Candy League 2 North

Percy Park RFC Lions 42 v South Shields Westoe RFC Development XV 27

Walkers 'six out of six' secures the win

An entertaining game, in front of a big crowd, proved to be a real test for an emerging Percy Park Lions side. The Lions matched up against a big well drilled Westoe pack, who fortunately did not have the same strength in depth across their three quarter line.

From the kick off Percy Park were placed under pressure and we struggled to get a grip on the game. An early infringement on 7 minutes let Westoe in to open the scoring. Their fullback converting from the 10m line with ease. Park bounced though and a powerful leg drive and tenacity saw a determined Connor Rogerson go over on 12 mins. The try converted by Andrew Walker. 7-3 the score.

On 18 mins Percy Park were penalised by referee Tony Partlett. The infringement was converted again from distance. The Westoe full back was showcasing an adept use of the boot. The player was punishing us every time he had the ball in hand with a cannon of a right foot. 7-6 Park.

Westoe had their tails up and started to play effective route one rugby. Our defence held well but on 25 the defensive line was broken, Westoe were over. The try converted. 7-13 to the visitors.   

As the contest progressed the game ebbed and flowed. There was nothing between the two sides. The packs were well matched. Percy Park edged the line outs and Westoe the scrums. Park really needed to gain and keep the ball to provide opportunity to unleash our back line .On 39 quick thinking by Rogerson saw a ‘tap and go’ and he was over again for his seventh try of the season. The effort was converted. 14-13 Park. The crowd, players and referee were all enjoying the game. The bout was hard, fair and entertaining. All eagerly awaited the second half.

From the restart Park attacked quickly, sucking in the defence tight on the left. A deft cross kick ‘over the top’ was picked up by Paddy Hargreaves who crossed on 41 mins. A good start. 21-13 to Percy Park. Many thought that breathing space had been achieved. That thought was quickly dismissed. Two minutes later South Shields Westoe crossed our line again and converted. 21-20 on 43 minutes.

Percy Park ‘caught a break’ as Westoe replaced their full back and as a consequence were not getting the same field position with their aerial game. Fly Half Andrew Walker took advantage with probing kicks down the line. The tactical change proved advantageous as Park started to peg Westoe back in their own half. On 55 good work by the forwards saw the returning Sean Williamson use his bulk to cross the line. 28-20.

The Percy Park three quarter line were playing with confidence slinging the ball about to great effect and the makeshift Westoe backs were struggling to cope. Great hands on 63 mins saw Dan Jackson pop up on his opposite wing to finish a flowing move under the posts. Converted by Walker 35-20. Westoe weren't done though. Percy Park gave away a series of daft penalties. Referee Partlett penalising the home side for holding onto the ball. With ten minutes to go Westoe had rallied and bombarded the Percy Park try line. A penalty try was awarded 35-27. Westoe deserved the score

Westoe were revived and a comeback looked likely. They literally threw everything at Park. Showing astute leadership Captain Josh Lake ensured the defence stayed connected and disciplined. There was plenty of chat and encouragement. Lake was at the fore when it mattered and as a consequence he got his mullet dirty. Getting his hair dirty is a big thing for the Lakemeister.In. The game went to the wire. In the last minute Park transitioned from their 22 following good handling by the backs. A well thought cross kick, albeit in slow motion by Andrew Walker, landed in the eager hands of Ben Anderson. With an adept side step Anderson crossed in the corner. Andrew Walker converted his ‘six out of six’ and that was that 42-27 to the Lions.

Possibly a flattering score but we will take it and look forward to the return in South Shields. This was a great game to watch and play in and both sides deserve credit for serving up a real contest. The after match chatter from all players was all about heroes and villains. They enjoyed it and so did we.

Representing Percy Park RFC:

From 15: Dan Jackson, Nathan Coxon,Ben Anderson,Phil Morse,Paddy Hargreaves,Andrew Walker and Steven Turner

From 8: Connor Rodgerson,Alan Clayton,Travis Bowart, Josh Lake, Maark Barry, Mark Sanderson, Alex Lamb and Andrew Steinberg.

Finishers:Peter Basara, Steven Dryden, Sean Williamson,Cameron Young, Toby Davison.

Candy League 2

Ponteland RFC 2nds 5 v Percy Park RFC Lions 17

Lions go top after late show at Pont

On Saturday 091021 the Lions from the Tynemouth fringe travelled the short distance to visit the gentle people of Pony. The use of the word Pony is not a mistake. Predictive text always replaces the word Pont with the word Pony…as the WhatsApp groups abounded, asking who was going up to Pony on Saturday afternoon, there was many a quizzical, moral and ethical reply doubting that the sender wished to visit a Pony. Confusion abated and many a supporter travelled to Pont to watch the Lions face their toughest test of the season against a skilled and drilled Ponteland second 15. What the spectator witnessed was a close encounter and a home side that pushed Percy Park all the way.

