North Shields Beat Gatesahed

Pre – match craic.
Players resplendent in Christmas jumpers, heavy conditions, freezing wind, lowering sky, numerous changes, people playing with injuries and players running late, viva grass roots rugby – what’s not to love!

Team News
Shields travelled to face Gateshead with a host of changes, only the front row remaining unchanged, from the defeat by Acklam:
Stalwart Ben Lemmons starting at lose-head, Tony Jordan moving from 3 to hooker and young Leon van-Zandvliet anchoring things at 3;
An unlikely engine room – Kyle Wharton moving up from 2nd team to play alongside Scott Murphy, moving up from the 1xv back row;
An experimental backrow with Jon Kemsley stepping up to play a roving role; Cole Charlton moving from wing to 7 and Mr versatile Benji Dalton working in tandem with Jon Kemsley.
Back row Ryan Ramsay continuing at 9 alongside 18 year old Will Forster, again stepping up from the 2xv, at 10.
Ricki Hasnip making his seasonal debut at 12 with captain Guy Kinglsey-Smith moving to 13;
A new back 3 Matty Dockey and Lewis Boyle coming in on the wings and Arron Willcocks moving from 13 to 15;
Late changes on the bench with Joe Cozens, Adam Eglin and Ash Gilligan making up the interchanges.

The Game…
Shields, kicking off into a diagonal wing and with the intermittent sun in their eyes, started with a bang. Will Forster’s well-placed kick regathered by the rampaging Shields pack. A solid platform provided Shields with the early possession and momentum. However, it was Gateshead who were first on the scoreboard, securing an interception their pacey backs outflanked the flat Shields defence (7-0).
Undeterred Shields again kicked short and again forced the turnover; hard yards by Kyle Wharton, Leon van-zandvliet and Jon Kemsley saw play move in to the Gateshead 22 where a well disguised pass saw Ricki Hasnip power over (7-7).
The potency of the Gateshead attack continued to cause problems for Shields; however, the increasing dominance at the scrum (Lemmo making it a miserable afternoon for his larger opponent) and superb work at the breakdown was limiting Gateshead’s opportunities to long range attacks.
A potential tipping point occurred on 25 minutes, with Gateshead pressing hard, Leon van-zandvliet receiving a yellow card for a dangerous tackle. Shields defended well, turned over possession but then fluffed the exit, Gateshead capitalising (14-7).
Shields claimed the re-start and a series of powerful drives saw Ricki Hasnip again cause the Gateshead defence to splinter, Tony Jordan was on hand to crash over (14-12).
Despite being down to 7 forwards Shields continued to dominate the scrum, from one sustained effort, the pack drove for the line, Benji Dalton created space and Jon Kemsley crashed over, the referee adjudging the ball held up, Shields scrummaged again – this time quick Ball saw Ricki Hasnp scythe through the defensive line, over the whitewash and drop the ball (Class is permeant – form temporary).
With minutes to play until the interval Gateshead were pressing hard; their clever use of the blind side and eagerness to take the ball flat and at pace resulted in several penalties and eventually after sustained pressure their 3rd try (HT 21 -12).

Messages at HT were simple, counter Gateshead’s clever press defence by controlling the collision and directing play away from/behind their lead defenders (if you can’t go around go through).

Shields 2nd half approach was simple gain ground, fracture the defence, then go wide. Tries followed…Jon Kemsley drew the defence and Ryan Ramsay sped through the gap, his backrow expertise coming in handy as he dragged 4 Gateshead defenders over the whitewash (21-19).
Another great take by the forwards created a strong midfield possession Aaron Willcocks and Guy Kingsley-Smith hitting up hard resulted in a penalty for killing the ball converted by Will Forster (21-22). However, the lead was short lived. With 15 minutes on the clock the game was again turned; influential No8 Benji Dalton received a yellow for a high tackle and hardworking Kyle Wharton was forced off having emptied his tank. Gateshead goaled to retake the lead (24-22). With Ash Gilligan providing fresh legs, massive hits from Tony Jordan and Jon Kemsley and increasing dominance at the scrum and breakdown a series of brutal forward carries resulted in Matty Dockey finishing in the corner (24-27). From the restart Shields attacked wide; Guy Kingsley-Smith coming onto a floated pass from Will Forster and smashing over the line (24 -34).

Job done?
Not a bit of it…Gateshead pressure a Shields breakdown, kick goes direct in to touch, Gateshead lineout 10ms out. Gateshead lose the initial throw but their 7 is through the gap and over the line. With several Shields players around the ball most expected a scrum however the referee decides there had been a clear grounding (31-34).
Cometh the hour, cometh the man…3 minutes on the clock, wind at your back, 14 players on the field and a narrow lead. What would you do? Wisely Shields decided to go long, an aggressive chase resulted in a lineout and a series of drives, learning from experience the ball was kept tight eventually Scott Murphy smashing over for a well-deserved try (31-41).
Well done all - special mention to Joe Cozens and Adam Eglin late replacements who braved the cold and never winged about not getting on.

Thank you to Gateshead for the excellent hospitality.

Report by Tom Gallon.