Sheffield Tigers 8 - 19 Old Rishworthians U16
After the recent bout of inactivity due to the weather, the Rishworthians travelled to Dore Moor hoping to repeat last year’s victory, although a little more comfortably than their last minute winning score a year ago.
Kicking off into a strong wind, the visitors immediately laid camp in the home side’s half with a series of strong drives by the pack and some astute kicking by fly half Booth. A clean catch at a five metre line out by Watkins resulted in the forwards driving the Tigers pack back over their try line, only for the referee to disallow the try claiming he was unsighted. Undeterred, the pressure continued and following another intense assault on the host’s line Watkins dived on a loose ball to score from a 5 metre scrum which forced the Tigers pack off the ball. Booth’s excellent conversion into the wind gave the Rishworthians a 0 – 7 lead.
From the kick off the Tigers entered the visitors half for the first time in the game. However, this did not last long and a good break by Kiy and Bradley took Rishworthians back upfield. Another scrum taken against the head gave Cooper the opportunity to seize the ball from the opposition No8 and power his way over for another try, despite the brave attempts of a last ditch tackle. This time Booth found the wind a little too strong and his conversion just missed. Just before half time the Tigers did get down field and opened their account when the visitors were penalised under their own posts, the home side kicking the penalty to end the half.
Half time: Sheffield Tigers 3 Old Rishworthians 12.
Having applied themselves so well in the first half against the wind, Rishworthians failed to make good use of the wind through lack of discipline resulting in too many penalties conceded and some lateral instead of more direct running. Although they never looked in danger of losing the match, the score did not reflect their dominance, especially in the forwards where the pack was on top in the scrums and ruck and maul. It was only at the line-outs where the Tigers gained parity.
Rishworthians U14 7 - 5 Huddersfield YMCA U14
Match report Sunday 24th February
From the kick off Rishworthians drove into Huddersfield YMCA territory and a good run by winger Higginbotom saw him well tackled 5 metres short of the line, good rucking by Rishworthian forwards retained possession and pounded the YMCA line but their defence held firm. YMCA eventually forced a turnover and a good break from their backs took them into the Rishworthian half of the field and Rishworthians suddenly found themselves defending their try line. The game continued with both sides attacking their opposition try line but both defences were on top.
Half Time Rishworthians 7 - 0 Huddersfield YMCA
From the restart Huddersfield YMCA were out of the blocks determined to get on the scoreboard, but again Rishworthians weathered the storm and broke away to relieve the pressure. However YMCA reduced the arrears after 10 minutes play to drive over for a well deserved try wide out. The conversion was missed and Rishworthians hung onto a 7 - 5 lead.
The game continued in the same vein as the first half and had the spectators running back and forth up the touch lines encouraging their teams as they attacked both try lines.
With time running out Huddersfield cleared their lines with a kick to touch. Rishworthians took a quick line out and stand off Jack Ledgard made a cross field break to release speed merchant Percival who ran in to score under the posts. However noise of the spectators had drowned the referee’s whistle to bring play to the line out for an infringement. There was no further play as the referee blew for full time to end an enthralling game and a great advert for under 14 junior rugby played in a great spirit by both sides
Under 7’s The Young Guns
A fantastic turnout of 15 players, on a not too pleasant a day, allowed the Young guns to put out two sides against a seven man Littleborough squad. Both teams were a mixture of more experienced players with less experienced players.
Up until half time this was a very even contest with both sides scoring 4 tries. Kian Sutcliffe grabbed a first half hat-trick with Corey White scoring the other. In the second half The young guns proved too strong for the oppositions stretching away to score a further 5 tries, Littleborough only managing two second half tries. Man of the match Kian Sutcliffe ran in a further three tries, taking his individual haul to six, with George Sutcliffe and Gearge Wannan adding one apiece.
This was a very even contest throughout with some good open rugby and sound defensive tagging. The Young Guns matched Littleborough try for try Carrick Keighley-Payne scored a brace and the tie was level at 2-2. Corey White then scored for Littleborough with man of the match Alex Oldroyd levelling the scores at 3-3. Corey White (loaned to Littleborough) then nailed a final try for the Littleborough side sending his teammates to a creditable 4-3 defeat.
With the players cold and tiring rapidly this was a very even contest with both sides scoring alternately. Kian Sutcliffe scored a further two tries for the reds with Corey White adding the third. New boy Tom Stott opened the scoring for the blues with Jack Mallinson and Alex Oldroyd also grabbing one apiece.