The home side were out of the blocks much quicker than Park and dominated many of the fist exchanges. Deservedly opening the scoring on 15 minutes. Fortunately for Percy Park the kick failed to convert and secure the additional points. The first score seemed to settle the away side. Park started to feel their way into the game. Dominant performance in the set piece allowed the visitors good possession. Michael Langlands and Mark Barry commanded in the air enabling a ‘catch and drive’ to go to the maul on or about the home sides 22. Ponteland were unable resist with Andrew Clyde taking advantage crossing the line to score a fine try. The kick at goal was missed 5-5 on 28 minutes.

The contest began to ebb and flow with the home side prepared to run the ball at every opportunity. Percy Park needed to be up to the task with a capable smother defence.

On 36 more good driving play almost put Josh Lake in but he was held up over the line. Suprising with the extra tonnage he appeared to be carrying. The restart under the posts was butchered by Ponteland, eagerly gathered on the right by Paul Spowart and some decent interplay put Howard Stock in in the corner. 5-10 to Percy Park at the half.

Again the half time chat seemed to do the business, despite taking injuries Park got progressively better.  Some reorganisation in the backs seemed to work. Left wing Danny Simpson seemed to benefit from the quicker ball enabling to make good ground. Ponteland were well drilled with a sharp covering defence. The home side were working hard .As the clock ticked Ponteland rolled the dice, following another tap and go in their own 22  they passed the ball into the eagerly awaiting hands of Paul Spowart who went under the posts on 60 minutes. A gift accepted but it was harsh on Ponteland and their team knew it. A prostrate Ponteland player took an age to get up from the mistake and as he did so Michael Langlands sportingly commiserated. The act summed up the game. A tough contest being played in a sportsmanlike way. The referee contributed, playing his part in allowing the game to be played, but also marching teams back 10 when there was any verbal misdemeanours. The misdemeanours soon stopped and as a consequence player and spectator enjoyed their afternoon. The try was converted by Ben Anderson 17-5.

With 12 the difference the away support believed the mistake had thwarted any chance of a Ponteland recovery. To their credit Pont continued to create chances with strong forays into the Park 22. They came up short due to some committed defence and a well-executed exit play that had the home team back on their heels. Following a penalty award Park had an opportunity to go for the corner and with a dominant line out could have and probably would have crashed over for a score and an all-important league bonus point. Inexplicably Park took the kick at goal and missed. And in the missing the extra point went begging. 17-5 the final score.

The coaching staff were quick to acknowledge that Park’s penalty count was too high and they have a need to address that. That aside the players showed real commitment and enthusiasm for the task and were roundly thanked for their efforts. Ponteland were stiff opposition and we look forward to the return encounter and wish them well for the rest of the season.

With the points take Percy Park moved to the top of the Candy 2 table and welcome Westoe to Preston Avenue next week

The co-author wishes to thank Mark ’Mutley’ Jackson for his 5 minute cameo before retiring with a cramp of sorts! We enjoyed your company minus the 5 minutes you managed to stay on the pitch.

Our thanks go to Ponteland RFC for their welcoming hospitality… it is always a pleasure to visit win or lose.

Representing Percy Park RFC:

From 15: Andrew Walker, Dan Jackson, Howard Stock, Paul Spowart, Phil Harrison, Ben Anderson and Cameron Young

From 8: Michael Langlands, Josh Lake, Travis Bowart, Mark Barry, Andrew Clyde, Ben Morris, Sam Hutley and Peter Basara.

Finishers: Steven Dryden, Connor Rogerson, Mark Jackson and Danny Simpson

Friendly
Percy Park Pumas v Blyth IIs
Hartlepool RFC A 57 v Percy Park RFC Pumas 21

The week started off so well for the Pumas with a strong squad of 18 named on a Wednesday night against Blyth IIs at Park. Team mates were even joking about how hot the bench was going to be with others being more prophetic suggesting that we should wait and see exactly what happens by Saturday.

At 11:32 am on Friday things began to change, Blyth were unable to field a team so an alternate fixture away to Hartlepool A, lying second in their league was arranged.

The travel meant that some of the Pumas who were desperate to get back playing could not make an away fixture and then Covid struck some of the others, meaning only 14 players made their way to Hartlepool RFC. Hartlepool kindly offered to supply an outside centre and Nick Friend fresh from 90 minutes of soccer earlier in the day and a 3 a.m. finish the night before switched from his preferred back row position to inside centre.

