Newton Aycliffe 1st XV’s campaign stuttered once more in the Durham and Northumberland division 3 clash with Seaham at Moore Lane.
With several key players missing through injury and imposed match bans it looked on paper as if Aycliffe were going to have a hard time against a very strong Seaham side currently sitting 2nd in the division under Redcar.
The sloppy underfoot conditions played its part for both teams, however, to the delight of the large contingent of Aycliffe Barmy Army supporters, the home side showed they were very much up for this encounter.
Seaham were first to score very soon after kick-off when an infringement by Aycliffe was spotted by the referee for holding onto the ball in a ruck in front of the posts and Seaham easily converted the penalty. 0-3 (2 mins). This early shock woke up the Aycliffe players who immediately got back down to business and set about putting the visitors on the back foot. With several forward play successes and some outstanding tackling by Karl Chapman, Phil Sangster, Neil Anderson and Luke Tinkler, Aycliffe were eventually awarded a penalty which was converted by Euan Kitching. 3-3 (15mins). Aycliffe were attacking with much more flare than Seaham and looked close to scoring tries but some handling errors intervened and denied them crossing to score. Maybe the frustrations started to niggle the Aycliffe players as once again they gave another penalty away to Seaham who increased their score. 3-6 (25mins)
Soon after this the focus of attention turned to the referee who sent the Seaham number 8 off by yellow card for 10 mins. Aycliffe upped their game against the visitors, down to 14 men, but disastrously against run of play Seaham managed to break through the Aycliffe defence to score the only try of the game which was converted. 3-13 (35mins). Before half time the referee decided that Seaham’s hooker had to leave the field brandishing the yellow card yet again.
The half time score remained 3-13.
The second half did not go well for Aycliffe as far as injuries go but, on top of which, the referee who was being assessed during this match decided to punish more players throughout the half. This did disrupt the game when no fewer than 4 more yellow cards were given to two Aycliffe players and two more Seaham players. Although controversial for some and the supporters were astounded. Despite this it is recognised that Referees play an integral part to the great game of rugby. It is proper that all referees should be assessed in this way. Allowances are made for over exuberance under assessment conditions perhaps. All referees should be given respect for their time and effort. For without them the matches will not take place.
Aycliffe meanwhile infringed once more to allow Seaham to score the only points of the second half from the resulting penalty 3-16 (44 mins). Due to the referee’s eagerness to dismiss players the second half never really got going for either team to the dismay of both sets of supporters. This remained the final score.
Aycliffe wish to thank sponsor’s Bengal Lounge for their support this season. Next week Aycliffe travel north of the Tyne to Seghill, kick off 2:15pm. All travelling supporters are very much appreciated. Check out the club Facebook site for venue details. Follow Newton Aycliffe RUFC on www.pitchero.com/clubs/newtonaycliffe, or Facebook
