Novos 26, Barnard Castle 9 - Bonus Point Win

A game of 2 halves (part 3).

After the game of two halves part 1 (against Acklam), the game of two halves part 2 (against Gateshead) surely history couldn't repeat itself as Novos travelled to Barnard Castle looking for their 3rd victory of the month.

A solid squad boarded the coach to trundle through the downpours to arrive at Barney full of optimism and enthusiasm for what turned out to be a highly competitive fixture against a committed Barnard Castle side, who were far better than the league position indicated.

A slight disruption before kick off saw a change in the starting line-up as Jez Nash pulled up with a tight hamstring to be replaced by staring debutant Pat Smith in the centres. A well executed warm up, in the unusual surroundings of not returning into the shed for final preparations didn't disrupt the side as they once again flew out of the traps from the offset.

Novos controlled the possession and territory and were rewarded after a penalty which they put into the corner. The resulting line out saw the pack take over and surge towards the try line. Despite Barney's best efforts to thwart the drive, Christian Selkirk was on hand to sneak over after the maul was grounded inches from the line. A successful conversion by Shaun Stewart added to the score.

On the 20 minute mark a repeat was on the cards when again the maul was stopped just short of the line. A couple of drives around the corner narrowed the Barney defence and the ball was shipped out wide for Shaun Stewart to crash over for a good team try.

Barnard Castle were particularly effective at the breakdown and got the benefit of the referee's whistle to give them a string of penalties, 3 of which were converted in impressive fashion, to keep Barnie in the hunt as half time approached with the score balanced at 9 - 12.

Novos however managed to fashion a well crafted score as half time approached with some good play, grinding out the phases and gaining ground until a ball was gathered by Shaun Stewart who side stepped his way through a fragmented defence to score. He added the conversion and gave Novos a lead at the half of 19 - 9 having played up the slope.

The second half began with the focus on working hard and doing the simple things well. Unfortunately for us Barnie had different ideas. Although they probed and tested the Novos defence with the majority of possession, the Novos line remained intact and constant swathes of attacks were thwarted by good defence management.

As the darkness fell, it looked like history was about to repeat itself and we were to be denied a try bonus point, however we managed to trap Barney in their own 22 and had one final opportunity to add to the final score. After a number of penalties at scrum time, Novos persistence was rewarded with an injury time penalty try as they trundled towards the line. To be fair to Barney, they kept a front row on the field when they could have gone uncontested and the penalty try was perhaps a bit harsh on them, but the referee could have done it at either of the previous two which looked far more clear cut.

So yes, another game of two halves !

All in all, job done with the squad posting an unbeaten November record of 3 wins from 3.

Thanks to the referee for what was a well controlled game. He set his stall out early on and was decisive throughout until the last couple of minutes at scrum time when it got a bit messy.

And many thanks and best wishes to Barnie for the extremely competitive game which bellied their league position. Keep plugging away and see what you can achieve.

Novos boys - a well deserved rest after three great wins where we have learnt a lot from each fixture along the way. A few boys banged up so great timing for some of the group to recover before we host Rovers on the 7th December. The 2/3/4's all have fixtures so there will be plenty to watch including a bus trip to Berwick for the 3's.

Man of the Match picked by our opponents - Alex Littlefair
Richard of the Day - Ross Radford for being unable to put his shoes on without the use of a shoe horn

Up the Vos !