The game started well, with Captain Hawkins winning the toss and selecting to play down the hill with the wind.

On 4 minutes the well drilled Hartlepool A team broke Park’s defence with a well supported offloading game that proved to be a theme for the day despite resolute defence from the Pumas. On 13 minutes a similar situation, this time converted. 12-0

The Pumas could see gaps behind the Hartlepool defence and on 21 minutes, Flyhalf Dan Jackson, saw the opportunity for a chipped kick chase over the defence with the ball bouncing kindly in front of the ever vigilant Knox to score from 1m out. A difficult kick from within the 5m channel was converted by Dan Jackson. 12-7.

Hartlepool responded quickly with 2 converted tries before Dan Jackson saw a gap in the home sides defence within the 22 to side step and jink his way over the line. Having successfully converted the Pumas went into the half time break 26-14 down.

The second half was always going to be difficult, the gradient on the pitch seemed to increase now that we were playing up it and Hartlepool making 6 substitutions at half time with Francis, Jukes, Din, Arnett, Cooper and Ivey all arriving with fresh legs.

They started the half with great gusto scoring 2 tries within 3 minutes. 40-14. Things could have got a great deal worse if the Pumas hadn’t all pulled together and battled hard, defending well with try saving tackles by Phil Harrison, Charlie Ramsell, and a number of the forwards including Captain Chris.

The Pumas forwards were also driving forward well with runs from Dryden, Lamb, Nairn and Wilkinson although running back into contact too often and a failure to secure our own ball with Hartlepool tackling well was also going to be punished. Throughout the afternoon Hartlepool could not cope with the power of the Pumas Pack in set pieces. The Pumas won every scrum of their own and 2 against the head. A similar pattern was seen in line outs with Sean Nairn’s accurate chucking in and Nick’s aerial prowess along with the alertness of Hawkins and Wrigley meaning when the ball wasn’t taken by the intended target we were the team to clean up.

The score remained 40-14 until the 68t minute when Hartlepool scored against the run of play and Gurling had to leave the field of play with a torn calf/cramp (still to be confirmed at time of writing).

Hartlepool did the sporting thing again and offered us Blue Scrum Cap to add more pace into the back row. Within 2 minutes he was crossing the line to the delight of his team mates to score. Converted by Dan Jackson to take the score to 47-21.

Unfortunately the Pumas could not add to the score but Hartlepool A could scoring 2 late tries making the FT score 57 – 21.

The effort, attitude and camaraderie displayed by the Pumas throughout the day was excellent. Heads didn’t drop when they could have and at the end of the game Hartlepool thanked the lads for the late fixture confirmation and offered a return fixture up at Park later in the season.

Representing Percy Park RFC

Starters:
Forwards:
Sean Nairn, Joey Wilkinson, Jonny Gurling, Nick McIntyre, Steven Dryden, Chris Hawkins ️Dan Wrigley, Alex Lamb
Backs:
Charlie Ramsell, Dan Jackson, Richard Power, Knoxy, Nick Friend, Hartlepool RFC guest, Philip Harrison

Finishers:
As starters minus Jonny Gurling!!

Womans NC 3 North

Richmondshire RUFC Woman 7 v Percy Park RFC Panthers 7

Park denied by a foot and Stephs digits

For their final game of the season Percy Park Panthers travelled to Richmond having lost their fly half an hour before the bus set off from Preston Avenue. It never showed. Percy Park were at their opponents with real enthusisam to record their first win of their inaugral season. The reason they disd not was harsg as Steph Gicquel was deemed to have too long fingers.

The Panthers dominated 60 minutes of the game with Steph Gicquel going over to score under the posts after 16 minutes and Lauren Watson converting.

Paige Wood went over in the corner but was adjudged to have a foot in touch and Steph scored from a line out only to be told that while her feet were behind the 5 metre line her hands weren’t!Some interesting refereeing decisions and two yellow cards piled the pressure onto Park who responded bravely but eventually conceded five minutes before time from a pre planned move from five metre scrum.

All in all an amazing result for the Panthers as not withstanding the score line they are a completely different team from those that started the season.

Representing Percy park RFC

From 15: Dom Hepples,Paige Wood, Caitlin Monteath-Stokoe,Beth Calvert, Laura Timney, Amber Cassells and Lauren Watson

From 8 Lauren Watson, Amber Cassells,Rachel White,Lauren Watson,Anna Golightly,Nesha Wood, Claire Davies, Katie Shanley, Alexandra Goldsborough

Finishers: Tina Attersall-Colclough,Sharah Jane Laybourne, Anna Ford, Shannon Linney, Maria Chisholm and Marie Watson