Second Half Comeback Not Enough

League Leaders Remain Top

South Shields Westoe travelled to Durham’s Hollow Drift for their biggest test of the New Year. The last meeting between the two sides was a close 29-26 victory for Westoe and with the conditions leaning towards an open game, it was potentially a thrilling encounter.

Durham started well, fielding the opening kick-off and securing the ball. With Westoe conceding their first penalty, Durham went to the posts; however the kick drifted wide.

Retaking the drop-out, Durham drove the ball close, sucking in the Westoe defence and creating space out wide. A simple transfer of the ball along the line was completed with a long pass for Bushnell to open the score. Converted 7-0

Westoe came back with an attack of their own; however were met by a staunch defence that withstood the early onslaught.

With both sides feeling their way into the game, defence was the key early on, both teams tackling well and reacting to attacks.

Westoe struggled to maintain possession, kicking away good ball and falling foul of the referee’s interpretations, conceding ten penalties in the half.

Deep in their twenty-two, Westoe set up an attack and went wide towards an overlap, but with the ball in the air, centre, Pears read the play and took the intercept, passing to Izomor for their second score after twenty minutes. 14-0

With 24 minutes played, Westoe received a yellow card after Sam Gaff made a thunderous hit on the scrumhalf, the referee stating ‘intent’ as the offence.

The half continued with the two sides trading hits up close and tentatively exploring the wider channels, neither side making much headway through determined defenders.

Durham maintained the majority of possession; however Westoe’s close up defence held firm for the remainder of the half.

With five minutes of the half to play and following a brief period of handbags, Durham’s White was lucky not to see red, after a flurry of punches in front of the referee was deemed to only warrant a yellow card.

At the half, Durham looked every bit the league leaders, yet Westoe were still in the game and capable of pulling off the win. HT 14-0

Durham again started the quicker, upping the tempo and forcing Westoe towards their line. A poor clearance kick was fielded by Johnson, who charged his way into Westoe’s twenty-two, setting up a ruck and giving Durham quick ball, again finding Bushnell out wide, scoring after only three minutes. 19-0

A second poor clearance, was pounced on by Durham, who always looked dangerous in open play, securing the bonus point fourth try by the replacement winger, Deighton. All four scores utilising the full width of the pitch after drawing the Westoe defence in tight. 24-0

Durham started both periods fast and hard, and as with the first half, as they settled, Westoe came back into contention and started to threaten the home side.

With Westoe shaking off the penalty bug, they were allowed to start building the phases and mounting their own attacks. Awarded a penalty, they went quickly and tried to breach the home side’s defensive line, and following a series of pick & goes, Joe McKenzie found a way through to score under the posts. Converted 24-7

Durham received a blow after White was penalised for kicking the ball from a ruck, the resulting yellow being his second of the day and turning to red, leaving the home side down to fourteen with 30 minutes to play.

This was where Westoe needed to take control; however the home side had their own agenda and a clever chip kick to the corner led to a scrum five which was driven forward leading to the score. Converted 31-7

Westoe went all out from this point and launched attacks from all areas of the pitch and after a sustained barrage of an unforgiving defence, earned a penalty five metres out. Luke Moffett spotted a gap and almost made the line after the quick tap; strong drives from Andy Kirton and Paul Evans, created just enough space for Moffett to cross the line on his second attempt. Converted 31-14

Westoe continued to take quick penalties when the opportunity arose; however were often pulled back by the ref, hampering the fast pace they wanted to play.

Westoe struck again with five minutes to play, with an Andy Kirton drive, following a Durham penalty, keeping the upset alive and the spectators engrossed. Converted 31-21

Durham capped off a fine performance with two minutes to play, with a school-boy try from the line-out, straight along the back-line for Bushnell to take his hat-trick and end any hope of the late comeback. 36-21

Westoe went for one last push and after several short drives, Sam Gaff found the space and drove through, scoring the bonus point try and adding some respectability to the final score. 36-28

Durham showed why they are currently League leaders and performed well in all aspects of the match, sticking to a simple, but effective attacking strategy and defending well. We wish them luck in the remainder of the season, despite charging the highest entrance fee in the league!

Westoe showed that they are not far away and can still cause the top three some issues. Ultimately the first half penalty count killed off any realistic chance of the win and when this was reduced from ten in the first half to only two in the second, proved that they are a match for any side in the league.

Westoe need now to focus on their battle with Stockton and Novos for the remainder of the season and try to get as close to the top three as possible. They have a break from league rugby next Saturday when they face Old Rishworthians in the cup.