Newton Aycliffe Rugby Club finished their Durham and Northumberland Division 3 season with a great win at champions Whitby. Aycliffe took a strong squad and large support on the bus trip to the coast, aiming for their first win against Whitby in recent years.
On a dry day, Aycliffe’s strong back line were looking to perform well, but they came up against tough opposition. Aycliffe were the first to score after a rehearsed penalty move saw Jeff Hodgson take the ball close to the line before Andy Littlefair picked up the ball to go over for the score.
The game remained close but both sides showed good attacking and defending skills.Whitby scored next with a try to equalise and at the break, the game was poised on a knife edge at 5 – 5.
Whitby started the second half stronger and soon took the lead with a try from good forward play but, crucially the conversion was missed. Aycliffe upped their game and began to show great character. Warren Parsonage found the space to make ground and, when it looked like he would be bottled up, he produced a marvellous reverse offload to Adam Gascoigne who cut through the defence before passing out to Littlefair who went behind the posts.
Luke Tinkler added the conversion giveing Aycliffe the lead. Littlefair came close to a hat-trick when he was on the end of a fine handling move, but was tackled just short. The Whitby back line was well organised and they made numerous forays into Aycliffe territory but the defence was outstanding with Gascoigne and Jonny Griffith making numerous tackles.
A lineout close to the Whitby line saw Liam Kelly on the ball; he forced his way through the defenders and just managed to get the ball down for the score. Whitby were not yet beaten and launched a number of attacks, but again the Aycliffe defence was sound. The game ended with Aycliffe 17 – 10 victors.
This was Aycliffe’s best performance of the season, both in terms of skill and spirit. Similar performances next season will surely see them challenged for promotion. The journey home was deservedly enjoyed by the Aycliffe players and supporters. The friendly game on Saturday 25th had still to be confirmed at time of writing.
Aycliffe Rugby is sponsored by S Cars, Smurfitt Kappa and Whitehouse Funeral Service.
