Candy League Two
Percy Park RFC Lions 57 v Whitley Bay Rockcliff RFC Vikings 7
Rockcliff defeated in dominant Lions display
Percy Park Lions had another resounding victory in Candy II in a messy and sometimes feisty affair with their local and dearest rivals Whitley Bay Rockcliff. The 21 man squad on Friday night became 16 by the time kick off came with a mixture of illness, incident and injury. Andrew Clyde tweaking an aging calf!
Faced with resolute defence from the visitors the reshuffled team took almost 20 minutes to find some rhythm. The pack looked solid with the returning Matty Atkinson, Jonny Dubois and Connor Rogerson (described as the bald bloke with the headband by Knox jnr!) marshalled by the impressive Davey Kay. Their presence dominated the set piece and significantly upped the performance levels from the previous couple of games.
On 19 minutes Matty Atkinson went over for the first of three tries (second time this year), five minutes later he was over again. Reward for his support play and lines of running. The conversion was good. 12-0 on 24 minutes.
The Lions started to hit their straps with 31 minutes gone with Alex Lamb crossing for a bulldozing score. The try converted and three minutes later a solo effort from Jonny Dubois complete with the kick saw Park 26-0 up on 34 minutes. Three minutes later more good play by the pack saw Rockcliff taken from one side of the pitch to the other. Taking the outside channel Connor Rogerson was held up but Phil Harrison in support gratefully took the offload for his first try of the year. Then Matty Atkinson again to secure the jug, 40 -0 at HT.
Rockcliff’s inspirational chats behind the post were of an industrial nature and of the man up variety. Their afternoon was not going the way they wanted.
The second half was more of a struggle. The game got feisty with some borderline and bruising contact but fortunately the contest did not spill over. The scrappy nature meant that Percy Park never really got going again as the game stopped and started. The feisty nature hampered the home team more than the opposition. The back line failing to ignite and bring others into the game. It was frustrating as opportunities came and went. Mid-way through the half a yellow card and a red (later rescinded) meant we played about 8 minutes with 13 players. In that time we defended four WBR 5m scrums without conceding. A steal from Davey Kay and a rip and blitz from Connor Rogerson were pleasing to see.
Further tries from Connor Rogerson (the bald bloke) and Liam Walker cemented the victory. Credit must go to Rockcliff who never gave up and on 65 minutes kicked through , Simpson had come into the line so we were caught napping with no one at home and the opposition flanker won the foot chase to touch down. Final score 57-7 maximum points again.
A big Percy Park thank you to Liam for coming along even when some disreputable soul had taken property belonging from his van and Jaxson for getting stuck in when asked to play well out of position. Well done you have our thanks.
We await to see how Whitley Bay Rockcliff will seek to line up on Boxing Day to ensure we can have a competitive festive match for supporters from both clubs to enjoy.
Next week Horden and Peterlee at home
Representing Percy Park RFC
From 8; Jonny Dubois, Connor Rogerson,Alex Lamb,Jamie Guthrie,Jackson Hind,Sean Nairn, Ben Morris and Matty atkinson
From 15: Danny Simpson,Ollie Ellis, Kieran Sutherland,Nathan Henderson, Phil Harrison, Dan Jackson and Davey Kay
Finishers: Liam Walker and Matthew Knox