The first weekend of March saw league leaders Redcar RUFC travel North to Stocksfield hoping to extend their lead at the top of the table. As for P&S, injuries and unavailabilities forced a few of changes from the home win versus Richmondshire the previous month. In the backs, Chris Patterson moved from scrum half to play fly half in the absence of playmaker Steven Henderson with Chris Nicholls pulling on the number 9 jersey for the first time since the home win against South Shields in November. Usual number 8, Yannick Debil moved to inside centre along side the in-form Dan Whiley who started at 13 due to the unavailability of Luke Masters. In the forwards, new singing Dan Wright made his debut on the flank alongside the powerful John Robson, with Robert Reid moving to number 8, completing a strong back row partnership. March also marked the return of Jonathon Dodds after he had faced the majority of this season sidelined through injury. This home fixture was sponsored by the brilliant Wellness Therapeutics, a private physiotherapy clinic located in Stocksfield.

The game was one to be forgotten for the P&S lads as Redcar proved their strength and put on a near perfect display to run out comfortable winners. Despite the disappointing result, there were some positives to be taken from the game, including a second try of the season for Raj Kingman, running a brilliant line to breach the Redcar defence and dot down underneath the posts in the first half. Due to the absence of goal kicker Steven Henderson, tighthead prop, Ryan Chamberlain took up the kicking responsibilities slotting a conversion and a penalty. The other try of the day for the P&S team, was scored by Yannick Debil, notching his 20th try in 15 appearances this season. And lastly, an impressive debut for Dan Wright, showcasing his ability in attack and defence.
Big thanks to Kelly Norman of Wellness Therapeutics for her sponsorship of the fixture and also being down on the touchline to attend to the many knocks and injuries sustained in the bruising encounter.

The next game was due to be played on the 24th March, a home game against Wallsend however due to the global pandemic, this game would never be played. On the 20th March, the RFU announced the premature end of the 2019/2020 rugby season and therefore implemented a 'best playing recorded formula' to settle the promotion and relegation spots. With this being said, P&S finished the season in 8th position, an improvement from last season's second bottom finish.

Congratulations to DN3 2019/2020 Champions Redcar RUFC on a fantastic season, winning 15 of their 17 games. Joining them in promotion are league runners up, Seaham RUFC and we wish both teams all the best in DN2 next season.
DN3 will welcome 3 teams from the league above as familiar friends Blyth RFC and Seaton Carew RUFC were relegated from DN2, alongside Gosforth RFC, who will grace DN3 with their presence for the first time next season.

A huge thanks to everybody who made this season possible, players, coaching staff, club members, sponsors, supporters and groundsmen.

If you're interested in joining P&S for the upcoming season, please get in touch.