Westoe Colts in Chilly Thriller

West Nauticalsponsored South Shields Westoe Colts faced Rockcliffe at Wood Terrace Sunday.

The first scrum of the game was won by Westoe, with Will Etchells passing to Liam Maxwell, George Peggie, Mike Ayre and Jamie Whitfield who offloaded to Jonny Allen who surged forward, linking back to Etchells and Ayre, before Waleed Homoudi was tackled in to touch.
The resultant line-out was won by Rockcliffe, however Westoe quickly regained the ball through a scrum and a pass from Peggie to Homoudi saw him held up at the line. The 5 metre scrum was won by Westoe and the ball was fed to Allen, before he offloaded to Whitfield who combined with Ben Feetham to drive forward, and although a scrum was awarded to Rockcliffe, they dropped the ball, and a quick-thinking Maxwell picked it up and drove over the line to score an unconverted try for Westoe.

A penalty to Rockcliffe missed going in to touch courtesy of Allen who kicked further downfield, chased by Homoudi, and although Rockcliffe got there first, tackling from Whitfield, Calum Radford and Jake Bradley pushed them back. Westoe built their phases and gained ground through a 30 metre kick in to touch by Maxwell. The resultant line-out fed the ball to Luke Wilson who ran well, supported by Peggie and Khayl Carney.

Further tackling from Radford, Bradley and John Knight kept Rockcliffe at bay, and a scrum to Westoe was won, with Kale passing to Allen who ran well, and although Rockcliffe briefly regained the ball, a turnover from Sami Heinio fed the ball out to Etchells who kicked in to touch. Despite Rockcliffe winning the lineout, Wilson’s turnover led to a passing move from Ayre to Peggie who scored, converted by Carney.
Zak Swann came on and immediately made his presence felt, providing support to Bradley and Nathan Smith and Westoe pushed Rockcliffe hard up to half-time where the score was 12-0.

The conditions deteriorated during the second half and both teams struggled to keep hold of the ball or grip in the mud. A kick downfield by Rockcliffe was caught by Ryan Peel, with Dane Davison and John Knight supporting, and a penalty to Westoe was kicked in to touch. Feetham drove forward with Ayre, supported by Heinio, but eventually Rockcliffe regained control and scored a converted try.

Westoe pushed on, with runs from Smith, Swann and Peel, and drives from Whitfield, Radford and Knight, but with the poor conditions, several knock-ons occurred and play when backwards and forwards for several minutes, before a run from Carney and Whitfield took Westoe in to Rockcliffe territory. Further support from Swann, Davison and Radford pushed them on, but a penalty close to the line led to a penalty try, taking the score to 14-12 in Rockcliffe’s favour.

Shortly afterwards, a yellow card was issued to Westoe, followed by one to Rockcliffe and Homoudi and Heinio tried to capitalise on this, pushing forward. A second yellow card to Rockcliffe was followed by a lineout to Rockcliffe which was won by Westoe and Etchells passed to Peggie who scored an unconverted try, taking the final score to 17-14.

Match Report - Gail Coghill