CANDY LEAGUE DIVISION 1
PERCY PARK LIONS 45 - 14 GATESHEAD II
Pre- Match Craic
• New team management structure of Thomas T and Tom G took charge of a youthful looking Lions Team (10 under the age of 19)
• New Captain – the team is led this season by 18yr old Jake Smith.
• Proud Dad and ex Park skipper John Turner looked on like a proud little bantam hen as son Steven took the 9 shirt.
• A strong 1xv meant minimal disruption to the selected squad
• Once introductions were made and acquaintances renewed a squad of 20 took to the paddock.…
On the Field
The game started at a frenetic pace with both sides keen to use the space out wide; however it was good old fashioned “grunt “that set the tone of the game. At the first scrum Park put in a mighty shove before releasing the backs, quick offloads and several phases later Gateshead simply ran out of defenders and Turnbull fell over the line for the 1st try of the season.
For the remainder of the half the pattern remained the same; Park dominated the scrum and had the better backs while Gateshead had the edge in the lineout.
Gateshead were then unlucky to lose their 2nd row which gave Park parity in the lineout and resultantly the vast majority of possession. Park scored two further tries out wide, 17 yr old Steven Turner successful from the tee with one difficult conversion.
HT Percy Park 17 – 0 Gateshead
The second half continued much in the way as the first with Park starving the Gateshead team of possession, the introduction of “Scowly Cowelly” giving Park dominance at the lineout.
New captain Jake Smith received the first yellow card of the season for a high tackle and Gateshead were on the board with a penalty try.
Park then squandered a couple of try scoring opportunities (the young 8/9 combo forgetting that they can go beyond 1.5 m in the scrum but Park’s use of the bench meant a constant supply of fresh legs and as Gateshead tired a further 4 tries were added brining the tally up to 7.
Fair play to Gateshead when they did get the ball in hand they looked sharp and dangerous and scored a couple of good tries, their 9 in particular looking a class act. They also played the game hard but fair – we wish them well for the remainder of the season.