Novos Bathe After Bubbly Performance

Squad News - Novos again show the depth of talent at the club as a strong squad was assembled despite the absence of regular first teamers - Josh Igoe, Sam Warren, Ben Merrett, Alex Littlefair in the pack and Cillian O'Shaughnessy, Bruno Smith and Lewis Chater all injured at the moment. In addition Sam Busby and Jez Nash were also unavailable for duty.

Novos started the match well despite all the changes and dominated possession in the first few mins. A great break by Alex Caldwell around the edge of a ruck allowed us to camp on the Gateshead line. A cynical penalty was awarded as Gateshead killed the ball at ruck time and Johhno Wilkes slotted an easy attempt to make it 3-0 to Novos.

Gateshead were causing us some problems when they had the ball, especially with their skilful midfield runners. After a period of possession it was our turn to concede an offside penalty which the knocked over for a 3-3 scoreline.

Our injury crisis took another blow as Carl Parkinson was concussed in a tackle and had to be replaced by Ben Forbes.

Gateshead were dominating the game at this stage but we were defending well. A big hit at half way by Iain Dodds led to the ball falling into the arms of Forbes as he raced in the 50m to score a try against the run of play. Conversion added by Wilkes, Novos up 10-3.

Next Gateshead attack and the looked like having an overlap only for their winger to drop the ball which again was scooped up by Ben Forbes for a 60m race in this time, conversion again added by Wilkes. This score took the wind out of Gateshead as they looked dazed after two tries against the run of play in a matter of mins.

Before they could recover we struck again as Richard Dodd kicked us down the field and we turned over their back three. As pressure built Aedan Moloney ran over his opposite number to score. A nice conversion added by Wilkes. Novos up 24-3 and playing well.

Chris Ward came off with a sprained ankle and on went Shaun Stewart.

As the half closed we again worked our way deep into Gateshead territory. We turned over a lineout and Dodd fed the ball onto Moloney who was at a rate of knots. As his opposite braced himself for heavy contact Moloney stepped around him to score. Making the half time score 29-3.

Josh Stacey entered the fray at the start of the second half as we braced ourselves for Gateshead's response. Whilst we were well ahead on the scoreboard we did feel that we weren't playing very well.

As expected Gateshead responded as the sort to get back into the match. They kicked a penalty early on to make it 29-6. We perhaps got a little bit high in contact and Gateshead's big runners were getting over the gain line. This then created time and space for their midfield to run some lines. They scored a couple of very good tries to bring the score back to 29-20, game on.

Our much changed forward pack was struggling to secure set piece ball but we were competitive around the park. A massive moment occurred after a Gateshead break in midfield, they looked bound to score but Josh Wright survived the contest of possession and got a great steal under our posts. We then marched up the field and were hammering away at the Gateshead line. After some forward carries engaging their fringe defence Caldwell was able to dive in wide out for a very important score. Conversion added from distance by Wilkes, Novos ahead 36-20 with fifteen mins to play.

Gateshead were never going to go away at their home ground and the set up a grandstand finish with a converted try. Ten mins to go and the score was 36-27. However, the contest was decided after a long range Wilkes penalty pushed the score out to 39-27.

A great win given all the disruption. The lads showed great spirit and again found a way to get the job done. Jubilant scenes carried over into the shed as the boys took over both baths and cases of beer appeared from every corner of the changing room !

Mike Stowe was great upfront with some strong tackles and a few against the head in the scrum. Iain Dodds was back to his physical best destroying a couple of Gateshead players in defence. Josh Wright again showed what a great addition he is to the squad. In the backs, Alex Caldwell was bright all afternoon. Aedan Moloney had some big moments in attack and defence including scoring two tries. Johnno Wilkes defended brilliantly for such a young player showing his man the touchline and then chopping him down every time, he also kicked beautifully adding 14 pts from his boot. It was also great to see Ben Forbes get on early and race in for two long distance tries.

Thanks to David Swainson for taking charge of the game. Both sides commented afterwards that he was very fair and often gave the attacking side the benefit which was consistent all day long.

Thanks to Gateshead for the game and I enjoyed seeing some old friends who I have not seen for a while. So funny to talk to some kids I have know since the were 17 now talking about lack of sleep due to babies, buying houses and working long hours ! I remember them when their only issue was whose round it was ! You were pretty unlucky on the day as we scored some tries against the run of play. Your response to going behind was fantastic which saw you win the second half 24-10.

Our season of firsts continues as this was our first double over a strong Gateshead side. The day got even better was news came of the 4's win and the 3's cup final success. The clubs fourth trophy of the season !

What a time to be involved at Novos. However, it's Sunday and Saturday is now yesterday ! So it's back to work at training this week as we head into the last two games sitting in fourth place. This week we have Acklam in our last home game of the season. It will be massive for us to ensure we give the Sutherland Park crowd a great send off with a strong performance.

Finally, a quick shout out to Sam Busby who represented the county U20's on Sunday and has secured a final spot at Twickenham. We wish him well on his trip to the cabbage patch and we are all very proud that the club is being represented at county u20 level. Good luck Sam !