Newton Aycliffe Rugby Club travelled to old friends Jarrovians on a bitterly cold January afternoon for the latest Durham and Northumberland Division 3 fixture, and the resulting victory saw them regain 3rd place in the league.  A whole raft of unavailabilities meant the Aycliffe could only muster a squad of 16 players and Jamie Whelan had to play at prop forward for the first time in his career. James Thacker made an early return on his birthday after almost 12 months out with injury. The pitch was heavy with numerous puddles which suited Jarrovians’ scrummaging game.
Aycliffe began well and, from a maul after a lineout, Thacker cut inside and scored under the posts.  Darryl Pettit added the conversion.  Aycliffe added a further try when, after Jarrovians kicked into touch, a quick lineout resulted in Jonny Griffiths scoring.  Pettit again converted.  A third try arrived when Adam Gascoigne showed the defence a clean pair of heels along the touchline and Pettit added his third kick.  The Jarrovians pack were well on top in the scrums, but they did not have enough pace around the park to make the most of this possession, and any breaks were quickly snaffled out by the back-row of Deryk Cairns, Andy Littlefair and Ash Elliott.  On the half hour, another Gascoigne try made the bonus point safe for Aycliffe; the score at half time was 26-0 to Aycliffe.
With the players now suffering badly from the cold, the game began to lose its shape and the home side came more into the match.  Aycliffe’s cause was not helped when injuries reduced them to 14 men with 30 minutes to go.  Eventually the second half stalemate was broken when Thacker powered his way through three defenders to score.  Littlefair completed the scoring when he broke away from a ruck and was just able to reach the corner ahead of the tacklers.  Both teams are to be congratulated for the efforts they put in in the foul conditions, in a game that was always competitive and played in good spirit throughout.  At the final whistle, the score was 36 – 0 to Aycliffe.
Aycliffe travel again next week for their match at Seaham on 7th February; kick-off 2:15.  These games are always close, low-scoring encounters and, with the teams separated by only 5 points in the league, this will probably not be any different.
Aycliffe rugby is sponsored by S Cars and Whitehouse Funeral Service