UBS Candy League 1
Morpeth Reivers 12 – 22 Percy Park Lions
A late Park try by Kieran Sutherland killed off any chance of a Reivers win after the Morpeth side had come back from 17 – 0 down in the first half. Park travelled up the A1 M to play the reverse fixture against the Reivers having won comfortably earlier in the season at Preston Avenue by 55 – 7. The game was played “over the road” with Morpeth quite rightly looking after their 1st XV pitch after a bout of heavy rain and over night frost. On the day the pitch held up, but was heavy going for both sides making running rugby an impossibility.
Morpeth kicked off with the slope and sun at their backs, but it was Percy Park that made the early running with the evergreen Davy Kay opening the scoring after sneaking through a pile of bodies in a ruck close to the Morpeth line. Paul Spowart kicked the conversion to give his side the 7 – 0 lead.
Park went further ahead as lock Austin Phillips barged his way across the whitewash although this time the conversion was pushed in front of the face of the posts and wide.
With the Percy Park Academy game against Darlington cancelled, a few of the Colts were given their chance of some senior rugby, and they all faired well, as the Lions dominated the line out and early scrummages.
Just before half time Park stretched their lead as number 8 Steve Leneham crashed over for an unconverted try. Morpeth had a few sporadic forays into the Park half but also turned down a couple of kickable penalties.
In the second half Morpeth hit back as Park utilised their bench, and the Reivers gained the upper hand in the set scrum. Tries from Carl Parkinson and John Walton with a conversion by Ben Turner brought the Mitford Road side back in the hunt at 12 – 17 and at the very least a potential losing bonus point.
With the game well into “Fergie time” Park brought Harry Watson back into the front row to shore up the scrummage and went through several minutes of picking and driving at the Morpeth defence to wind down the clock, which had appeared to have stopped! With the Reivers pinned down in their own 22 they won a turn over and the ball was kicked into the Percy Park half with a chase ensuing. Kieran Sutherland retrieved the ball and set off into Morpeth territory. As the defence approached he chipped over their heads and recovered the ball just short of the line going over for the score securing the win and a bonus point for the fourth try.
So Park are now 2 – 0 up in the contest between Lions and Reivers, with the two sides meeting again in the semi final of the Northumberland Cup on 21st February at Preston Avenue.