As the calendar year draws to an end and thoughts turn to Christmas festivities, Northallerton RUFC hosted Guisborough RUFC in a men’s second XV fixture at Brompton Lodge. This fixture was re-arranged from earlier in the season and landed on a weekend when there were no other fixtures for the club.

Fielding a plentiful squad on account of this, North were able to lend a player to the visitors who valiantly travelled with only fourteen players to make the match go ahead. It was a sharp start from the visitors who caught North napping in defence with an early converted try brought about by some expansive running encountering flimsy tackling. This shock to the system spurred North into life and their combination of youthful exuberance and experienced players helped steer the team in the right direction. A burst of this exuberance from prop-turned-centre Ed Meek saw him cut a sharp line through the middle of the Guisborough defence and sear away towards the clubhouse. Brought down only a few metres shy, he recycled the ball to allow the attack to continue. After a considerable number of phases, veteran prop Paul Dixon drove the ball over that final metre to score the home side’s first try of the day. Jack Tart kicked the conversion to add the extras.
It was Tart himself, playing at full back on this occasion who benefitted from another strong team effort in attack as North started to impose themselves on their opposition. Another cutting running line from Meek almost repeated his earlier feat. Instead of looking to recycle the ball, he instead scooped an offload out of the tackle and into the grateful arms of Tart who threw a dummy pass to send the defence the wrong way and then sauntered over the try line before converting his own score. The enthusiasm of the home side saw the ball whipped all across the pitch in a style that gave great entertainment the large crowd gathered to watch. This was encapsulated with an almost spectacular drop goal attempt from fly half Doug Mulholland that caught everyone, even his own team, by surprise. Guisborough were not to be deterred however, and through the quick feet of their outside centre, they broke against the run of play and took the ball from their own 22-metre area to
the North goal line in one flowing play. Converting their try meant that at the half time interval, the scores stood level at 14 a-piece.
The visitors, much akin to the start of the first half, were quick out of the blocks again at the start of the second half. A loose clearing kick from North granted Guisborough’s pacey backs the chance to run. Taking full advantage they scythed through the scrambling North defence and dotted down in the corner. The conversion was added to take the away side into the lead. Only a few minutes later, the visitors were able to increase their lead in a similar manner to their previous score. Another loose kick from North exposed them to the same attacking threat that
Guisborough had posed all afternoon. Once again, cutting through the defence, they scored in the corner to further their advantage on the scoreboard.
The pace of the game, which for most of the duration had been high, settled somewhat during the middle quarter of the second half. Fatigue along with a number of handling errors gave both teams a brief respite as the scrum and lineout dominated proceedings. Having recuperated somewhat, the hosts went on the attack once again in the latter stages of the game looking to spread the ball from coast to coast in an effort to unlock the stoic Guisborough defence. A well taken try, finished off by winger Tom Norton was scored in the corner to bring North back into contention.
Unfortunately for North, their enterprising approach to play, alongside their efforts to find a late score meant that every avenue was explored. A risky pass out of the tackle was intercepted by the Guisborough winger and he raced away down the field to score under the posts with only a few minutes remaining. The match finished with a final score of Northallerton 19 – Guisborough 33. An entertaining and well natured game of rugby that brings an end to proceedings for 2025. Many thanks to the referee for officiating the match, to Guisborough for travelling to make the game go ahead, to the many supporters who cheered the team on and, as always, to the many volunteers at the club who help make the day happen.
The club wishes all readers a very merry Christmas and a happy new year and we look forward to seeing everyone again in 2026 for plenty more rugby!