Unhappy ending for brave 2nds

For the 2nd time this season Novos 2nd string had to patch themselves up for a long haul away game, the last time this happened they were promptly thumped by 70 + points by Westoe. This time it was back row Alex Hind’s turn to fill in at centre to accommodate Shaun Stewart moving to stand off – and a depleted bench with no backs replacements meant options were limited – hopefully no injuries!!

Despite this Novos had a reasonably strong squad out and were boosted by the arrivals of three new players who had arrived at training this week! A focussed warm up went well and Novos received the kick off on a very warm and pleasant afternoon in conditions perfect for positive running rugby. Immediately from Michael Reidy’s superb take Novos were in the ascendancy, good driving play from Alex Littlefair and Gus Graham was rewarded when Middlesbrough gave away an early penalty and allowed Novos to gain early territorial advantage. Indeed Middlesbrough were so rattled they gave away 6 penalties in the opening 5 minutes of the game and Novos looked in control, during this time Jason Mcdermott narrowly missed a penalty to give Novos an early lead. From another penalty kick Shaun Stewart drove the ball deep into Middlesbrough’s 22 and from the ensuing lineout new hooker Paul Olding hit Alex Littlefair superbly and the pack drove over to give Gus Graham the opening try which Jason Mcdermott converted. On the way back to halfway Novos expected a fightback from a Boro side likely to be stung by such an early setback.

From kick off Reidy again fielded superbly but this time the driving play saw Novos go off on their own too many times resulting in a turnover, finally Middlesbrough got the ball in their hands and through strong running and to be fair some poor tackling carved Novos open to level the scores with a converted try. This was a disappointing aspect of the game for Novos which was to be repeated later.

Novos kicked off and Boro showed they are a good side, they moved the ball well but this time Novos covered the gaps and made the tackles until after a short period of pressure Novos managed to turn over the ball thanks to good work from Sam Dixon and Louis Whitworth. Whenever Novos had the ball they looked increasingly dangerous and another set of good carrying from Gus Graham and Paul Olding created quick ball out wide. And when Dave Addison who was ambling back from a ruck found himself in the centre, a rush of blood saw him throw a miss pass to the wing rather than take simple hands and Boro’s defence drifted well to stop Brian Keith and bundle him into touch, had simple hands gone in there is a chance the speedy winger would have been able to finish.

Novos lineout was dominant and in particular Sam Dixon was able to steal a Boro lineout which set Novos backs away a lovely kick behind from Rob Squire forced the full back to carry the ball into touch and from the resulting lineout Novos secured quick ball and Shaun Stewart found Rob Squire hitting a brilliant angle and a great step sent him under the posts to score on his debut, Jason Mcdermott converting.

With ten minutes to go to half time Novos frustratingly repeated the generosity that led to Boro’s first try a carbon copy take from Reidy, some forward drives from Olding and Addison and then an aimless kick was well fielded by Boro’s full back and his return was well supported and allowed their scrum half to finish with a try that was not converted but left Novos defending only a 2 point lead.

It got worse with the last play of the half Boro scored again, exploiting a clearance kick and poor chase to pick holes and score to send Novos into half time losing the game 19-14.

Frustrating as it was Novos knew they were still in the game and the focus was on repeating the good stuff they were playing 75% of the time and tightening defencively would be key to that effort.

Novos started the 2nd half in much the same vain as the first, pressuring well and driving runs from the forwards were giving Joe Stamper good quality ball at scrum half the pressure was forcing Middlesbrough into conceding penalties and eventually the referee lost patience sending the Boro centre for a 10 minute breather, as he walked away he said something to the ref which the ref thought was an expletive, Gus Graham stepped in to ensure the ref was aware he hadn’t said that and thankfully a red card was avoided which would have spoilt a good game.

Novos attacked and did the hard work of creating a four on two overlap but with a certain try on offer, white line fever gripped and the opportunity went begging, Further opportunities were crafted including further forward drives for the line, but with 10 minutes remaining Novos grip on the game was lost as they conceded three late tries to put a one sided slant to the scoreline that was undeserved.

On balance Boro were up there with the best sides we have played this season, their backline was electric at times and they were very much in tune with each other. Middlesbrough’s first team Scrum half must be some player because, their number 9 was at the heart of everything good Boro did and was a real class player. Boro’s coach expressed surprise at how good a side our 2nds were since obviously there is a massive gulf between the first team leagues and he declared how impressively we had performed. The point was not lost on stand in skipper Gus Graham who is sure that with training and more cohesion there are bright times ahead for this second team whether through results on the field or elevation to the first team. It’s the job of the seconds to put pressure on the 1st team to perform and those currently playing in this 2nd team on some weeks against superior opposition to the 1st XV will certainly keep them looking over their shoulders!

Never the less despite some clear positives, Novos left Acklam Park frustrated that at least a losing bonus point was lost in a game they could have won.

Next week the 2nds have Northern at home, certainly one of the first fixtures most Novos players looked for when they picked up the fixture list from last seasons promotion and with one or two ex Novos players likely to be playing for Northern it will be a fixture worth watching at Sutherland Park.