Barbarians go from Strength to Strength

Novos were out on the pitch with plenty of time this and this allowed us to have a great warm up which showed the positive attitude for the upcoming game.
Berwick were on a high following their 60 point demolition of Ashington last week and were sitting proudly on top of the River Aln league with 4 games played.
Novos received kick off and Berwick were quick off the mark, applying good pressure to the Novos forwards but Glenn Fife and Stewart Wilson secured the ball well. Novos immediately returned with pressure to the Berwick defence which unfortunately ended in a knock on with the line in sight. The first scrum of the game set the precedent for the rest of the 80 minutes with the Novos front row of John Addison, Andrew Croft and Paul Jackson showing their intentions by driving back the Berwick scrum with apparent ease, despite this Berwick retained possession but the Novos defensive line was up too quick for the Berwick backs to deal with and Novos regained possession following a big tackle from Chris Donabie. Novos unrelenting early pressure was defended well by Berwick but was eventually broken when a powerful run by outstanding stand off Dan Bollado saw him scoring under the posts.
Novos continued to dominate play breaking the defensive line regularly to make steady territory until a well executed back move allowed Jack Watkins to smash through the Berwick defence and score the second try.
Berwick again restarted play with a well placed kick off which saw Novos under pressure to defend Berwick’s quick forward chasers. With possession secured Novos again hammered the Berwick defensive line and a quick ball out from a ruck saw Jamie Diggle Score the third try with a good hand off before speeding off down the left hand side of the pitch.
Berwick did not let these early tries affect their motivation and came back strongly they were denied on a number of occasions with some huge tackles put in throughout the Novos side. Another turn over in possession from a strong scrummage opened play up and allowed debutant Sam Dixon to link up with Jack Watkins and out pace the Berwick backs resulting in a try under the posts.
Berwick again applied pressure from the kick off and with some good passing got themselves into a good attacking position in the Novos half. With some poor discipline around the edge of breakdowns Novos conceded two penalties in succession and a strong run by one of the Berwick centres smashed over the line and gave Berwick points on the board and a reward for their efforts.
During the half time break Skipper Jamie Diggle urged the squad to up their performance in an effort to tighten up the game and finish a few more opportunities and concentrate on not giving away penalties in crucial areas.
Berwick started the 2nd half strongly but were caught off guard by a focused Novos side who scored from an excellent break within the first few minutes of the second half with Dan Bollado making a clever break on the blind side of a Novos scrum, and throw a good offload to Jamie Diggle, who was able to step the defence and run the ball in under the posts.
Berwick couldn’t handle Novos tough tackling and began to pick up injuries. So a couple changes were made and Novos took the opportunity to bring on a second row debutant with Glenn Fife giving way to Will Pilkington. Novos forwards continued to dominate with this added energy and created space to unleash the back line which let Dan Bollado score his second try of the game.
Dan Bollado then made way for Simon Dickinson to come on at 10 (Jug avoidance?).
Novos did not relent and with a great run by Ritchie Mitchell who was stopped in the last 10 metres by a huge Berwick tackle from their full back, Richie injuring his knee and requiring Dan Bollado to rejoin the field. After good build up Novos gained a scrum on the 5m line, with yet another powerful drive from the front 5 Novos drove over the line for Thomas Armitage to score the sixth try.
Novos Continued to attack and after Eddy Yuil just missed out on a try in the corner Sam Dixon was able to get his second of the game to round off an impressive showing on his two try debut. With the Berwick lads beginning to pick up more and more injuries scrums became uncontested this did not stop the Novos forwards from continuing to control the break downs until from a few well controlled forward phases Jack Watkins ran a great line smashing through the defence to score Novos ninth try and his second. At this point he referee asked if the game could be called early to prevent further Berwick injuries.
Berwick should be commended on their attitude, they travelled a long way and never gave up despite being under a lot of pressure and sustaining injuries to some key players. Despite this heavy defeat Im sure they will bounce back and remain challengers at the top of the league. I know Berwick have been frustrated by sides letting them down and not travelling to Scremerston so far this season which is a shame, Novos will look forward to the reverse fixture up at Berwick and know they will be a different proposition on their own turf, but shame on those not making the journey – your missing out on a good trip to a hospitable club!
Novos now sit proudly on top of the River Aln league thanks to this bonus point win, with Medicals at home next week and Gateshead on the near horizon, the next few games will go a long way to seeing just how successful this season can be for Novos second string, with the aims to finally fulfil the potential we have with some success.
Man of the Match: Sam Dixon
Match report supplied by Jamie Diggle

Final Score
Novos Barbarians - 57
10’ Dan Bollado, 15’ Jack Watkins 21’ Jamie Diggle 32’ Sam Dixon (Automatic Conversions
44’ Jamie Diggle, 50’ Thomas Armitage, 55’ Dan Bollado, 61’ Sam Dixon 70’ Jack Watkins
Dan Bollado converted @ 44’, Jack Watkins converted @70’
Berwick Bears - 7
40’ Outside Centre