Newton Aycliffe 1st XV welcomed Seghill at Moore Lane after a three week layoff due to the frequent adverse weather. The conditions were perfect last Saturday for rugby. The decent crowd of Aycliffe fans turned up in anticipation of another victory in order to sustain the fifth place in the Northumberland Durham League division 3.
Aycliffe had sustained a heavy defeat when they played at Seghill earlier in the season. It was time to see how much the home side had improved. The one thing that hampered Aycliffe’s team selection was the 6 Nations match between England and Wales. The fixture at Twickenham had enticed some key players so it was great that old boys, like prop Mark Affleck and Nr 8 Warren Parsonage and centre/coach Chris Richards, step in to help. There was also a couple of new Durham Tigers players who got their chance to switch codes for the time being. This was good to see as the relationship between The Durham Tigers and Aycliffe rugby has got stronger over recent years.
Added to this Seghill had what looked like a youthful back line and a well drilled pack. This was evident from the kick off when Seghill scored the first points of the match, a converted try 0-5 (5 mins). Aycliffe settled down from this and centre James Thacker took possession from some good handling and stormed over to score, the conversion was missed. 5-7 (12 mins). There was a period of strong defence from Aycliffe as Seghill were happy to push hard into the 22m area, however the pressure paid off when the visitors went over to score another converted try. 5-14 (22 mins). Seghill had their tails up and kept up the attacking intensity. Despite some excellent tackling from both the forwards and back line Seghill went over for their third try, this time the conversion was unsuccessful due to the swirling wind. 5-19 (35 mins). Aycliffe defended the last five minutes, so the halftime score remained the same.
Aycliffe suffered more heartache when Parsonage was yellow carded and they also lost the captain, second row Luke Harty, through injury. Aycliffe were not playing to their true potential but every player in this match put in a good shift. Seghill resumed their attacking prowess and went on to score points from a penalty try which awards them the full seven points with no need for a conversion. 5-26 (50 mins). Ten minutes later the constant attacking moves were too much for the home side when they succumbed to yet another try 5-31 (60 mins). The Aycliffe fans still got behind the team despite the score-line and from a successful counter-attack by Aycliffe, full back Tom Prior scored a try following some slick passing amongst the backs. 10-31 (70 mins). Undeterred Seghill still managed to score their final try to dampen the enthusiasm of the hardy Aycliffe fans. 10-36 (78 mins). Aycliffe still had time for one final push and the forwards secured a good ball and with a deft pass from second row Jeff Hodgson, centre Adam Gascoigne collected handsomely to score the final points of the match. 15-36 (80 mins). A defeat for Aycliffe but an improvement all the same from the previous score line of 63-12.
Aycliffe wish to thank sponsor Bengal Lounge for their continued support. Aycliffe’s next fixture is hopefully this Saturday at home to Wallsend, kick off 3pm. This is a rearranged fixture therefore confirmation will be made on the club Facebook page.