Under 10/11’s
Rishworthians were well below par, despite fielding a strong team on paper. The result was their heaviest defeat of the season against a side that played well as a team, but were not by any stretch, the toughest opposition that Rishworthians have faced this season. The Maroon and White’s struggled to contain Littleborough’s one speed merchant who ran in a hat-trick of tries. Too often the Copley men made good ground only to knock the ball on or lose the ball in contact. At full-time the team were disappointed by their performance and keen to make amends against local rivals Huddersfield YMCA in their next match.Man of the match Harvey Keighley-Payne , Effort award: Tom Hammond
Old Rishworthian Under 8’s v Littleborough
Another good performance by the Under 8’s saw them sneek a 15 – 14 win away to Littleborough on Sunday.
In cold wet conditions, the team once again demonstrated their attacking skills with some fine individual runs to evade the defensive line. Will Symms covered plenty of ground to score a first half hat trick as did Callum Bell who crossed the line twice. Kallan Jamieson also scored 2 first half tries as he dodged his way through the despairing lunges of would-be defenders. As the half time whistle blew the game was all square at 7 tries a piece.
In the second half the Rishworthian defence struggled at times to stop some very straight and determined attacking runs by the Littleborough team, who rushed into an early second half lead. However, the speed and agility of the Rishworth team once again paid dividends with James McHugh scoring a send half hat trick, and Bell (2), Jamieson and Symms also scoring valuable tries.
In the dying seconds of the game with the score poised at 14 – 14, Will Symms made a characteristic dart across field before straightening up to storm down the touchline to score in the corner (his 5th of the match) and win the game for Rishworthians. Coach Dave Puddephatt awarded the effort award to Callum Bell with James McHugh winning the Man of the Match Award
Rishworthians U9
In a hastily rearranged game the Reds travelled to Skipton to take on the West District champions. Rishworth Reds took an early lead when Skipton spilled a loose ball. Will McDonnell pounced to secure good ruck ball and Jacob Bower moved into the scrum half position. Sensing that Skipton had over committed to the ruck,he picked up and sped down the blind side to score.Rishworthians kept up the momentum, Will McDonnell ripped the ball off his opponent and set off for the try line. It looked as if cover would block him, but a nifty side step opened up the defence and Will was through. The next score came from a Reds penalty move, the ball was passed to Jacob Bower who took the direct route, striding over the line imperiously to make it 15-0. Reds continued to dominate the game and Will McDonnell added to his tally, again breaking from scrum half and speeding over.Half time Skipton 0 - 20 Rishworthans
From the restart Charlotte Siddall showed tidy handwork to feed the ball onto Jack Davis who closed in on the Skipton line. Possession looked to have been lost, but, taking advantage from a knock on, Thomas Sweeten gathered the ball and balanced himself well to make the try look easy. Will McDonnell was in the thick of action again for the best try of the game. Before being swallowed up by the Skipton defence, he popped the ball to Dan Byrnes who sucked in three Skipton defenders, then offloaded back to Will looping behind and now with an open run to the line.The last try came from a flowing move. From a ruck, Sam Brant slipped the ball deftly to Jacob Bower who in turn slipped the ball to Thomas Cockroft on the burst only to be held short of the line. From the breakdown he positioned himself at stand off to take a pass and crashed over to put the Reds 35-0 ahead.
Skipton brought on their second squad for this game and took an early lead. Quick thinking at the front of the lineout gave the Skipton prop a chance to charge over the line and put Skipton into the lead at 5-0. The Reds, with only one team plus 4 subs were beginning to tire, but they launched an attack which was just held on the Skipton line but fortune fell to Thomas Creasy who quick to pounce on a loos ball sitting over the try ine and with a number of defenders simply looking at it.Skipton then spotted that Rishworthians had over committed in a ruck and with no defence down the blind side it was an easy score and brought Skipton back into the lead at 10-5. The Reds came back and with tired legs launched another attack. Thomas Creasy took the ball to within inches of the line and from the ruck, Will McDonnell had a sliver of a chance to let his legs do the work and sprinted cross field to make it in at the corner. A huge collective sigh of relief and the final whistle confirmed the draw – a fitting end to a very tight game.
