We headed into this fixture flowing full of confidence despite last week’s disappointing result away to Sunderland as we were desperate to reclaim 2nd spot in the table. Both teams were greeted by nice conditions when kick off came about on Saturday, sunny weather and only a slight breeze allowed Novos to play some free-flowing rugby from the opening minute.

A strong carry from Rob Baldwin after receiving the kickoff allowed for the backs to earn an early line-break leading to a penalty in the midfield from just under 40 meters out. The kick was ultimately put wide, but it eventually led to a try in the corner for Sam Busby as Josh Farley put a well weighted kick into the corner after the resulting goal line drop out. An early 7-0 lead.

10 minutes later we doubled our lead with a score in the corner after some persistence close to the opposition try line. A looping pass from Searle found space for Baldwin to finish well in the corner. 14-0.

It would be our opponents that would finish the half with all the momentum however. Two back-to-back injuries to both our centers in Searle and Jubb didn't help proceedings as we were forced to use our substitutes early and play multiple players out of position. Two well taken penalties and a converted try after some poor home defense allowed Horden and Peterlee to bring the score to a more even 14-13 going into halftime.

It wouldn’t phase the squad however, especially not at Sutherland Park. Forced to move winger Harry Tankard and flanker Simeon Archibald to the 12 and 13 channels, tactics amongst the squad had to be changed. Some excellence from Sam Busby in the backfield made some space for captain George Bambrick running a support line, and then he did well to find Rhys Merlane with a great offload for the scrumhalf to dart in under the sticks to make our lead a bit more comfortable.

Sometime later, after a spell of excellent territory kicking from the two half-backs, we found ourselves hammering down on the try line, and after squeezing a penalty through the forwards Josh Farley took the quick tap and managed to flop his way past some tired defenders for a score.

We would go on to score another 3 tries in the space of 10 minutes to seal the game out and grab the full 5 points alongside it. Tries from Darren Kelly after spotting space through the middle of the maul, Cam Harvey scoring his 1st try on debut from an excellent counterattack and finally Simeon Archibald rounded off proceedings scoring his second try in two weeks.

So, all in all, a great result at home against a side that was unbeaten heading into this fixture, and we reclaim second spot in the table to keep on snapping at the heels of Sunderland as we head into the colder months. Training resumes tonight and Thursday at 19:00 and everyone as always is welcome!

Up The Vos!

Full Time: Novocastrians 45 – 13 Horden And Peterlee