Novos 2nd XV 20 - 16 Blaydon Development

An incredible season continues for the Super 2s, as they saw out a nervy 20-16 victory against Blaydon Development to secure their second cup final in as many weeks. It can be said that in large period of game we did not play our best, in truth, in instances, the rugby became a side show to the occasion, however the lads showed impressive steel and courage to edge out a tough game.

The meet time brought cool, crisp conditions and decent pitch to boot, which was unfamiliar to some of the previous matches, however a lot of things stayed the same; Gus Graham was debating retiring, Joe Ball was convinced he was a super 15s player (dropping every ball in the warm up), Brendan Thomas was late despite swearing to be on time, and James Bass had been on the sun beds (He has been desperate for a shout out in a match report for ages).

The warm up, in all honesty was poor, as the boys seemed to determined not to switch on, and seemed quiet and lackadaisical throughout. This seemed to prove Gareth and I’s theory that there is a correlation between the quality of the warm up and our performance on the pitch, as truth to form, we came out of the blocks flying.

There was total dominance in the tight and loose, in both attack, and defence, as we capitalised on an indecisive Blaydon who were feeling their way into the game. It took two minutes to gain the lead, after Billy Porter (Drunkest Man in the World 19/03/16) exploited a gap from the base of a ruck, and timed his pass to perfection to Joe Ball, who in turn butchered his 2 on 1. Luckily quick ball was recycled and Billy picked out Jonny Bird in his natural position, on the wing, to dot down in the corner. In the early exchanges we were winning the gain line battles, as there were huge hits in defence from the likes of Shaun O’Connell and George Hazel. This unsettled Blaydon who opted to kick more, resulting in our back three getting some excellent possession in broken play. Morgan Faulkner showed some excellent footwork throughout the half and made consistent yardage, Euan Binmore showed his, perhaps less subtle, physically however also made some great carries, (it was also nice to see he could play on the same field as Gus Graham, after the years of physiology bullying he suffered from him). It was James Bass (second mention in the report), however who provided the magic to get us on the score sheet again, after putting George Hazel in space to round three players to score.

Blaydon hit back with two quick penalties due to needless indiscipline, which kept them in touching distance, however our defence appeared untroubled throughout most of the half. In fact, Greg Humphreyson sunk a pearler of penalty to extend the lead further after 25 minutes.

Our first half dominance continued in attack, as we made territory with ease, the only thing that let us down was our set piece, which comes back to a lack of meaningful practice during the week. However, despite that we still secured another try after 35 minutes, which James Bass did score (third mention on the report). This not being a disservice to James, however, I can’t remember exactly how the try came about, other that the fact that he scored it, but let’s assume it was a one-yard pick and go.***

We appeared to relinquish the initiative at this point, and let our opposition back into the game, as we switched off in defence just as Blaydon mounted their most meaningful attack. It resulted from a harmless kick which Morgan Faulkner, hilariously, failed to usher in to touch from two yards away. The lack of communication also resulted in James Bass (fourth mention of the report) being outpaced in his pursuit of kick by a prop. From reclaiming the possession, Blaydon strung a number of good phases together to score before half time.

At the half time, there was talk of not panicking, as observations were made that all the points conceded were from our own mistakes and errors. Ideally we wanted to continue the high tempo rugby which had been so effective in the first 35 minutes, and knew our opponents would rather draw us into a scrappy dogged battle out close quarters.

Unfortunately, Blaydon, to their credit, managed to do the later, and dominated possession and territory for most of the half, and succeed in distracting us from the ball for periods of the game.

The defence however for the 35 minutes we were camped in our 22, was courageous and brave with every position putting their body on the line at some point. Notable mentions must go out Josh Floyd, Shaun O’Connell, Tom Dias and Brendan Thomas who tackled their hearts out, as well as Nick Byrne, who as the smallest man on the pitch made one of the most valuable turnovers of the game.

The rare moments that we had the ball seemed to lack the same energy and precision as the first half, as attacking opportunities were squandered by basic errors. The most amusing of which was George Davison being penalised twice in two minutes for an incorrect tap.
Blaydon had a strong scrum, which put walking wounded front row under huge pressure, with Gus Graham injuring his, only just recovered, back in the first half, Shaun O’Connell having man flu, and Tom Dias just returning after suffering from dodgy bowels in the previous week’s game. Huge thanks are also due to Josh Floyd for agreeing to play front row again after bent into a pretzel the previous time he played. However, the entire front row contingent battled through nobly and deserve a huge amount of credit.

Blaydon also had strength in their driving line out, and as our discipline lapse throughout the second half (seeing the sin bin of Will Doyle for tackling, then bringing the attacker to his feet, to spear tackle him), we gave them to opportunity to use it. Fortunately, due to smart defence by the forwards we only conceded the one try from it.

However, at the final whistle, with a large amount of relief, we were 20-16 ahead and had held out. Despite the obvious disappointment in the drop in performance in the second half, a lot of positives should be taken from our defence, as we faced a very physical Blaydon side. However, there were some issues with discipline in both breaching the laws of the game, as well as the law of the land, and our ability to react to a referee’s interpretation of law must improve.

In attack, when we had the ball in the first half, we looked dangerous, and had the forwards to made the hard yards and win the rucks, and the backs to cause the wider defenders some issues. Our game management also looked good, as Greg Humphreyson’s tactical kicking has been a revelation this season. However, the second half showed there are conditions that cause us to lose all structure and look like an ordinary side.

In terms of individual performances, as I mentioned the front row battled bravely through injury and never complained once. Gus Graham made some trade mark sleeping policeman tackles, whilst Shaun O’Connell made some crunching hits and strong carries and deserved his man of the match award. Joe Ball was busy all day, and supported the backs well. Nugent looked energetic prior to his back spasms and we hope him well for a quick recovery. Billy Porter looked classy at nine and filled in well at 15 as well. George Hazel looked dangerous in attack and defence alike. James Bass (fifth mention in the report) enjoyed more possession that in previous games and showed his class with ball in hand, and we congratulate him on making the Northern Police Rugby Team (Oink Oink Pig).

Morgan Faulkner also played phenomenally well, with some very gracefully breaks in broken play, and I fear a call up to the 1st for him.
Besides that, we are in a second final and will face Middlesbrough Wasps on April 23rd, and have a great and rare chance to secure three pieces of silverware in a season.

Obviously this means that all remaining games are important, and starting positions become even more competitive and attendance a training becomes a critical factor, not just for selection but for ensuring the areas in need of improvement can be worked on. This is a very promising time for the Super 2s, let’s make good on that promise.

Jack Spoor

*** James Bass’ try was as a result of a nifty pick and go from a breakdown 5m out from the Blaydon line by Ben Melrose, who selflessly put away a two-on-one to stick Bass in the corner for an easy finish. It was later revealed by Mr Bass that he did not expect the pass, as “no one ever listens” to him when he has space out wide. He was equally shocked that Melrose was able to keep up with play.