Newton Aycliffe Rugby Club put in an excellent performance against Durham and Northumberland Division 2 side Barnard Castle in the first round of the Durham Junior Cup.
Barnard Castle have strengthened their team in the close season and are expected to feature strongly in the division above Aycliffe and so this was a tough challenge. On a beautiful afternoon, Aycliffe began nervously, making uncharacteristic errors and looking shaky in defence. After 3 minutes, Barnard Castle took the lead with a penalty goal. Gradually, Aycliffe fought their way back into the match with their forwards proving themselves more than a match for the opposition.
The rucking was excellent and the scrum, with Andrew Littlefair playing his first ever match at hooker, achieved dominance. Just before the half hour mark, Aycliffe were awarded a penalty when Barnard Castle killed the ball close to the line. The quick-thinking David Judge took a tap and went over near the posts. Luke Tinkler’s conversion gave Aycliffe a 4-point lead. Aycliffe remained the better side as half-time approached and extended their lead with a silky piece of running by Dave Gibson which resulting in him scoring the try. Another Tinkler penalty left the score at the break 14 – 3.
As the second half began, Aycliffe attacked again, but a loose pass was picked up by the visitors and, quick as a flash, the ball found its way out to the wing for a well taken try. The conversion was good and two minutes later, the recipe was repeated. After 5 minutes of the half, Aycliffe now found themselves 3 points behind! Not downhearted, Aycliffe attacked again and Warren Parsonage was unlucky to be denied a try when the Barnard Castle scrummage was destroyed from a 5-metre scrum. With just over 10 minutes to play, there was still only 3 points between the teams. Tiredness and injuries however, saw the Aycliffe back line unable to hold out the visitors as two tries and a penalty saw them score 15 points to run out winners by 32 – 14, a scoreline that did not reflect the closeness of the match.
A case of ‘what might have been’ for Aycliffe, but also a source of optimism for the upcoming season. Aycliffe’s next game on 6th September sees another tough game as they host newly-relegated Whitby in the first game of the Durham and Northumberland Division 3 season. Kick-off is 3pm at Moore Lane.
Thanks go to club sponsors, Whitehouse Funeral Services and S Cars.
