BackSat 12 Sep 2026
1st XV
15:00
Seaton Carew
Hartlepool BBOB 46 v 22 Seaton Carew
Jonathan Starrs
BBOB come out on top in the Seaside Derby
Brigade welcomed Seaton Carew to the Old Friarage in our penultimate pre-season friendly before the league campaign begins.
With last weeks friendly against Durham City cancelled this was a chance for the Brigade squad to shake of the rust and get some action into their bones. And they’ll be a few aching bodies today after a highly competitive “friendly”.
Brigade kicked off attacking the Hospital End of the Old Friarage playing into a deceivingly strong breeze and they got off to a flying start. Great pressure from the off forced Seaton into defensive errors and Brigade were able to turn the ball over. Smart play from scrum half Marcus Lloyd gave Matty Thornton the space he needed to crash over for a 5 – 0 lead. On a side note Matty moved on to 161 Brigade tries only 25 behind the all time record held by Peter Howe. Can Matty reach that figure this season?????
Seaton showed they were up for the Derby though hitting back just minutes later. Good pressure and smart hands saw them down the left wing to level it at 5 – 5.
Brigade showed great character though to regain the lead. Several good phases from the forwards created space for smart hands to create space for George Williams and the left winger showed great pace to whizz into the corner and under the posts for a great team try. Corkin added the conversion and it was 12 – 5.
Seaton again showed great determination to peg Brigade back to 12 – 10 with another well worked try this time down their left wing in the lighthouse corner.
Brigade then extended their lead with two great tries from Brad Wright. Coaches Ainsley and Egglestone have put a lot of trust in Brad in preseason by moving him into the back row and he responded superbly. His first try came from another great team effort. Carries from Davies and Foster-Spillane took play into the Seaton 22 where Lloyd was able to move the ball wide. Brad found himself among the backs and he showed great footwork and power to go over from 15 yards for 17 – 10. His second came only a few minutes later when clever work from the base of a ruck from Chocky Davies and Lloyd put Brad away down the left wing for 22 – 10 at half time.
With the breeze now at their backs Brigade went into the second half looking to assert themselves and within 5 minutes of the restart the backs produced their best move of the day showing great hands to put Josh Bell away and the right winger was able to score in the lighthouse corner for 27 – 10.
Talking of Brigade looking to assert themselves Mike Foster-Spillane is a player who can do just that. Straight from the kick off Foz set off downfield on a barnstorming run before unselfishly (or maybe before he ran out of gas) putting the supporting Kev Mullender away for a magnificent try. Kev converted his own try for a 34 – 10 lead.
Credit goes to Seaton who kept battling and testing the Brigade defence with strong carries. And it was a powerful run from a back rower that brought them back into the game with a fine individual try. The conversion was added and it was 34 – 17.
However, Brigade were not in the mood to lose focus and stretched their lead as Iain Scott burrowed over from a couple of yards and a determined Matty Thornton was hauled down just short for 39 – 17.
With the game entering the last 10 minutes neither side wanted the game to peter out and both sides showed superb physical commitment in attack and defence. Seaton reduced the arrears to 39 – 22 with another well worked score down their left wing but it was Brigade who had the final word. With another barnstorming Foz run Kev Mullender was again the beneficiary taking the pass from Lloyd to cleverly finish. Corkin added the conversion and at 46 – 22 the game was ended.
Both sides will have benefitted hugely with such a tough physical game this early in their seasons and everyone at Brigade wishes Seaton well for the upcoming campaign.
Brigade had a number of standout performers including Foz, Brad W and Kev who had a great game at 10. But The Cosmopolitan man of the match went to scrum half Marcus Lloyd. Lloyds clever use of the ball and superb range of passing really caught the eye.
Brigade wrap up preseason away to Seaham next week in what is always a tough and physical encounter. The perfect warm up before the delayed league campaign kicks of with a local derby against Old Boys.
With last weeks friendly against Durham City cancelled this was a chance for the Brigade squad to shake of the rust and get some action into their bones. And they’ll be a few aching bodies today after a highly competitive “friendly”.
Brigade kicked off attacking the Hospital End of the Old Friarage playing into a deceivingly strong breeze and they got off to a flying start. Great pressure from the off forced Seaton into defensive errors and Brigade were able to turn the ball over. Smart play from scrum half Marcus Lloyd gave Matty Thornton the space he needed to crash over for a 5 – 0 lead. On a side note Matty moved on to 161 Brigade tries only 25 behind the all time record held by Peter Howe. Can Matty reach that figure this season?????
Seaton showed they were up for the Derby though hitting back just minutes later. Good pressure and smart hands saw them down the left wing to level it at 5 – 5.
Brigade showed great character though to regain the lead. Several good phases from the forwards created space for smart hands to create space for George Williams and the left winger showed great pace to whizz into the corner and under the posts for a great team try. Corkin added the conversion and it was 12 – 5.
Seaton again showed great determination to peg Brigade back to 12 – 10 with another well worked try this time down their left wing in the lighthouse corner.
Brigade then extended their lead with two great tries from Brad Wright. Coaches Ainsley and Egglestone have put a lot of trust in Brad in preseason by moving him into the back row and he responded superbly. His first try came from another great team effort. Carries from Davies and Foster-Spillane took play into the Seaton 22 where Lloyd was able to move the ball wide. Brad found himself among the backs and he showed great footwork and power to go over from 15 yards for 17 – 10. His second came only a few minutes later when clever work from the base of a ruck from Chocky Davies and Lloyd put Brad away down the left wing for 22 – 10 at half time.
With the breeze now at their backs Brigade went into the second half looking to assert themselves and within 5 minutes of the restart the backs produced their best move of the day showing great hands to put Josh Bell away and the right winger was able to score in the lighthouse corner for 27 – 10.
Talking of Brigade looking to assert themselves Mike Foster-Spillane is a player who can do just that. Straight from the kick off Foz set off downfield on a barnstorming run before unselfishly (or maybe before he ran out of gas) putting the supporting Kev Mullender away for a magnificent try. Kev converted his own try for a 34 – 10 lead.
Credit goes to Seaton who kept battling and testing the Brigade defence with strong carries. And it was a powerful run from a back rower that brought them back into the game with a fine individual try. The conversion was added and it was 34 – 17.
However, Brigade were not in the mood to lose focus and stretched their lead as Iain Scott burrowed over from a couple of yards and a determined Matty Thornton was hauled down just short for 39 – 17.
With the game entering the last 10 minutes neither side wanted the game to peter out and both sides showed superb physical commitment in attack and defence. Seaton reduced the arrears to 39 – 22 with another well worked score down their left wing but it was Brigade who had the final word. With another barnstorming Foz run Kev Mullender was again the beneficiary taking the pass from Lloyd to cleverly finish. Corkin added the conversion and at 46 – 22 the game was ended.
Both sides will have benefitted hugely with such a tough physical game this early in their seasons and everyone at Brigade wishes Seaton well for the upcoming campaign.
Brigade had a number of standout performers including Foz, Brad W and Kev who had a great game at 10. But The Cosmopolitan man of the match went to scrum half Marcus Lloyd. Lloyds clever use of the ball and superb range of passing really caught the eye.
Brigade wrap up preseason away to Seaham next week in what is always a tough and physical encounter. The perfect warm up before the delayed league campaign kicks of with a local derby against Old Boys.
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