Match Preview Saturday 23rd February Yorkshire 5
Rishworthians’ successful junior section is beginning to pay dividends for the senior side. The club hopes to include another of its top youngsters in the squad for the postponed Yorkshire Five game at home to Mosborough. With winger Alex Fearnley unavailable, the impressive Christus Ferneyhough is named along with five other teenagers in the 20-player squad. Rishworthians last week gave a successful debut to one of his junior team-mates Luke Flanagan, who came on from the bench to replace player-coach Jamie Bloem at stand-off and he retains his place in the squad.
The game is the Copley club’s third in the inter-division games. Unbeaten B section leaders Rishworthians have already beaten A section leaders Halifax Vandals and last week thrashed another A team, Pontefract Pythons, 67 - 0, away from home to retain their 100 per cent league record. In that game Bloem broke the club’s points scoring record. He broke it earlier in the game than originally thought. A mix-up in figures left supporters thinking he broke it with his try at the end of the game, but actually it was at the end of the first half. His first try and conversion meant he equalled Darren Wade’s 282 total and then set a new record with a penalty at the very end of the first half, before adding a further 13 points in the second half.
Match Report
Rishworthians backs, who have dominated for most of the season, had an off-day and it was left to the forwards to take the points in this rearranged Yorkshire Five fixture. The home side dominated possession throughout, but chance after chance went begging in the first half as passing in the backs let them down. This coupled with some excellent tackling by the Sheffield area visitors, belying their lowly position in the A division, left Rishworthians feeling frustrated, particularly in the first half as the break loomed without a score
They had started brightly enough and skipper Gary Morris and teenager Christus Ferneyhough, on his debut, combined well on the right wing before Morris was bundled into touch. Rishworthians continued to get more and more possession but seemed unable to do anything with it. Prop Darren Dawson crashed over but the referee said he was unsighted and called it back. Suddenly with five minutes to go to the break Rishworthians scored two tries. In each case it came from the lineout. Lock Ian Teasdale took two fine lineout catches. Both times the pack came round and drove him over. His second row partner James McDonnell got the touch down on each occasion. Stand-off Jamie Bloem converted both tries to send the home men in with a 14-point advantage.
Half Time Rishworthians 14 - 0 Mosborough
Early in the second period Bloem kicked a penalty to stretch the home lead. But the second half continued very much like the first, with Rishworthians unable to break through.
While the visitors never threatened the home line, their defence was fierce and stood firm time after time. The final try came as another Rishworthian attack broke down. Bloem suddenly slipped out of a tackle and then shrugged off several more to run in at the corner and round under the posts. Bloem converted his own try. In the dying minutes, the Copley men seemed to go to sleep and allowed the visitors to come at them, but the only points they could muster came from a penalty with the last kick of the game.
Doncaster Knights Captain and Backs Coach Justin Bishop had some fantastic news this week, a second chance to play for the Barbarians. Known for their exciting and almost Exhibition quality Rugby, Justin is looking forward to playing 4 years after getting his first “Call Up”.
“I got a chance 4 years ago, but broke my fibula just before the game. It’s always said you never get another chance if you miss your Barbarians game so I feel truly honoured” Justin told us.
Tuesday 18th of March, Bishop will be lining up as a Barbarian at Bedford against a select XV wearing his knights Socks. “A tradition of playing for the Barbarians is wearing you club socks, so this will be the second time the Knights socks have been worn. Tom Davies played for the Barbarians last year”.
Another interesting tradition of the Barbarians is Rugby with no Shirt numbers. “It’s because they play a brand of Rugby that involves a lot of throwing the ball around, a lot of interchanging” Justin explained.
Justin grew up watching real legends like David Campese, JRP Williams and David Duckham playing for the Barbarians, and ranks it as an honour that comes close to his 25 International Caps for Ireland between 1998 and 2004. To be part of an exclusive club that Zinzan Brooke and Jonah Lomu are members of is an absolute privilege.
WESTOE travel to confront Sheffield Tigers on Saturday who have made a habit of mauling those who venture into their lair.
Although their away record is poor, they share with the Shieldsmen the distinction of having won all but one game on their home turf.
In each case the victor was Kendal whose colours have yet to be lowered as they seem to be marching relentlessly towards claiming the North One crown.
But Gareth’s Nesbit’s men will make the 140-mile trip with confidence boosted by the fact that, with strong, pacey backs Mark Olugbode and James Fitzpatrick having recovered from leg injuries, his squad is at such strength that he has an embarrassment of riches.
