1st XV
Matches
Sat 04 Oct 2014  ·  Durham/Northumberland Division Two
North Shields
Tries: t (3)Conversions: k
17
48
Ponteland RFC
1st XV
Tries: D Gregory, D Harrison, W Newbigin, S Walton (2), M Searle, P McAreavey Conversions: D Walton (3), M Searle
When we are good, we are very very good.... when we are bad we are awful !

When we are good, we are very very good.... when we are bad we are awful !

John Chappell5 Oct 2014 - 16:34
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Following last week’s excellent performance Pont stuttered to another victory. ( Wes comment – JCs reports may be biased but they are on time !)

With Mason, Williams, Anderson, Moller, Searle and Leiserach not available Pont drafted in Phil Mcareavey and Elliott Mew for their 1st team debuts.
Pont played into the wind in otherwise excellent conditions on a good surface at North Shields. Within a minute a knock on whilst under no pressure set the tone for Pont’s play on the day! Shields set out their stall for the day with pick and drives close by as Pont went into defence mode. Shields hoisted an up and under as three Pont players let it bounce. The chasing Shields player took out Newbigin without the ball, the second knocked it forward as the ref called play on! The assessor was to have a busy day !!
Pont’s front row of Coulthard, Norris and Kelly then took one of many strikes against the head to get the visitors on the front foot. The following lineout saw Pont drive forward 40 metres until it mysteriously collapsed short of the line !. Never the less Pont moved it quickly for Gregory to burst over. Dan Walton made it 7-0 on 9 minutes.
From the kick off Pont put in a clearance and as Pont’s cover charge let the player go past. He danced across field and the Shields forwards picked and drove to get a try in the corner 7-5.
Pont’s attack was spluttering into life and the forwards were making gains in the close combat zones. A stolen lineout again saw Pont marching forward. The mysterious collapse happened again but this time the ref had had enough and ran under the posts for a penalty try. Walton again converted. 14-5.
Pont’s lineout again brought rewards as a massive drive saw a pile of bodies over the line as Dan Harrison claimed the spoils. An excellent conversion by Walton made it 21-5 after 26 minutes. Shields were not lying down without a fight and following yet another unpressurised drop the home team gained several penalties until the forwards crashed over from three metres. 21-10.
The final play of the half summed up Pont’s day. An excellent sweeping move in the backs ended as a Pont player put an inside, reverse, double looped spin pass – to the ground!!!
HT 21-10
With the half time talk by the coach on the lower scale of the hair dryer Pont came out and immediately claimed the bonus point try as good forward work released Newbigin who skipped in to score 26-10. Another massive scrum saw the ball moved well as Kelly and Freer joined in to skip and gambol through the home defence!! The ball was spun wide as Sam Walton finished off excellent hands by scoring in the corner. 31-10 after 50 minutes.
Pont then rang the changes, using the bench wisely to get players game time and rest others. Marcus, Mcareavey and Mew all came on and gave good accounts of themselves.
A text book move saw Townshend release a cleverly timed pass as Searle ghosted under the posts untouched to make it 36-10 on 64 minutes. He then took the conversion himself to make it 38-10.
Pont were not getting it all their own way as Shields tackled hard and ran the ball when they had it but Pont had the steely edge to thwart their attacks and then make it count at the other end. Another big forward drive saw young Mcareavey claim his first senior try 43-10. From the kick off Shields attacked and Phil Bramble made an excellent cover tackle. Pont gathered the ball on their 22.Dan Marcus had the good vision to see the gap and a long chip over the top saw Sam Walton out sprint the defence to collect the ball and score in the corner 48-10 with two minutes to go.
Pont then had another of their dozing sessions as from the kick off Shields gathered the ball. Several pick and go’s later Pont’s defence opened like the red sea to allow a grateful Shields player to canter over to score. An excellent conversion made it 48-17 on the final whistle. A just reward for a team that didn’t lie down at all and kept going to the end.
A curate’s egg of a performance. When we are good we are very good, when we are bad we are awful !!

Match details

Match date

Sat 04 Oct 2014

Kickoff

15:00

Meet time

01:00

Competition

Durham/Northumberland Division Two
Team overview
Further reading