This team was a true mix of power and pace. Carrying the Novos banner into the first match against Blyth they set a high standard for the other two Novos teams to follow. Blyth kicked off and ran into a resolute Novos defence with Alife stopping Blyth’s “Vegas” in his tracks setting the tone for the match. Their aggressive defence won the Rockets turnover ball which they turned into scores with Ryan Crossley opening the scoring ending off a good team move barging over to score.

Matthew Hayes was destructive in the loose and won numerous turnovers and scored an early try. Dan Neill whose distribution was excellent drew two tacklers before offloading for James Hepburn to score. Dan then scored himself having taken the ball off Blyth at a ruck to race in to score. Finlay Davison who ran hard all game then scored a try of his own showing good pace to score. Ryan Crossley scored a second his ability to step off either foot leaving Blyth flat footed as he blazed in over the line.

The try of the match was a move up the left, Sam Hetherington made good ground, passed to Dan Neill who popped a soft pass inside for Matt Hayes coming through like a train who drove through two tackles to score. A second try for James Hepburn who was outstanding going forward made it 8-0.

Special mention for Blyth who never gave up and played some fantastic rugby, particularly Vegas and Callum. Vegas capped a fine personal display taking 4 Novos over the line with him and showing great strength to touch the ball down. Although not initially awarded by the referee, the Novos touch judge in the true spirit of rugby informed the ref that the try had been scored. Well done Blyth. Well done Rockets, some brilliant rugby played by all.

Our next match saw us up against Novos 2 which proved to be a thrilling affair. Again great rucking won the Novos 1 lots of ball which they used to great effect. Ryan Crossley prominent with some good runs and tries to reward his outstanding effort. Flynn Christian Norris was also evident in recycling the ball to give the team momentum and proved to be the pivotal link for another James Hepburn score. Sam Hetherington found space where there was none and was unselfish in his passing. Matt Hayes enjoyed a personal battle at the ruck with Alistair Wilks which was one of the highlights of the day. Dan Neill continued his good form scoring in the right corner and offloading well to team mates, although the sight of his class mate, Tom Steel, going past Dan to score will not have been a nice one. Finlay Davison was involved in everything and some straight running and a step saw him set up tries for team mates. Alfie was again simply unstoppable and ran in another rampaging try, pleasing to see was his strong work in the loose and tackle.

Our final match was against Novos 3 which was a keenly contested match. It was very pleasing to see Ben Cuthbertson score a fine solo try where his determination to get over despite two tacklers was outstanding. Ben had played well all day and it was just reward for his efforts. As outlined below Novos 3 won this by one try, but the loss of Dan Neill during the first half and injuries to Matt Hayes will have severely undermined the potency of Novos 1.

Novos2.

Squad: Aidan Newman, JPL, Tom Steel, Sonny McDonnell, Daniel Ellam, Tom Graham, Alistair Wilks, Thomas Williams, Niall Boothroyd.

With home side Blyth having 13 players and the visiting Novos able to field 27, it was agreed to play a four team tournament with Novos providing 3 of the teams. Novos2 started the day with games against familiar faces – Novos1 & Novos3.

As expected these games were full blooded affairs with absolutely no quarter given on either side. The crunching tackles and blistering pace of both games was a fantastic demonstration of the depth of quality we have in this squad. It was end to end stuff on the small Blyth pitch with plenty of tries scored by both sides. Despite some neat passing (Daniel & Aiden especially), fearless tackling (Tom W, Tom S & JPL all getting stuck in) and brave runs (Sonny and Alistair like lightening). Novos2 lost both games but all 9 players acquitted themselves well.

Special mention must be made to new boys Niall and Tom G, who both played like they’d been long time squad members and showed fantastic awareness.

After their first two games against ‘friendly’ opposition, Novos2 were just getting warmed up and determined to secure a win. In fairness, Blyth had already been battered by Novos1 & 3 but team2 were in an uncharitable mood and right from the whistle they controlled the game.

