WALLSEND 5 – 48 PERCY PARK
The blanket of fog which threaten to postpone this rearranged league game didn’t deter supporters from both clubs descending on the Benfield Road Sports Ground to watch this local derby. Park got off to a flying start and went close to scoring three times in as many minutes, but it took the trusty boot of Marcus Rutter to opening the scoring on five minutes.
STOCKTON 17 – 23 PERCY PARK
Coach James Ponton declared this as the most important win of the season, and it was one of the hardest, with no fewer than eleven of the regular first team unavailable either through injury or on the captain’s stag weekend in Magaluf. When the fixtures were set at the start of the season, no one expected that league rugby would be played on Easter Saturday, and to have half of the first fifteen away, was testimony to the improvement of the Development squad, with several players making their first team debuts.
ALNWICK 26 – 17 PERCY PARK
A tired Percy Park lost to a resurgent Alnwick side at Greensfield, and now look set to finish in the runner up spot in Durham & Northumberland 1. The writing was on the wall as early as the second minute when Will Peberdy went over untouched under the posts for the home side in a well executed back move from a scrum on the Park 5 metre line.
PARK 47 – 6 STOCKTON
Both sides observed a minutes silence prior to the game as a mark of respect to one of Percy Park’s oldest and long serving club members Francis Kidd who passed away last week.
Stockton won the toss and elected kick against the wind in the first half. The two teams had made changes to the previous week, with Alan Blakey coming in for Sam Walton who was ill, and David Griffiths started on the bench, making way for Ashley Smith to start at fly half, with Liam Blackburn taking up the outside centre slot with Thomas Turnbull on the wing. Stockton fielded a mix of old stalwarts and youngsters looking forward to the end of their season which has been blighted by injury.
PERCY PARK 48 – 5 RYTON
The score line suggests one way traffic, but Park were made to work hard for the victory, scoring several tries following mistakes by the visitors. The Barmoor side had recently given league leaders Hartlepool Rovers a fright, and had won last week against Gosforth lifting them from the bottom of the table, and started strongly. In fact for the first 10 minutes Park were hardly out of their own half. Steven Fudge had a chance to open the scoring for Ryton but hooked his penalty kick.
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