Novos Gorgeous 3rds v Wallsend 2nds – B League Match Report

After seeing so many games lost to the weather before Christmas there was a welcome return to action for the 3rds on a beautiful, still Saturday afternoon at the swamp that Sutherland Park has become as we welcomed redoubtable old foes Wallsend for the latest round in the top level, crack competition that is Northumberland & Durham Blyth league.
Perpetually, unmistakably and always the most handsome team that take the field for Novos, the gorgeous 3rds were bolstered by a number of the Centurions who ensured that there was a full bench of talented replacements after the unfortunate late cancellation of their friendly at 1pm when the training pitch was deemed unplayable.In fact the 2nd pitch wasn’t in much better condition and in conditions that would have delighted a colony of even the most fussy of hippos the visitors kicked off with Novos defending the ministry end and playing up the infamous slope.

Des fielded the kick off soundly and took the game straight to the Wallsend pack as both sets of forwards fought to establish an advantage in the initial clashes. Given the conditions it was clear that the battle would certainly be physical and in these early exchanges the heavily-built Wallsend forwards and midfield were clearly not going to let Novos have an easy afternoon as they enjoyed an equal share of possession. However, after not having played together for over a month, the home side soon began to settle into their game with the forwards providing a steady supply of ball for half-backs James Shallcross and Jack Callaghan to launch the Novos side through a series of phases which took play deep into the visitors 22.

After a period of pressure in which a few chances went astray through slightly ambitious handling in the wet conditions, the first try came from a trademark quick penalty as Deputy Chief Superintendent James Desmond crashed over from short-range right by the posts after 15 minutes. Taking a break from his part-time role of mentoring several of the world’s top professional goal kickers, Jack Callaghan slotted the conversion easily to give Novos a seven point lead.

From the kick-off an almost identical take and charge by Des set up a good platform for the Novos pack who were now starting to dominate proceedings through a very solid front five and a lively back row – Will Pilkington was exactly copying the rampaging example being set by Des and Richard Seed in particular was having a hugely impressive game, so much so that he might one day persuade us that he can actually play open-side better than his usual position on the wing! There was also one especially memorable line-out take which was driven a full 35 metres before the visiting pack managed to collapse it illegally. However, in true Novos style this dominance found room for a good old-fashioned moment of true slap-stick comedyfrom Damien Foggon, as the bulky second row brilliantly fielded a missed touch kick, made a fine hand-off then actually accelerated through a tackle or two and then just as he hit open field with no pressure…dropped the ball forward! As you can imagine, Damo was given an understanding and deeply sympathetic response by the replacements bench!

At this stage and with a clear advantage established in the scrums and line-outs, the home team were attacking almost at will and were only stopped by some brave Wallsend defence.Feeding off a ready supply of possession the 3rds managed some reasonable continuity with players inter-changing well; this was typified by Tommy Wilson stepping in from the blind-side wing to carry on several occasions when his infield team-mates had been tied up. Dave Henry was denied what looked a good try after strongly backing up a searing break from his fly-half but it wasn’t long before he muscled over to register Novos second try after some good handling by his centre partner Mark Hemmings.

At this point Wallsend managed to gain their first real spell of possession and showed the kind of fire and aggression that their Club is known for as they drove keenly at the home team who had to defend robustly for a period with the game still far from being a formality. This spell of pressure focused Novos minds on the task at hand and from the their next attacking position, Captain Craig elected to keep the scoreboard moving as Jack was given the job of slotting a penalty to give Novos a 15:0 lead at half-time.

Novos made full use of their numerical advantage of replacements at the interval with the intention of opening the game up in the second half. The physical presence and experience of Shally the Scally had been an important aspect of the first half performance though he was replaced by the more youthful zip ofJustin Taylor who maintained a good supply of possession as the second half progressed. Dave and Mark, who had done a fine job of containing the big Wallsend midfield and had both sought to involve their back three whenever possible, made way for a welcome return for the pride of Annan and long-time balcony favourite Chris Donabie, who was joined in the centre by promising rugby league convert Chris Yeoman. The Novos stalwart that is the Jason Leonard sized fun-bus and web-site guru of David Addison made way for Paul Sanderson to slot in at prop but after only five minutes of well-earned rest Addi was back early in the second half to partner Damo in the second row after Will injured his shoulder in a heavy tackle and had to leave the field.

The second half saw Novos playing downhill and towards the seven-point-try-end that is possibly unique in world rugby though the opening score was another penalty by Jack Callaghan as the home team made sure of a good cushion of points. However, it was not long before pressure on Wallsend’spack gave Dan Wright the chance to nick the ball from the base and the popular flanker outpaced the chasing cover to score by the posts from 30 metres. Almost unbelievably Dan says this was his first ever try in senior rugby – here’s hoping he’s learnt how to do it now and it becomes a much more regular habit in the future.

Although the game was starting to slip away from them the visitor’s showed good spirit and through a powerful effort mounted probably their most sustained period of pressure in the Novos 22 and were unlucky not to force their way over the line on several occasions during the middle part of the half with last ditch tackles being required from full-back DarwenLeadbiter. Chris Henry and several of the forwards also featured heavily in this rear-guard action and Novos managed to weather the storm. In this period both flankers were replaced by Ben Silk and George “mud-monster” Hendry who were both directly involved in the last quarter’s action.

Good handling allowed another debut try, this tme for Chris Yeoman who finished strongly and during his half on the pitch also showed some slick passing ability. Jack rounded off another good performance with a long-range sprint up the middle for the fifth try. The final try came from Aaron Worthington who has risked the future integrity and comfortable functioning of his nether regions by nipping ahead of Des to deftly dribble over and touch down in the corner – the hairy beast was not amused and it was fortunate for our speedy winger’s well-being that Des had to scarper for his night shift straight after the game!
Other golden scoring opportunities of note that didn’t yield points included a very passable Usain Bolt impression by the World’s favourite Kiwi front-row player, Paddy Davies, who backed up a swift back’s move to find himself out on his own and sprinting 40 metres just to be denied by fantastic cover defence and also Aaron, when he was clear and easily outpacing the defence but in a rush of blood made a hugetoe punt the like of which hasn’t been seen since Bobby Charlton last laced up his boots and sent the ball blasting into the railings well past the dead ball line!

All in all it was good to get back to playing rugby again with an enjoyable win which was played in good spirit and in this regard particular credit should go to the Wallsend team. Despite being on the wrong end of what was eventually a pretty heavy defeat, they showed a very commendable attitude and kept battling to the very end with the kind of never-say-die approach that their Club is well-known for. Their numbers 6, 9 (second half), 10 and 11 all turned in particularly impressive performances and while its obviously been tough going for the Eagles his year we wish them well for the rest of their season and look forward to seeing them again next season for what will no doubt be a return to the usual much closer match-up between the two sides.