U10's @ Alnwick Festival 27/04/14

Match Report by John Liddell.

Novos 1: Thomas Williams, Dan Neill, Sam Irons, James Hepburn, Aiden Newman, Ryan Crossley, JPL, Sonny McDonnell, Alistair Wilks & Wes Croom.

Novos 1 found themselves in a now familiar ‘group of death’ along with Durham, Alnwick, Otley, Percy Park and Rockcliffe.

Novos1 got started against Durham and things were fairly even in the first half. Durham had plenty of the ball and mounted more attacks but Novos were always equal to them and soaked up the pressure with good solid tackling from Thomas W, Dan and James H. The first half played out evens but Durham must have been disappointed that for all their pressure they couldn’t find a way through. Durham started the second half quickly but still Novos were equal to them. Durham ramped up the pressure and after a minute or so of being camped out in the Novos half they scored. After that they didn’t get near the ball again. Novos started throwing it around with confidence and after a passing move that more of less involved the entire team; Sonny was quick to spot a gap in the defence and sprinted through to score and level the game. Final score 1-1.

Next up was the home team Alnwick. This was their first team and they clearly wanted to lay down a marker and get some home wins as they came out of the traps at pace. The Novos defence held with both Wes and Alistair making try saving tackles early on. Novos took most of the sting out of the Alnwick attack throughout the first half but at the break, the home side were edging it. In the second half Novos took things up a gear. Head coach Steve Neill had the boys playing a new attack based formation and it came into its own as Novos began to push Alnwick back towards their own line. It wasn’t long before the pressure told, with both Ryan C and JPL bravely forcing themselves through the defence to score. Alnwick had a try disallowed and Novos played ‘keep ball’ for the rest of the half with some great passing. Final score 2-0 to Novos.

Then came Otley. Novos had lost to the Yorkshire side the previous day in a bruising encounter at the Northern Tournament but any hopes that the visitors may have stayed up late drinking too much pop and would be a pushover, were quashed as they scored 4 tries without answer in the first half. As expected, Otley were very physical in the ruck but they combined it with a lot skill which had Novos on the back foot for much of the game. In the second half the Novos defence looked strong and the team worked well together as a unit, with Wes and Thomas W especially deserving a mention, but Otley kept finding way as through and scored twice to take the game beyond Novos. Final score 6-0 to Otley, but there was no disgrace in losing to such an effective and confident team.

Next, it was old friends Whitley Bay Rockcliffe. Games between these two sides are rarely without a few talking points and this one delivered in spades. Novos were desperate to shrug off the previous result of the day and launched themselves into the game from the whistle. WBR weren’t messing around either and the game became a real contest with each team playing very attacking rugby. Dan had a try disallowed early on but it showed the WBR defence could be breached and it wasn’t long before some well worked rucking by Aiden and James H resulted in Ryan C collecting a pass in space and scoring the opener. WBR were not to be denied and levelled the score almost immediately. The play moved up and down the pitch before another good display of rucking from Novos played in Wes, who made a diagonal run across the park to score and take Novos into the lead. The second half started, and ended, with WBR throwing everything they had at the Novos defence. The pressure was relentless but the Novos line held firm with a real quality display of defending from the entire team. Attack after attack was drawn in and cancelled out. Ryan C, Dan, Sonny and Sam were particularly devastating. WBR had 2 tries disallowed for offside as they continued to push but Novos deservedly held onto their lead. The match has already been dubbed ‘The Alnwick Siege’, and with good reason. This was a brilliant defensive display from Novos against very tough opposition. Final score 2-1 Novos.

Last game of the day was against Percy Park, and Novos, on a roll from the previous match, were on scintillating form. Early on, an inch perfect pass from the ruck by Aiden found Dan, who, after some good footwork, opened the scoring. Soon after, Sam sold the Percy Park defence a dummy and doubled the lead. Novos had settled into the game and were retaining possession. A number of charging runs from Sonny had Novos constantly gaining ground and it wasn’t long before Sam got his second try of the game. Just before the break Alistair played in JPL who side stepped two tackle attempts to score and take it to 4-0. Percy Park came out looking sharp in the second half and scored early but Ryan C responded quickly with a well worked try in the corner. After good build up, Sam made a run up and the park and barrelled through a tackle attempt, he lost his footing but as he fell managed to float a perfect pass to Ryan C, who collected and took the ball over for his second of the game. To their credit Percy Park weren’t finished and grabbed two tries near the end but the damage had already been done and the game finished 6-3 to Novos.

This was another great tournament that showcased the talent in this Novos squad, and their ability to combine attack and defence into devastating effect.