Novos 29, Ponteland 0

We travelled to Ponteland on a very cold wintery day hoping to continue our momentum gained in a cup victory over Rockcliff last time out. Slowly, we are starting to turn the tide that has been against us injury wise and performances have been improved as our younger players become more comfortable in their new surroundings.

Forwards - Tommy Goodman, Pete Twentyman, Luke Menzfeld, Josh Stacey, Iain Dodds, Shaun Stewart, Ben Merrett, Alex Littlefair with Mike Stowe and George Davidson off the bench.

Backs - Lewis Chater, Richard Dodd, Jonno Wilkes, Aedan Moloney, Jez Nash, George Hazell, Carl Parkinson and George WIlson off the bench.

It was easy to see in the warm up that the boys were up for this given our cup final defeat to them last Easter and in the knowledge that we shall meet again this holiday season in a replay of last seasons cup final. We had prepared well this week working on defence and perhaps the fact that we only had 30-35 at training was key !! Hee hee

The boys did as they were asked and set a good tone from the off as Josh Stacey, Luke Menzfeld and Iain Dodds got us across the gain line. We edged the early set piece battle as Tommy Goodman dominated his man early on. The biggest edge up front was the breakdown work by Alex Littlefair, Ben Merrett and Pete Twentyman. The three secured possession and did their fair share of the carrying as well.

Our first try came from a quick tap which eventually saw Pete Twentyman take two tacklers over the try line with him, conversion added by Jonno Wilkes. Novos up 7-0

Ponteland were also up for the early exchanges and made a line break leading to a lineout near our line. The forwards repelled 2-3 such lineouts which frustrated the Ponteland pack. It looked as if they had expected us to stand off as a tactic but instead we engaged and drove them back on each occasion.

Richard Dodd was able to control territory and ensure any errors in trying conditions were in opposition territory. Deep in our opponents half we hunted for turnovers with Ben Merrett the leading grab man. Merrett was having a good all round game, controlling the break down in the absence of Pontelands normal openside. Indeed it was Merrett who grabbed the next try after some fine team play. Novos up 12-0.

We generally were on top but could not score any more points in the first half as conditions were difficult for both sides. Ponteland were still in the game on the scoreboard but we spoke about keeping them to nil for as long as we can.

The second half continued the trend of the first as we controlled territory enabling Jonno Wilkes to slot a penalty to extend our lead to 15-0.

Wilkes was not the only RGS youngster on display. Lewis Chater was coping admirably at scrumhalf in his first game back from concussion. After a series of pick n go's Ponteland left a gap at the edge of the ruck and Chater raced in from 20m to score next to the posts. Conversion added by Wilkes. Novos 22-0 up.

We made several breaks in the second half but failed to finish many. Jez Nash did run one in for a converted try towards the end to make the final score 29-0.

A real team performance, especially in defence. The front row edged the scrum battle, Josh Stacey made a lot of yards carrying and Pete Twentyman, Ben Merrett and Alex Littlefair also starred up front. It was great to have Lewis Chater, Aedan Moloney and Jez Nash back on league duty.

So a league double over Ponteland, somewhat avenging the cup final defeat last season. They did create some pressure in this game and could easily have bagged a try or two. However, our defence honed in training during the week stood up to the test. We wish Ponteland well in battling relegation and on this display there is still plenty of fight in them. It wasn't that long ago that we beat Consett on the last day to secure our league place. I hope that you are able to turn some of the pressure you put on us into league points.
The cup final this Easter between the two sides will be a one off game and a completely different affair I am sure.

Thanks to Simon O'Neil for braving appalling conditions and produced a fine display.

For us, two wins in a row. Good time to get some form back before our trip to league leaders, Durham City. We are hoping for a better display this time around. We were second best by a long way in our first match and will hope to get a bit of respect back off the City boys.

The weekend was complete when we heard that the 3's and 4's had won their fixtures and that Sam Busby and Johnny Ward had got through 80 mins for the seconds. In addition, two new lads had a run out for the 2's in the shape of Curtis Walker and Billy Porter, both from Hymers College.