Newark Rugby Club under 16's
Newark and Stamford U16s defied driving rain and a muddy pitch to produce an intriguing game with equal measures of brilliance and muddy mistakes, helped to flow by some sure and sympathetic refereeing. A vociferous and excitable crowd, basking in the shelter of the big stand, were soon aware that handling was never going to be straightforward and the early farrago of exchanges suggested a low scoring game was likely, with both defences in parsimonious mood.
Pressure from the off saw Newark, usually slow starters, take the game to Stamford. Some astute kicking from Law and Booth saw Newark camped in the Stamford half for much of the early part of the game. Taking a penalty advantage, Law put in a cross-field kick for Booth to be early-tackled in the act of touching down.
Penalty try, with a sure-footed Booth slotting the extras, meant Newark went a well-deserved 7-0 up. Although not having the best of possession, with a dominant Newark scrum and lineout, Stamford continued with a tight game and their big runners continually made good yards, only for the greasy ball or solid tackling to deny them.
It was no surprise then, that Stamford’s try came from a kick ahead, expertly taken by the right wing who eluded the defence to score. The extras were missed. Although both sides came close more than once to another score, it was the conditions which came out on top with inevitable errors following promising approach play. No further scores were added and, at 7-5, it looked as though we were in for a tense game all the way.
That Newark were able to run in 28 unanswered points in the second half was as a result of a number of factors.
Firstly, the forwards held on to the ball in contact with some assured pick and go replacing the risky offloads of the first half.
Secondly, the backs, with shorter passes and tireless running, ran an increasingly fictile Stamford defence to a near standstill.
The whole Newark team continued its heroically hermetic defence.
Then came the coaching masterstroke as “Eddie” Doran sent on his ‘finishers. Busby was no babe as he drove at the Stamford forwards on his little fresh legs.
Taylor put in two critical tackles within minutes of his introduction and confidence oozed through the team like something oozy through a colander.
Stamford refused to give up and continued to throw the big runners through the gaps but to little avail.
Tries from-Brogden, Stimson and Law were the result of fructifying forward dominance and put the result beyond doubt, long before the end.
Stamford’s defence began to show signs of panic and, in a comedy moment, a long kick through was called as a mark by the full-back who momentarily forgot that the ball had to be caught on the full.
He was swallowed up by Harding who had followed up his own kick and Toogood ran in for the exequies.
The scoreline in the end probably didn’t reflect the effort put in by Stamford, particularly in the first half, but for the fourth year in a row, Newark go into the NLD final on a tsunami of confidence.
Final score 33 -5