3s season comes alive at Blyth

I would first like to thank Burford for last weeks match report as it was so terrible it will make any old drivel look good!!!! For the 3rd week in a row the Glorious Peoples Republic of Pratt mobilised its forces this time heading for a strategic coastal position........well Blyth. The nucleus of last years team has started to reform with the Glorious leader being able to recall the Marshall twins (we all know John is best), HRH the king at Fly half after a week in the sun and some fat bloke with a bit less of a beard in the front row! Unfortunately try machine James Desmond is still unavailable due to surgery! Get well soon Des so you can show the wingers how it is done!!! The rest of the pack on paper was solid and were looking to try and dominate what was bound to be a strong Blyth 8. The backs where hoping for good conditions with speed and skill throughout the back line (mainly because Hemmings was unavailable and Burford was only on the bench). The warm up went reasonably well for a change and except for at least 2 diva strops by my fellow front row Shaun and the backs managing to knock on balls without any pressure from the opposition! The glorious leader won the toss and we started the game by receiving. Adam Longstaff took the first return and made a useful break down the line deep into the Blyth half, this in fairness set the tone for the entire 1st half with Novos setting their stall out early and camping out in the Blyth 22. Unfortunately early on young Jonny Lowes was hit hard by a Blyth defender and have to come off injured which led to a re-jigging of the back line with D.Marshall coming on at full back Duncan moving to 10 and HRH moving to 9. Novos pack was once again proving dominate in this higher league and were very much in control of the set piece. Blyth were defending well and the despite some good runs from the backs such as Kelly and Fenwick were managing to keep the scores even and also getting a couple of late hits on HRH. However Diva Shaun picked up from the back of a ruck and managed to power over the line to get the first score of the game. Converted by D.Marshall. Blyth tried to work their way up the pitch but a massive kick from Duncan pinned them back into their own 22 once again Novos continued building pressure and where even managing to win their own line out ball due to some uncharacteristic straight throwing from JP. The backs once again were running some good lines and threatened to go over again except for a knock on by HRH as the line beckoned. Novos however stole the ball from the resulting scrum and the Blyth defence opened up allowing Duncan to cross and score. D. Marshall missing the conversion. Seconds later Blyth were finally caught cheating at the breakdown and HRH took a quick tap penalty and said Tommy Wilson over to score under the posts. Converted by D.Marshall. D. Marshall was obviously growing in confidence with his kicking so decided an up and under was the way forward and it probably would have been if he had done it properly this match reporter can say with confidence he hasn't seen a worse kick since the last time Tommy Wilson put boot to ball! Marshall even ended up catching the ball behind the mark where he had kicked it!! Anyway this brought an encouraging and enterprising 1st half to an end. The chat at half time was positive with a clear plan set out to put more pressure on Blyth and try and get 2 quick scores to put the game beyond doubt. Straight from the kick off and Blyth knocked the ball on to Paterson who was tackled out of play then nearly driven into the fence around the pitch he was understandably upset and started having a hissy fit before realising he was outnumbered 7 to 1 by Blyth players and Jack Salt wasn't about to help him out! The ref somehow then managed to give a scrum to Blyth but not to worry once again the pack turned over possession and the 2nd half looked to carry on in the same vein as the 1st with Novos dominating territory and possession. The pressure soon paid off and HRH sniped through a gap to score in the corner! Marshall missed the conversion. Novos again attacked straight form the kick off and worked their way into the Blyth half. HRH spotted the Blyth defence come up quick chipped the ball through for Hipps to collect and score! Marshall Converted. Things at this stage turned sour for Novos as Gavin Evans collected the restart and ran into contact then got his leg caught under him and let out a blood curdling scream the game was stopped instantly by the ref and the emergency services contacted. Unfortunately we have found out that he has broken his tibia and requires surgery so this means I end this match report the same way I started it by wishing another colossus of the pack a speedy recovery from all the team! After Gavin was taken away the Ref and Captains decided to end the game which gave Novos a 29-0 victory.
MOM Gavin Evans
Burford Award David Marshall
Diva Shaun O'Connell
Lateness John William Marshall

Report by front row Viking Craig Paterson