Candy Cup
Northern Wanderers 0 - 60 Percy Park Lions
Pre Match Craic
Skipper Jake with the 1xv Mark retaining the captaincy Shaun, Ross and Dan Ward all return to form a new front row Josh Lake returning from injury and Josh Hedley from his adventures Tom making a welcome appearance after joining from Blaydon Kyle Sutherland playing his first game at 9 Riki and Charlie forming a new centre partnership Colt Harry making his second appearance the first being in the previous Northern game Colt Andrew at 10 Eddie, Leo and Beans also returning to the Lions.
In all a much changed side from the last outing against Blaydon and thankfully a much changed attitude. From receipt of the kick off Park took the game to Northern, the pressure resulted in a penalty kick to touch and from the resultant line-out, which was expertly driven over, the first points of the game. Sadly amongst all the early excitement Park lost Josh Lake with a shoulder injury meaning an early introduction for the destructive Eddie Saint who weighed in with 2 tries.
Park continued to dominate but from their next attacking move Northern hacked on a loose pass and were only thwarted by some excellent cover defence. From a breakdown infringement Northern elected for a scrum 5m out; however Park took the ball against the head, cleared to touch, took the resultant lineout against the throw and the backs released young Harry who made short work of a 50m dash to the line (0-12). The luxury of a bench saw the introduction of Mark B and Steve D to the 2nd row, Tom to the back row and Leo to fullback on 20 minutes.
The moment of the match involved both locks, a strong tackle from Steve forcing a loose ball which was kicked on by Mark B - his timing in the tackle leaving the Northern winger implanted deep in the mud and the ball in the hands of Harry who ran in his second try. 19-0. Northern could not get their hands on much meaningful possession and when they did the ferocity of the Park defence ensured they were knocked back, Riki in particular ensuring his opposite number had a torrid afternoon. The aggressive defence, backed up by hard running, Eddie and Dan Ward in particular, created holes all over the park and eventually resulted in two further tries. HT Northern 0 Park Lions 29
Having benefitted from the elements Park knew that a good start was vital, they also agreed that the same level of commitment at the breakdown and tackle was required to secure the win. Park attacked the kick off turned over the ball and some great interplay saw Ross score under the posts. Next up was Harry for his third try, again using his pace, quick feet and strength to beat the Northern defence. Kyle was next on the score sheet using his power to rip a ball free at the tackle, set up the ruck and be back on his feet in time to score from the next breakdown. The final try went to Leo, increasingly effective from 15, he used his pace and power to swat aside potential tacklers on the way to the line.
FT Northern 0 Park Lions 60