RUGBY
Barnard Castle ……………..36
Whitby………………………….. 0
Barney began the season with a home fixture against Whitby. Having faced them in the opening fixture the previous two seasons away at Whitby, it was a nice change not to have to make the long trip to the coast.
The game began with a tribute to long-standing club member and former player, Shaun Morgan, whose presence in the club and on the touchline will be sorely missed by everyone.
Whitby arrived with only one replacement and the game got off to the worst possible start for them as Barney opened the scoring in the first couple of minutes. A delicate grubber kick, by fly-half Ralph Makepeace, bounced nicely for Sam Clarke to run in under the posts for the opening try.
With brother Jack slotting the simple conversion, Castle had quickly established an early lead, 7-0.
From the restart Whitby enjoyed a brief spell of pressure, but an infringement enabled Castle to clear their lines. For the next few minutes Barney were camped on the Whitby line and a quick tap-penalty saw Jack Tobbell score the second try of the day, which Makepeace converted, 14-0.
With Castle looking to move the ball wide at every opportunity their next try came from a lovely break by Oscar Jacques and an audacious dummy saw him racing towards the try line, only to be stopped in his tracks by a high tackle from a Whitby defender. The referee awarded a penalty try and a yellow card for the Whitby player.
There was still time remaining for Barney to score another first-half try. They had enjoyed scrum superiority throughout the half and a series of strong scrums close to the Whitby line saw skipper Sam Bell touchdown from the push-over to secure the four-try bonus point and the conversion gave them a healthy half-time lead, 26-0.
As the second half opened Barney extended their lead with a Makepeace penalty. Unfortunately, the referee then pulled up with a painful back injury and was unable to continue with the game.
Fortunately, the referee from the second team game on the adjoining pitch was able to take over and officiate and the Whitby team manager, a qualified referee, very kindly agreed to step in as referee of the second team game.
Mid-way through the half Barney completed their scoring when an excellent cross-kick saw Robbie Lavin demonstrate his footballing skills as he dribbled the ball forward for a try under the posts. It was just reward for persistence as his kick-chase had been excellent all game. The conversion moved the score to 36-0.
Whitby showed some real grit and determination and for the last 20 minutes or so they enjoyed their best spell of the game. Castle had been reduced to 14 men with a yellow card following a high tackle and Whitby sensed the opportunity to get themselves on the scoreboard. Castle’s defence as a unit was excellent, however, and with Jon Lucas putting in his usual huge defensive hits they were able to stand firm.
So, a good start to the season for Barney. Play was scrappy at times and there were clear signs of early season rustiness, but their defence was superb and new coach, Sam Errington, will have been delighted to get his coaching career off to a winning start.
The opposition nominated Ralph Makepeace as the Barney man of the match as he had pulled the strings throughout. The club would like to thank Don Raper who sponsored the match ball.
On Saturday Barney play Ashington away.
Nick Raper
Barnard Castle 2nd XV……..7
Hartlepool 3rd XV…………..26
Barnard Castle RUFC have continued the growth of their second team and as a result entered the Tees Valley Social League. On Saturday they welcomed Hartlepool Thirds in the start of the league fixtures, which is a fantastic achievement for everyone involved in the club.
The game started with the usually back and forth as both teams showed great pace in the young lads in each team. It didn’t take long for Hartlepool’s 10 to start to open up gaps in Barney’s defence, this led to a few well supported tries by Hartlepool.
Barney had some great play through breaks by Chris Holmes and George Ford and great tackling by James Blakeman and hard running from Chris Benn and Sam Fairbairn, but failed to come away with any points in the first half. At half time Barney were down 26-0.
A few conversations led to the ushering on of very old timer Paul Davis, when is he ever going to retire, this allowed a reshuffle of the backline and with the young lads in the team still full of energy saw Barney control the second half, the scoring opportunities started to come think and fast, two opportunities ended in tired older legs just not quite making it, another just an inch away from reaching for the try line.
A great break by Adam Pheasant, breaking multiple tackles, when Dan Last was in support lead to Dan opening his legs and swan diving in for a try, conversion was good by Kai North.
Unfortunately the game did go the full 80 mins due to our ref having to replace the first teams’ ref because of injury, Whitby’s first manager took over our game but only a further ten minutes were played.
Had the game continued Barney would have most certainly closed up the scoreline. The game was played in a great friendly nature with Hartlepool lending us players and everyone enjoyed it and the Barney lads are looking forward to the return match.
On the day, no fewer than six players made their senior debut for Barney: Jack Tallentire, Sam Fairbairn, Chris Benn, James Blakeman, Adam Pheasant and Dan Jeffries, with more poised to join them. This is a fantastic achievement, with most of those coming through the junior section.
The club are hoping to continue to grow all the sections in the club, we offer junior and academy rugby for children from year one up, the ladies train on a Wednesday night with the senior men training on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
If you’re interested in giving it a try for the first time or want to get back into rugby, please contact Paul Davis 07740 086685.
The club will be showing the rugby World Cup games in the club house but check times with the club.
Paul Davis