That is why a late decision was being made on the final make-up of the 15 who will start - and the reason that Big Nes is undaunted by Sheffield’s record.
He said: “They are obviously a very good side at home but we don’t mind that because it gives us the chance to see what we can really do now we are at full strength.
“We like to test ourselves beyond our comfort zone and now that everybody is fit and raring to go we can at last see at just what level we can play and just how good we are as a team.
“I don’t want to seem to be making excuses, but for so much of the season we were unable to achieve anything like our potential because of the injuries were carrying and that was very frustrating.
“But in recent weeks when we didn’t have major injury problems we have played good rugby and really enjoyed it. We expect a tough game at Sheffield and we are looking forward to it.”
Beacon Electrical (NE) Ltd-sponsored Westoe have won all five games since the turn of the year to move into third-top spot with 12 victories and a draw from their 17 games, which is fine record particularly in view of those injury set backs.
But they know they must carry on with their winning ways if they are to have any hope of wresting the runners-up place from Huddersfield and so have a play-off chance of promotion.
Even so, with just five games remaining and five points separating the two teams, the chances of the dream of attaining national league status coming true remain remote.
What is certain is that a little bit of club history will be made when Nes leads his side onto the field because Westoe have never before made the journey to the club based on the fringe of Sheffield which has won promotion in all the past three years and is celebrating its 75th anniversary this season.
Supporters wanting to share the occasion are welcome to occupy vacant seats on the team coach which will leave the clubhouse at 10.30am - all games from now on reverting the later 3pm kick off time.
In the inaugural game between the sides at Wood Terrace back in September the Tigers gave a good account of themselves and, having scored a try in the first few seconds, were winning 15-11 until just four minutes before the final whistle.
Then sustained pack pressure ended with doughty number 8 Graeme Smith being powered over the line and touching down under a pile of bodies, centre Johan Saaiman converting to make it an 18-15 victory.
*For the second time this season Alnwick has called off its second XV Northumberland League game against Westoe which, to put it mildly, is very disappointing,
*But supporters have the choice of cheering on the Thirds in their Durham County Cup semi-final clash against Mowden Park at Wood Terrace or watching the burgeoning talent of the Colts in an Under-18 League game against Wigan at Oakleigh Gardens.
*Certainly, much interest will surround the clash away from home of Derek Tighe’s men in the semi-final of the Fourth Teams Shield against Seaton Carew Seconds.
That handsome trophy has become almost a fixture in the Westoe clubhouse where it has resided for seven successive years, a truly remarkable achievement.
If the Vic Young-sponsored side overcome this hurdle they will play the winners between Gateshead, with whom they share top spot in Northumberland 3B League, and Blaydon in the final.
After an excellent draw away to a Houghton team that was mainly under 14, Bishop were hoping for a win at home. The Houghton team this time were stronger than before and showed it by quickly scoring 3 tries to take a 19 – 0 lead.
Bishop fought back and spent the rest of the half camped near the Houghton line. Alec Clarey battered across the line but was unable to score. All the pressure came to nothing and the score was still 19 – 0 at half time.
In the second half, Bishop began to tire and Houghton scored a number of tries. Good defence by Stephen dropping on a loose ball saw one try saved and some fine kicking by ‘Nelly’ cleared
the lines a number of times. With the last play of the game, Lewis broke through the middle of the defence and beat a number of players before scoring under the posts. ‘Nelly’ added the conversion. The game ended with the score 43 – 7, but credit goes to the Bishop players who never gave up against much bigger opposition.
Both clubs were able to field strong sides due to the fact that neither club had 1st XV fixtures with it being a league free weekend.
Houghton and Winlaton started with true 2nd team players starting and a sprinkling of 1st team members starting or lining up on the bench and in the spirit of the game both Captains allowed rolling substitutes to make sure all players got good game time under their belts.
This was a funny game as both sides enjoyed periods of dominance which allowed for a quick and attractive game with plenty of opportunities, Winlaton took the lead through some good forward play which set up skipper Kevin Scott for the opening try when the big number 8 crashed over from short range and Micky Wharton converted the kick. 0-7
The lead was extended twice when Houghton’s eagerness at the ruck was penalised and Wharton again punished the home team with two quick penalties to extend the advantage to 0-13. The game came alive at the end of the half when Houghton were pinned into their own 22 and had a lineout in a dangerous position. A set move was planned to perfection and a throw to the front was immediately popped back blind for the home scrum half to race 70 metres unopposed to score under the posts, Valentine converting. 7-13.
