Newton Aycliffe Rugby Club maintained their title challenge in Durham and Northumberland Division 3 with a 21 – 8 victory over Chester le Street at Moore Lane.  Despite a number of players being unavailable, Aycliffe were able to select a strong side for this replayed fixture against the team above them in the league.
The game did not start well for the home side as Chester took the lead with a try through their big forwards.  Aycliffe were performing well in the scrum and Ronnie Gilyeat was winning plenty of lineout ball and soon the pressure told.
A tap penalty was played to Jeff Hodgson who forced his way over for the try, Luke Tinkler added the conversion.  Aycliffe increased their lead with a penalty before Chester replayed with their own penalty.  The half time score was 10 – 8 to Aycliffe and they had to play the second half into the breeze.
Chris Richards was leading the team well and continued to put the visitors on the back foot.  A second Tinkler penalty increased the lead and then James Thacker scored a fine try to give Aycliffe a 10-point lead. Warren Parsonage came on the pitch as a substitute at scrum half, as Richards moved to centre.  Aycliffe continued to pressure the opposition, but could only add another Tinkler penalty to their score.  The 21 – 8 win saw them rise to third place in the league.
This was a decent performance by Aycliffe against good opponent without reaching the heights. On 23rd November, Aycliffe host league leaders Seaham in a game that could see them go top of the league; kick-off is at 2.15pm.  Newton Aycliffe are sponsored by Boola Clothing Aycliffe and Hayward Home Appliances trading as Serviceforce  Visit the website at www.pitchero.com/clubs/newtonaycliffe.