clark touched down for his second try of the game, and fourth in two games - which is more than his father scored in 10 years!
North went in at the break deservedly 14-17 ahead.
The second half was just as exciting as the first with another four tries.
Five minutes into the half Ilkley took the lead for the first time with a converted try under the posts.
With Ilkley defence rushing up quickly on numerous occasions, scrum half Robinson made two or three telling breaks through gaps left behind. This led to North exerting more pressure in the Ilkley 22. From one such foray there was a rare try for replacement forward David Baker - who looked like he’d lost a lot of weight - for North to regain the lead 21-22.
Unsurprisingly Ilkley again came back at North and scored a converted try quickly followed by a long range penalty to take a healthy nine point lead.
In the final ten minutes North pressed and pressed to get back into the game. Finally following a crunching tackle from French winger Tom Moules Mariniere, North regathered the loose ball and following a dummy scissors move, Harold Ewart scored in the corner. Tarts conversion drifted just wide to leave North still four points behind. Ilkley then managed to control the last five minutes to hold on for the win.
Norths man of the match was awarded to teenage scrum half Will Robinson.
Next week North welcome Harrogate 2nds to Brompton Lodge for the last 3pm kick off of the year.
Before the game which will be sponsored by Tank Promotions, there is a luncheon for dignitaries and specially invited guests.
While Mr Bainbridge is sponsoring the game there is also a rumour he is paying for everyone’s lunch which is unfortunately untrue as he has bought a new years subscription to weight watchers and is slightly cash shy.