1st XV
Matches
Sat 03 Nov 2012  ·  Durham & Northumberland Division 1
Ryton
6
9
Ponteland RFC
1st XV
Penalties: M Mullins (3)
A long time coming

A long time coming

John Chappell4 Nov 2012 - 18:57
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https://www.pontelandrfc.co.uk

Will Newbigin captained the side for a hard fought victory at Ryton

Ryton 6-9 Ponteland

By Chris Morgan

The front cover of the Ryton match day programme made reference to the fact that this was the 132nd year of rugby in the town.

It may not quite have been that long since a Ponteland First XV last recorded victory on this ground, but it had certainly been a while in coming, so for the visitors to walk away with a well earned win given their previous shoddy record, was even sweeter.

It is rare for a match reporter to make so few notes during eighty minutes of rugby, as the pen and notepad stayed safely in this correspondent’s back pocket. Incidentally, this was also where the Ponteland defensive unit had their Ryton counterparts for most of this Durham and Northumberland Division One fixture.

A score line of 9-6 would suggest a game short on entertainment, which in truth it was. Try scoring chances were at a premium as both sides relied on the boots of their stand-offs to record their respective points.

Neither side really looked like scoring a try. Ponteland had the best opportunity in a few manic moments before the end of the first half, when Pete Britland broke free on the halfway line and was so close to touching down underneath the posts before he was cruelly denied by a backtracking Ryton defender who forced the Ponteland winger to spill the ball from within his grasp.

Seconds later, Mark McGookin opted to go himself when he should have offloaded to the supporting Ally Wood and with that the chance was gone.

Instead the game relied heavily on defence and boy oh boy is Ponteland’s made of stern stuff these days.

This victory was the third consecutive match where Ponteland haven’t conceded a try and considering only one try was conceded in the game against Gateshead before that, it means their defensive line has only been broken once in 320 minutes of rugby – a quite remarkable statistic.

Much of this is down to the strong forward pack, led superbly by the experienced second row partnership of Danny Harrison and Craig Robinson, who outmuscled their bigger looking Ryton counterparts.

Coming off the bench, Mark Kelly was also impressive while Phil Mundy gets better with each game. He may be the size of a mouse, but with the heart of a lion, his willingness to be the first at every breakdown shows he is a force to be reckoned with.

In the back line, Mike Mullins kicked well while the youthful centre partnership of Oli Lane and Jack Storey was unbreakable as they made tackle after tackle to deny their opposite numbers.

And all this led with some aplomb by the stand in skipper for the day Will Newbigin who marshalled the troops brilliantly at full back in his first game as captain in the absence of Richard Moller.

On to the game itself and with the referee intent on blowing his whistle at what seemed like every breakdown, the play lacked fluidity with the penalty count high for both sides.

Ponteland took the lead on eight minutes with a Mullins penalty but found themselves pegged back before the break as Ryton sent a penalty of their own through the posts – ironically while down to 14 men as the referee issued a yellow card to their centre Andy Gabel for not rolling away at a ruck.

The visitors started the second half the brighter of the two sides and missed the chance to reclaim the lead as Mullins sent a penalty chance wide.

And moments later they found themselves in the wrong side of the referee’s notebook as Robinson was asked to take a ten minute break for an offside offence.

Unlike Ponteland before them, this time Ryton were able to take advantage of the extra man as a well worked drop goal from Jon Benson went sailing through the posts to give the home side a 6-3 lead with just fifteen minutes remaining.

But Ponteland are a different entity these days and the difference in fitness in the last stages of the game was what ultimately swung it in their favour.

Their resolute and controlled but aggressive defence became all too much for the home side who gave Mullins the chance to level up the scores, one he duly took.

And then with just five minutes to go the young fly half sent over another impressive kick as the Ryton defence infringed again – the last score of the match and one that washed away those, give or take a few, 132 years of Ryton hurt for Ponteland.

Ponteland: Coulthard, Bell, Norris, Robinson, Harrison, Lenderyou, Mundy, McGookin, Maughan, Mullins, Britland, Storey, Lane, Woods, W. Newbigin. Subs: Kelly, Charlton, S. Walton

Match details

Match date

Sat 03 Nov 2012

Kickoff

14:15

Competition

Durham & Northumberland Division 1
Team overview
Further reading