This prompted some endeavour from the home side who reduced the deficit through a further Valentine penalty to leave the half time score at 10-13.
Houghton took control in the 1st 20 minutes of the second half and scored 2 good tries from flanker McBernie and Valentine who converted both giving them a 24 -13 lead. The game then changed again when despite being down to 14 men when Fly Half Wilcox was sin binned Winlaton proceeded to dominate both territory and possession. Some excellent defence from the home side and some less than excellent refereeing kept the response down to one converted try from scrum half Micky Wharton for a final score of 24-20. But both sides left the field knowing they had enjoyed a close and competitive game.
Current league leaders St Cuthbert’s and last season’s champions, Newcastle Brumbies, will meet in the final of the North East Universities Saturday RU League Cup final at Cochrane Park on Saturday (March 1, 2pm).
Stockton RFC was the blustery venue as Stockton Colleges sought to inflict the first defeat of the season on St Cuthbert’s, but the visitors emerged 22-11 winners after building the foundations for victory with a strong first-half showing into the elements. The Colleges rallied strongly with the wind at their backs, but the visitors had enough breathing space to avoid any serious danger of a upset.
The Brumbies were already awaiting the outcome of the game after completing their semi-final under the lights at Houghton RFC two days earlier in a game which avoided the gales.
This was also a competitive affair with the Brumbies winning 13-0 and both teams being treated to a free feed by John Fenn by way of a “thank you” for their commitment throughout the year.
Both finalists have happily agreed to the game doubling up as a missed League game, but other clubs will need to get their organisational skates on to fit in postponed matches with only two weeks of the season remaining.
Fixtures for Saturday, March 1: Cup Final - Newcastle Brumbies v St Cuthbert’s at Cochrane Park (2pm); Other games - Durham Development v Northumbria Freshers, Hild/Bede v Hatfield
This weekend saw Washington II host Durham City III. Durham City turned out with a very strong side and their superior physical skill and size proved the deciding factor in this game. The first ten minutes saw Washington take the game to Durham but once Durham settled into their game plan Washington’s bad habits started to rear their ugly heads. Missed tackles have been our undoing for the whole season, Washington failed to put opposition on the ground by tackling too high and the powerful running of the whole Durham side exposed our failing to the full. In the end Durham ran in 4 tries to win 26-0.
On a positive note Washington played a number of their U18 in this game. With this in mind, congratulations to young Liam Nicholson as he was singled out as man of the match for Washington due to some excellent runs and tackles.
Well done to Durham City and a particular thank you go to Peter Watson and the Durham player for standing in as ref for the game.
Newton Aycliffe 19 Barnard Castle 2nds 5
After two good wins in the Durham County Junior League, Newton Aycliffe Rugby club hosted Barnard Castle in another league game. The game was notable for the first appearance of the season of Darryl Pettit.
The early exchanges of the match were forward dominated, with Barnard Castle having the edge in the scrums, but Aycliffe, with Alan Layfield jumping at the front, on top in the lineouts. Aycliffe were dominant in territory without having a large amount of good ball. The home team took the lead when Andy Newman was on the shoulder of Gareth Parsonage to score under the posts; Parsonage added the conversion. With Barnard Castle unable to get out of the half, the lead was not threatened and Bob Malvern was unlucky to have a try disallowed near the end of the half. The score of 7 – 0 at the break meant that the game was far from settled.
With Aycliffe now performing better in the scrums, their territorial dominance was, if anything, even greater after the break. When the visitors won a defensive scrum, Paul Soakell pounced on the fullback as he attempted to kick, stealing the ball and scoring the try. Another try was added by Newman from distance, with Parsonage again converting. With the game seemingly lost, Barnard Castle managed to get an attack together and scored a try from a tap penalty. Aycliffe did not let them get another chance and were able to make changes, debutant Neil Cochrane looking particularly promising in the centre, No more scores were forthcoming and Aycliffe recorded a hard fought win by 19 points to 5.
Anyone who would like to play at Aycliffe, of whatever standard, is welcome to attend training on Tuesdays at Greenfield School at 7:30pm and Thursdays at Moore Lane at 7pm. On 1st March, Aycliffe host Winlaton Vulcans in a friendly, kick-off 3pm, up-to-date information can be found on the website at www.ayclifferugby.co.uk.