Darting runs from Sonny and Tom W resulted in a couple of tries each and Alistair charged through several tackle attempts to score another. Just before half time Blyth capitalised on a penalty deep in Novos territory to grab a try of their own but at 5-1 the visitors were comfortable. The second half saw Novos2 demolish the home side. To their credit, Blyth never gave up and were always an attacking threat, even managing to secure another try, but they couldn’t live with the determination, pace and power of Novos2 – at one point Tom G went on a surging run into the Blyth half with 3 opposition players trying to pull him to ground. It took a forth to eventually bring him down but Tom bravely retained the ball despite receiving a boot to the face (reports that the Blyth player hurt his foot are unconfirmed!).

Tom G went off injured but if Blyth thought the game would get less physical they were in for a disappointment as JPL came on as a replacement and joined a solid defence of Niall and Tom S making a series of thundering tackles which snuffed out each Blyth attack.

Elsewhere on the pitch Daniel was putting in a confident performance at scrum half and set up a number of moves which led to tries. Aiden’s passing was faultless and he linked well with Tom W to score a deserved try of his own. The free wheelin’ Sonny and Alistair ran in another 6 tries (and a couple of disallowed efforts) between them to take the final score to 12-2. Perhaps a bit harsh on the hosts but Novos2 were in scintillating form and this was a great all round team effort.

Novos 3

Squad: Wesley, Ryan M, Callum, Jarno, Daniel G, Theo, Reece, Max, Fuzzy

I thought myself lucky to be given a team with such a good mix of strength and speed and I wasn't disappointed.

The first match against John's Novos side was end to end stuff. Great attacking play, but sometimes at the expense of solid defence and consistent tackling. Unusually small pitches meant that none of the boys had to work up much of a sweat, even in a match of so many tries. The final result was Novos (Martin) 9 to Novos (John) 7.

Next, we faced our hosts. Blyth were still reeling from their previous encounter with Steve's Novos side. Our boys, under Dan G's excellent captaincy, didn't make it any easier for them. Novos ran in 7 tries before half time. By the end, almost all of the Novos boys had scored tries. The final result of 11 to 4 was a fair representation of Novos' dominance.

The final match against Steve's Novos side was another credit to all involved. Our boys' desire to give their all was just as evident here as when playing Blyth. Final result was Novos (Martin) 9 to Novos (Steve) 8.

With such a huge number of tries scored, most boys made it onto the score sheet. Particular mention goes to Daniel G, Jarno, Ryan M, Theo and Wesley, but these scores would not have been possible without great supportive play. Brilliant offloads just before the tackle from Fuzzy, Max, Reece and Callum led to try after try. We've been coaching it for years and I think it is finally sinking in!

All in all, a great day with fantastic performances. Well done Rockets.

Overall Assessment

Firstly to get 27 players there to Blyth says a lot about the commitment of all the squad and that includes parents and grandparents. The standard of rugby was exceptional, and in particular the passing and offloading was sublime. The switch move between Theo Mouille and Wesley Croom summed up the flair with which all teams played with.
We seem to have turned the corner with rucking. The “touch ruck” game we invented last week has paid dividends and the use of James Julien (under 11’s) as a “ghost rucker” at last week’s session has had a very positive impact on the boys and their understanding of the need for aggression and quickness at the breakdown.

Whilst everyone played their best rugby of the season so far special mention to Niall Boothroyd who has only been playing a few weeks but his tackling was that of someone who had played for years. Tom Steel scoring fine solo tries was a revelation and can be traced back to his attendance at Tuesday night training. James Hepburn is fast becoming a winger of superb ability, cutting in from the wing and an ability to score from anywhere. Tom Graham improves with every game, Fuzzy was aggressive and again is improving every week, Theo Mouille was superb going forward and his commitment was first class.

Thank you Rockets, you were simply awesome.

Match details

Match date

Sun 17 Nov 2013

Kickoff

10:30

Team overview