In spite of Mother Nature’s best efforts, Northallerton RUFC men’s first XV took to the field in the club’s only fixture of the weekend against Halifax Vandals. The Vandals were sitting in an upper mid-table position and have enjoyed a reasonably successful season so far. It was never in any doubt before the match that it was going to be a deeply physical and testing encounter as fresh memories of recent encounters sprung to mind. However, with the weather playing a greater than usual role in the day this offered hope to North of levelling the playing field and making the game a contest of will more than skill.

The clubhouse was fully packed with the spectators sheltering from the weather and joining in amongst the many guests who had attended the sponsor’s lunch before the match. Through the condensation on the windows a discerning eye could see the brave few on the pitch who were standing firm through the inclement weather matched by an equally small number of spectators fully togged up against the rain and wind. The game commenced with North playing down the slope and into the wind. The direction of the gale was blowing across corners and towards the main road which made a difficult proposition for anyone looking to kick towards the club house. As had been hoped for, the conditions made playing any expansive game impossible and by keeping the ball tight, running dozens of phases through the forwards and
short carries from the backs, North were able to dominate the opening passages of play. Working their way systematically towards the clubhouse the hosts kept the ball, recycling possession and with a sense of inevitability, pushed their way over the try line for the opening score of the day. Conversions attempts were at the extreme of challenging on this day and it’s no reflection on the quality of any kickers that no
attempts on goal landed successfully. The game plan for North seemed to be working and indeed, they stuck to it like glue for the next passages of play as they gathered the restart and repeated the feat. Playing passes no more than a couple of yards they battered the defenders back and drove their way towards the try line, crossing a second time in the corner after a driving maul off the lineout to extend their lead to ten points. At about half an hour into the game, Vandals had enjoyed little possession and, more crucially, been unable to take advantage of the tremendous territorial gift the strong wind could give them as North had retained the ball almost continually. This was soon to change though as, turning the ball over at a breakdown deep inside their half, the visitors thumped the ball high into the air and the wind carried it well into North’s half forcing them onto the retreat. Another well executed turnover gave them the ball back in good field position and they managed to put together a series of well organised phases with a few handy offloads in amongst it all to get them over the try line and back into the game.
The frustrations of the game were beginning to show as the referee had to flash the yellow card to both sides to keep order on the field. From one of these penalties in their own half, Vandals put the high kick up that swirled around before landing and being pounced upon by a chasing player to give the away side another platform to attack from. Just as North had repeated the same trick twice, so did the visitors who used their offloading game to great effect and engineered another try on the stroke of half time. And so, even though North had dominated much of the first half’s play, the Vandals had proved efficient at taking full advantage of the few opportunities presented which meant the game was tied going into half time.
After a quick half time interval to try and keep everyone warm, the teams emerged back onto the field and recommenced their battle with the cold as well as each other. Contrary to what conventional rugby wisdom would suggest, the team playing into wind in each half played the better rugby. Using that wind advantage proved trickier than at first appearances and it was the case that North were unable to get possession often enough to try and kick into the corner and put any significant pressure onto the visitors. Vandals, to their credit, proved equally as proficient as North at retaining possession when given the chance and began to creep their way towards the host’s try line. Despite a brave tackling performance that saw the ball held up, the inevitable try did follow and the visitors broke into the lead for the first time in the game. This was succeeded by a fourth try and a bonus point secured for the Vandals shortly afterwards, much in the same manner as the previous three. It was at this point in the game, having lost a player to a second yellow card and another to hypothermia, both teams decided that enough rugby had been played for the day. They’d braved the elements and stuck at it for well over an hour however, resolve had been worn down and the alure of a warm seat in the clubhouse was too strong. The game was ended with a final score of Northallerton 10 – Halifax Vandals 20. A tremendous testament to the will of both sets of players that they would take to the field in those sorts of weather conditions and a commendable effort from both sides. Many thanks to the referee for the day who, likewise, had to work in the same conditions and must surely have questioned the afternoon he’d volunteered for at times during the match! Thanks also to Halifax Vandals for travelling in good
numbers. A final thanks to the many volunteers and helpers within the club who worked tirelessly to put the day together and ensure that everyone had an enjoyable time.
For any readers who would like to get involved in rugby in Northallerton, the men train on Tuesday and Thursday 7pm, the ladies train on Wednesday 7pm and the juniors play on Sunday 10am. All ages and abilities welcome, please contact the club on social media for more information.