North Shields 26 - 3 Ashington 1st XV

Shields make it four wins in a row...

The first half saw Shields enjoy the large part of ball possession. A resilient Ashington defence were proving a tough nut to crack, however Shields kept their composure and struck three penalties out of 4 through Jack Rendles boot taking them 9-0 in the lead.

Shields possession started to result in several line breaks which saw Ben Dalton break on the far left where he drew two men and offloaded to Gavin Duffy who scored out wide, conversion missed 14-0.

Just before the break Ashington recorded their first and only points of the day from a well struck penalty kick, 14-3.

Half time - North Shields 14-3 Ashington

The second half saw Shields continue to dominate possession and improve in the set pieces. A stern Ashington defence refused to give up however were hit with two impressive team try’s both from Gavin Duffy, one of which converted by Jack Rendles. Shields had to defend for around 5/10 minutes against a ruthless Ashington attack however defended well and stopped Ashington crossing the white wash on several occasions. In the last phases of the game Shields went to secure a bonus point however a kick went astray into touch to bring the game to a close.

Full time - North Shields 26-3 Ashington

Overall a good performance by Shields taking the points when on offer and coming away with the win.

Squad - Anthony Jordan, Harry Watson, Ben Lemmons, Mark Hall, Dave Anderson, Richard Carr, Dean Harrison, Andrew Leitch (c), Mark Walker, Jack Rendles, Sam Brooks, Ben Dalton, Scott Rendles, Matty Dockey, Gavin Duffy, Chris Allott, Aaron Willcocks and Lewis Boyle.

In the post match speech skipper Leitch announced hat trick hero Gavin Duffy as our man of the match who in addition to his try’s had a cracking 80 minutes, Ashington winger was nominated their MOM and d**k of the day went to Shields winger Matty Dockey.

Bindi put on some tremendous chilli sliders which went down a treat with a cold beer whilst watching the grand national. In the sweepstake clubman Ian Hook won the £100 jackpot and kindly put the money back into the club, thanks Hooky!

Next week Shields travel to Sedgefield in their last Away DN2 game of the 2017/18 season. The following Wednesday Shields take on Novos at Ashington on Wednesday 25/04 in the county cup final and then to finish off we face Richmondshire at home in the last match of the season on Saturday 28/04.

Lots still to play for in what has been a great season! With only two weeks left before it all ends make sure you get down to training Tuesday and Thursday’s to make the coaches decision a hard one when it comes to selection!

#NSRFC #UpTheShields