Barnard Castle storm to victory over Hartlepool

Hartlepool 15 Barnard Castle 36

Barnard Castle recorded their first victory on the road this season with a bonus win at a wet and windy Hartlepool.

Barney went into the Counties 1 North East fixture on the back of two home wins and two away losses, taking the field with their shirts worn inside out to avoid a colour clash.

The hosts began brightly and Castle withstood early pressure before they took the lead with a well-executed catch and drive close to the Hartlepool line that saw Ben Parker power over for the opening try.

A terrific conversion by Ralph Makepeace, who had an excellent game at fly-half, extended the lead to 0-7.

Hartlepool were quick to hit back as their scrum-half went over for the try from close range but the conversion was missed.

From the restart a high tackle saw Barney awarded a penalty and Ralph stepped up to do the honours with the kick to extend the lead to 5-10.

As the half progressed, Barney began to dominate and their pressure was rewarded as the ball was spun down the line and Elijah Delaidriti went over for the try in the corner.

With another excellent conversion the lead stood at 5-17 at half time.

This was not a day for free-flowing rugby and Fijian speedster Aisake ‘Wisse’ Matebaluvu, making his starting debut on the wing, didn’t receive a single pass in the whole of first half.

In the opening exchanges of the second half, however, he outpaced the home defence from a chip through by Ralph only to be denied by the cruel bounce of the ball as he dived to claim the try.

Barney were very much in the ascendancy and were rewarded with their third try of the day as Ralph jinked over from close range following a scrum on the Hartlepool 5m line.

Once again, the conversion was good and the lead grew to 5-24.

From the kick-off, however, Hartlepool were able to hit back as a knock-on led to a scrum close to the Barney line and Pool were able to push over for the try and make it 10-24.

Barney maintained the pressure and with Radavulu, who made an impressive debut from the bench, executing some powerful carries, they went in search of the fourth try to secure the extra bonus point.

Sure enough, it was Radavulu who did the honours as Barney secured possession in the Hartlepool 22 and he bundled over from close range for a debut try.

With James Peareth returning from injury and joining the fray from the bench Castle continued to dominate and it was Peareth who claimed the next try as he went over in the corner from a quickly taken tap penalty.

With the tricky conversion wide in the teeth of the wind the lead stood at 10-36.

There was still time for Hartlepool to claim a late consolation try as a period of pressure in the Castle 22 resulted in their No8 touching down in the corner to take the final score to 15-36.

It was an excellent, mature performance from Barney who tailored their style to cope with the appalling conditions and overcome opponents who had beaten them earlier in the year in the cup semi-final.

Castle had clearly learned from that experience and are showing growing confidence playing at a higher level.

With a number of key players injured, it was encouraging to see how well the players who have come into the squad have stepped up.

Barney, who now sit at 6th in the league table, are at home to Houghton tomorrow (3pm, Saturday).

Barnard Castle: 1 Marty Lonsdale (Lifestyle Logistics), 2 Doug Shaw (Wendy & Camille), 3 Danny Souter (Hughes Family), 4 Henry Thompson (The Old Chapel), 5 Maurice Batiuluna (David Jackson), 6 Joe Gibbons (S Patterson & M Coates), 7 Ben Parker (Potts Groundworks), 8 Lewis Thwaites, 9 Matthew Osborne (Roman Ltd), 10 Ralph Makepeace (D Souter Farrier Services), 11 Aisake Matevalulu, 12 Elijah Delaidriti (S&RD Parker), 13 Fergus Makepeace, 14 Harry Parker (Fox and Hounds, Cotherstone), 15 Oscar Jacques (Beauty Therapy Clinic), 16 James Peareth (Peareth Financial), 17 Radavulu, 18 Tom Steen (Pulse Accountants).

Nick Raper