Aycliffe Triumph Over South Shields
Newton Aycliffe RUFC 1st XV hosted South Shields after a two-week break at Moore Lane in this Durham Northumberland division 3 fixture. The welcome respite clearly had benefited the players. With restored vigour and eagerness to impress the decent crowd of supporters, Aycliffe were up for this match.
The weather did not help proceedings though and the field conditions were quite wet which made ball handling difficult for both teams. Handling errors caused plenty of scrummaging in the first half and Shields heavy pack were holding their own. Minutes passed but the continuous drizzle did not dishearten the fans. The deadlock was broken by inside centre Euan Kitching who scampered towards the Shields line to score the opening try. Unfortunately, his own conversion effort just missed gaining the extra points. 5 – 0 (38 mins). This remained the score at half time.
The brollies remained up for most of the second half. After the halftime team talk it was clear Aycliffe needed to change tactics slightly as the big Shields players were tackling well especially from the forwards. Aycliffe’s top try scorer, outside centre James Thacker, lead the revival with a great try to enthral the crowd converted by Kitching. 12 – 0 (57mins). The Aycliffe forwards increased the tempo against the flagging Shields players allowing hooker Dale Patterson to punch through for a try, again converted by Kitching. 19 – 0 (65mins). Aycliffe started to handle far better than their opponents and with the backs now in fine form spun the ball out to wingman James Toase who sprinted over for his try. Duly converted by Kitching kicking 3 from 4, adding to the score 26 – 0 (73mins). Aycliffe now firing on all cylinders, and with the bonus point in mind, broke the visitor’s line once more with a great run from scrum half Luke Tinkler and duly converted by inform kicker Kitching. 33 – 0 (76mins). This proved to be the final score and the Aycliffe supporters were elated.
Aycliffe have kept in contention with 4 wins from 5 and stepped back up to 4th in the division with very little between the top 5.
The match was officiated by an Aycliffe old boy Mr Carl Hall. The refereeing standard was excellent for the full 80 mins. It’s always appreciated when a referee maintains good standards to keep the game fair and incident free. A huge thanks to Carl.
Next Saturday Aycliffe travel to Wallsend ko 3pm. All travelling supporters will be welcomed and appreciated. The impressive performances have been well supported all season. The club wish to thank Carmel Safety Training Services for their continued support.
