Newark paid dearly for mistakes

REPORT WRITTEN BY ROB WILDMAN

Newark Rugby - Midlands One East

Kettering 22 Newark 13

Newark failed to complete the double for the season over Kettering in a bitty game dominated by penalties at Waverley Road.

Matt Clark’s team had won the first game in September, 40-17, but the return game proved far closer and never produced the running rugby of the autumn on a cold winter’s day
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Newark were also hampered by late changes which saw Mark Byrom step up from full-back to start at fly half in the absence of James Offer.
Will Britten, back from university, joined up at full-back in a backline which had Ben Dixon at centre for the unavailable Aloesi Waqalevu. Johnny Statham returned on the wing. The student influence was completed by inclusion of flanker George Seabrook on the bench.

Though Newark outscored the home team by two tries to one, Kettering had most of the pressure and made a succession of kicks count, fly half Josh Plowright kicking 17 points.

Newark paid dearly for mistakes and penalties including the loss of prop Rob Dunning to a red card just before half-time for a dangerous tackle.

The first half had been a disjointed affair in which Newark handed Kettering four kickable penalties in the opening 15 minutes, Plowright landing two of them to put the home team 6-0 ahead.
Newark had reduced the deficit by three, following a penalty by Chris Tate, when Dunning was sent off.

Kettering looked set to dominate the match when they scored the first try of the match some 10 minutes in the second half which was converted.
Newark, however, struck back to put together an excellent move off a quick penalty which ended in wing Nick Galinski taking Tate’s inside pass to split open the Kettering defence.
Tate missed the difficult conversion but at 8-13 Newark had hopes of at least gaining a losing bonus point from a difficult afternoon.

But that goal was quickly dashed by another spate of penalties which gave Plowright three more chances to increase Kettering’s lead to 22-8.
To the credit of the Newark team they never gave up and finished off by continuing to attack which brought a try for hooker Ian Tomlinson in the right corner.
Like the first try for Tate, Newark once more pounced from a quick penalty and an attack led by Matt Clark down the blindside.

Newark’s next league match is on Saturday, Jan 4 when Mansfield visit Kelham Road, kick off 2.15pm.

The first team do not play next Saturday and are next in action on Boxing Day (Thursday, Dec 26) when they take on the President’s XV, kick off noon.

Scoring sequence: 3-0 Kettering pen, 6-0 Kettering pen, 6-3 Newark Tate pen, 11-3 Kettering try, 13-3 Kettering con, 13-8 Newark Galinski try, 16-8 Kettering pen, 19-8 Kettering pen, 22-8 Kettering pen, 22-13 Newark Tomlinson try.

Team: Britten; Galinski, Dixon, Tate, Statham; Mark Byrom, Matt Clark (capt); Dunning, Tomlinson, Shiels, Tatham, Price, Bunn, Lewis Cove, Webster.

Subs: Barnsdale, Fotheringham, Seabrook.

Tries: Galinski, Tomlinson. Penalty: Tate.

Rob Wildman