This weekend had three teams from Northallerton RUFC’s senior sides in action as the men’s first XV travelled away to Baildon, their second XV played host to Barnard Castle and the ladies first XV ventured north to face off against Durham City Dragons.

The ladies’ first XV took the trip up north to face Durham City Dragons this week in the NC3 league. The game kicked off and both teams showed their intensity early, hard carriers, strong tackles and a very evenly matched scrum were the hallmarks of the opening stages of the game. The first twenty minutes resulted in a stalemate with both sides fighting to find any way through. Eventually, after an extended period of possession for North, slick hands and a quick breakdown allowed Cara Williams to find a gap. She handed off several Durham defenders who chased her back and ran in to open the scoring for North. The team clearly understood that keeping this momentum going was key and with that in mind, the forwards set to work again, drawing in Durham’s defenders towards the breakdowns which opened up space out wide. A few silky passes and well timed offloads later and this time it was Trinity Earnshaw who ran in North’s second try of the day. Ali O’Brien added the extras. Against a good side though, it’s always difficult to keep the momentum going and Durham hit back hard after this second score with a lengthy spell of possession that stretched and tested the visitor’s defence. Eventually, North were able to turn the ball over at the breakdown and from here they worked their way back up the pitch. Captain Abby Robinson set the tone with a fantastic line break that took play well into the Durham territory. A few hard carries from the forwards later and Kate Easton stretched her arms as far as she could reach whilst being tackled and dotted the ball down to score the try that rounded off the half. North went into the break with a healthy 0-17 lead.
Durham clearly knew that to stand any chance in the game they would have to score next and with that in mind they came out swinging in the first period of the second half, managing to get their first try of the game with a well worked score on the back of many phases of forwards play. North however, were quick to respond with a brilliant run from the restart by Williams, breaking tackles and handing off what seemed like every Durham player on her way to score her second try of the day. From this point, North stepped up their energy levels and hammered Durham back into their own 22-metre area. The defence was valiant though and kept the visitors at bay for quite some time, fronting up in their tackles and putting bodies on the line. By targeting their attack, North were able to concentrate the defence into the ruck which gave O’Brien an opportunity to snipe around the fringes. Not needing much of an invitation, she picked the ball and dived over the score. Not happy with just the one try, O’Brien soon had the ball in her possession again after the restart and scored an almost identical try to follow.
North were now playing some brilliant free flowing rugby with Durham’s resolve starting to wane. A strong line break down the wing once again from Williams took North well into the home side’s half before finally being brought down by Durham’s fullback. Keeping her wits about her, she spotted the supporting runner and offloaded to Emily McCormack who in turn passed to Earnshaw who put the afterburners on and scored under the posts with O’Brien adding the extras. The visitors were really putting on a treat for the spectators, playing with so much confidence that passes were all sticking to hands and all the players were clearly enjoying their afternoon. Earnshaw completed her hat-trick without too much delay, scoring another long distance try and evading several defenders at the same time. Natalie Gardiner was the next player to get in on the scoring action. After a period of North possession close to the try line, she waited patiently and found the right gap at
the right time to drive over and score in the corner. Durham showed great fortitude towards the end of the game and manned a late push both in defence and attack. Repelling North’s flowing attack they managed to turn over the ball and from a position in the middle of the field they pushed their way towards the try line and secured a late consolation converted try. It proved to be the away side who had the last say in the match though, Williams completing a spectacular afternoon for herself with another late try, running down the touchline to score in the closing plays of the game. The match finished with a final score that read Durham City Dragons 14 – Northallerton Ladies 54. A terrific game to watch
that showed many of the skills that coach Robbo has had the team practicing on the training field, translating into a dominant win. Player of the match was awarded to Cara Williams, forward of the match to Emma Kirby and back of the match to Trinity Earnshaw. Many thanks to Durham City Dragons for their generous hospitality, to the referee for officiating the match and to the many supporters who travelled to cheer the team on.

