Prudhoe & Stocksfield 24 v 41 Redcar

Saturday saw the Ceres Energy sponsored P&S make the long journey down the A19 to face a Redcar side who were top of the league and undefeated following their relegation last season. Our hosts had already demonstrated their strength at home, scoring over 70 points in three of their four games so far. P&S were handed a boost with the return of Joe Hughes to the side, the welsh playmaker donning the 12 shirt, allowing Danny Whiley to slot in at 15. In the pack, the only change from last week saw James Bradshaw return to a backrow who have dominated more than one game so far.

The game started in a combative style, with Redcar utilising strong forward runners off 9 before looking to release their robust centre partnership. However, it was P&S who made the early inroads, working their way into the hosts 22. Unfortunately, tough defence and poor handling conditions proved costly as P&S came away without scoring.

This only spurred Redcar on and they took the lead through their impressive 13, minutes later. Having used their strong forward runners, in particular their hooker, they advanced downfield. After many phases the ball was spun away from the rush defence practiced during the week, allowing the outside centre the easy task of scoring in the corner.

Despite doing our homework on their attacking structures, the pace and angles of running were proving difficult to live with as the home side quickly added another two tries to extend their lead. Firstly, having sucked in too many defenders in and around the breakdown, Redcar’s 10 showed great composure to pick out the charging centre who burst under the posts. This was quickly followed with more forward pressure before the ball was sent wide allowing for the winger to get Redcar’s third.

With the rush defence from 10,12 and 13 not working for P&S, a change of tactic ensued to the conventional drift approach. This seemed to work better and helped neutralise the effect that the centres had on the game.

With the frustration of being 19-0 down, P&S started to play with an intensity and directness that Redcar hadn’t yet seen. Big forward carriers around the fringes were causing Redcar problems, before quick ball was provided to the gleeful backs who had plenty of space to attack into. Luke Masters, Danny Whiley and Chris Nicholls all benefited from such space and were all unfortunate not to get P&S onto the scoresheet.

However, P&S weren’t to be stopped and from a good scrum platform set by the impressive front row, Yannick Debil picked and beat the front line defence before executing the perfect 2 on 1 sending Joe Hughes into the corner. 19-5.

Redcar were obviously annoyed to have conceded and started the second half strongly. The forwards carried powerfully, constantly making metres. As conditions became worse and handling a constant difficulty, the home side kept the ball tight before quickly reversing the attack something that they liked to do on a regular basis giving the wide men the opportunity to stretch their lead. This started a 15 minute period where they exploited our weakness and scored a few tries to extend their lead to 41-5.

In previous seasons this would have meant capitulation towards a heavy defeat but this new look P&S have a resilience unseen for many years. The final 20 minutes perfectly demonstrated this as P&S scored three more tries, securing the bonus point our performance had deserved.

Firstly, Yannick Debil continued with his try scoring run, benefiting from fantastic play from Matty Nevin. After strong carriers from forwards such as Jonathon Kelly on debut and James Bradshaw the ball made its way wide. With defenders swarming, Matty Nevin avoided the touchline and found the supporting Debil who scored his 12th of the season.

With the sense that a bonus point could be a possibility P&S made another charge into Redcar territory. With Debil looking to chip and chase, a late tackle saw Redcar reduced to 14 and P&S capitalised. The resulting penalty was kicked to touch which was confidently won. The forwards then took control, showing great composure and patience to create the overlap in which Chris Nicholls scampered over to score his first try in the P&S tricolour.

Finally, in the last play of the game, the direct approach payed dividends again for the visitors when Rob Reid scored the bonus point try. Patient pick and go’s around the breakdown and strong rucking allowed Reid the easy task of finding the line. 41-24.

Despite the final result, P&S can be proud of their performance, especially the final 20 minutes where the never say die attitude meant we left with something. Credit must go to Redcar who were not only a fantastic team but great hosts. We look forward to welcoming you to Stocksfield in March.

Man of the Match: Yannick Debil, kindly sponsored by Think Small

Next up for P&S will be the home game against South Shields RFC on the 23RD, followed by the Quiz night in the clubhouse. Please keep an eye on our social media for details.