North’s men’s first XV travelled away this week to Baildon RUFC in the first of the return fixtures for this season. Fielding a team loaded with experience and grateful to the men who stepped up to help the side out they kicked off to start the match and were immediately thrown into the heat of battle. Baildon were sharp from the off and showed the pace out wide that everyone remembered from the first encounter this year. Some last ditch, scramble defence from North managed to a avoid an early score as Baildon probed the wide channels. The onslaught kept coming as Baildon looked for the space on the edges of the pitch, fortunately the North defence held firm. It was some time into the first half before the hosts were able to take advantage of their possession. Their opening try came opportunistically as North were penalised for holding onto the ball on their own five-metre line. A quick tap penalty caught the visitors on the hop and the hosts were up by seven. This score was followed up swiftly by another as North again struggled to clear their lines under pressure. A charged down box kick bounced loose and was snaffled by Baildon to extend their lead to two converted scores.
It would have been possible for the home side to start to run away with the fixture if not for North showing strong resilience and determination to get themselves back into the game. Mistakes from Baildon afforded gave confidence to North and soon after they were not only defending well but returning good attacking phases of their own. A break from winger Ross Easdon exemplified the endeavour North showed for much of the first half. Taking play deep into the Baildon ascendency it set up a platform from which the forward pack set to work. Multiple phases on the Baildon try line seemed certain to yield a try, unfortunately a carry bundled into touch right on the line put an end to the attack and to the half.
On the resumption of play, North had lost none of their intensity over the break and went straight back to work against the home side’s defence. Replacement Iain Swall, back from injury, helped guide an attacking scrum over the Baildon try line to kick start North’s side of the scoreboard and make the game a tighter affair. The conversion was added by Ollie Walters to capitalise fully on the score. Baildon looked to reestablish their lead and attacked whenever they had the ball from all positions on the pitch. For the next quarter of the match though, North’s defence held its own and whispers of a comeback grew louder. It took until the sixty-minute mark for the next score to come. Somewhat against the run of play, an innocuous looking kick through from North seemed to be chased up well however the Baildon winger conjured a gap out of nothing and charged through past several defenders before offloading out of the tackle and setting his full back through to score. Keen to compete with his fellow winger, a scrum for the home side on the halfway line became a launchpad for their other winger who took full advantage of a small gap against the touchline to race away and run in a terrific solo score that increased their lead further still. North were not to be deterred though and clearly still believed there was something to be taken from this game. More attacks using both the
forwards and backs proved fruitful for the visitors as they marched Baildon back toward their own posts. This momentum was given a further boost when the host’s flanker was shown a straight red card for stamping in a ruck. From the penalty that North kicked to the corner, a rolling maul collapsed close to the line. Quickest to react was veteran prop forward Paul Dixon who snatched the ball out of the pile of bodies and dove for the line, squeezing his way under the onrushing defenders to score North’s second try of the day. The game drew towards a close with the last few encounters showing the best of both teams. It was the home side who had the final say though, an attacking foray into North’s half produced a small gap between tired defenders, through which the full back carved his way towards the posts and dotted
down to bring the game to a close. The full-time score read Baildon 31 – Northallerton 12. An entertaining fixture that had two evenly matched teams showcasing what they can do. More promising signs for North in defeat, and lessons that can be taken forward into the next game. Many thanks to Baildon RUFC for their hospitality, to the referee for officiating the match and to the many supporters who travelled to support the team.

Meanwhile, the men’s second XV held the fort at the Lodge as they entertained Barnard Castle RUFC in what turned out to be a thrilling encounter. It was the visitors who took an early lead, moving the ball quickly through the hands at every opportunity they scored three unconverted tries within the opening ten minutes which rocked North onto the back foot. The hosts needed a lengthy chat under the sticks
to collect themselves and sure enough, a change of approach to a more traditional North way allowed them to drag themselves back into the match. Sticking the ball up the jumper, the forward pack set to work claiming territory and maintaining possession that brought them team close to the visitor’s try line. Flipping the momentum back into their favour, North managed to score two quick, unconverted tries of their own, Gareth Essex and Trevor the beneficiaries. Heading towards the half time interval the game was finely balanced, the contrast between the playing styles managing to balance each other out. The more expansive approach from the younger players in Barnard Castle’s team meant that as energy levels in the North defence began to tire and the half time oranges beckoned, the spaces opened up and were swiftly exploited with a further two unconverted tries. Going into the break, North trailed by fifteen points however spirits were still high and the team was not to be deterred.
Having tasted success in the first half from their way of playing, the same script was rolled out for the second act and immediately yielded success. This time it was David Baker and Matty Wheeler who crashed over the line to narrow the deficit. Ben Gray converted both tries to make it a one point game. It wasn’t long though before the momentum swung again, this time back into the visitor’s favour as they took full
advantage of a spell of possession to ship the ball wide and into the hands of their younger wingers who caught North’s defence flat footed and raced away to score. The reply from the hosts didn’t take too long to arrive and sure enough it was the power play from North that created it. Nimble feet and brute strength from centre Connah Richmond took him through the first tackler and with only one man to beat he off loaded to Harry Huyser who supported well and was rewarded with the try. Entering the final ten minutes of the match the game seemed like anyone’s to take, only one point separated the teams as it had done for much of the second half. The eighty minute nature of the game tests stamina as well as skill and, as is often the case, the advantages of youth in the side are seen in the closing stages of the match. This game was no exception. Tiring legs in the Northallerton side meant that in the wider channels there were spaces to be exploited. Barnard Castle’s younger wingers grasped these opportunities with both hands and ran in two very good tries in the last minutes of the game to seal the victory. The final score read Northallerton 29 – Barnard Castle 40. Many thanks to Barnard Castle for travelling and playing such an enjoyable game of rugby. Thanks also to the referee for officiating the match and to the many volunteers and supporters in the club house who helped make the day happen.