Newark Seconds Win by 50 points to 10 at Lady Bay

A breezy day at Lady Bay was the setting for this clash between two sides which have not met before, but with Newark fielding a strong side in all areas, hopes were high for a solid win in this encounter.

And so it was to prove, with Newark starting well and maintaining the pressure throughout the game both in defence and attack.

The first half saw Newark run in three converted tries, all between the posts, the first from Codd, whose rambunctious charging and eye for the gap caused Corsairs difficulties all day, and the latter two – including one from 40 yards out - by an impressive Hunter-Shaw. This was despite a 10-minute heel-cooling for Second row Jon Miller, which merely served to slow down the grind from Newark, rather than snuff it out.

Corsairs for their part strove mightily in defence and were generally pinned back in their own half but were certainly dangerous when in reach of the line - as was shown when sloppy play by Newark gave them a penalty and scrum 5 metres out, which allowed them to run in a try in the far left – 5-21 half time (all convs. Overland).

Newark continued the remorseless pressure in the second half, with the dominant scrum and excellent line-out performance giving the back line a solid base to attack from. The first try came minutes from the restart with the visitors capitalising on a penalty lineout to allow the terrible twosome of Codd and Jackson to charge through and pop the ball to Overland who obligingly kicked his heels and touched down on the right (5-26).

This was followed up almost immediately by another score from Codd, who planted the ball between the posts after captain Wells had punched a Ben shaped whole through the Corsairs line (5-33, conv. Overland).

And the visitors almost pulled the same move off again with the hard charging James Allen getting to within metres of the line before falling prey to a twisted ankle and allowing Corsairs to clear.

The home side gamely tried to retaliate, mounting an attack with their big runners, but this was snuffed out by some massive tackling in which Ed Armstrong was prominent, and it was Newark who would score the next two tries via Overland and Hunter Shaw (looking for his hat trick), both originating in rock solid set piece play at scrum and lineout (5-43).

With Wells off to be replaced by returning prop Harrison Holborn (who looked like he’d never left), and coach Byrom standing in as flanker, Newark might have been forgiven for easing up on the gas a little, and indeed it was Corsairs who crossed the line next, mounting an intelligent attack with a grubber kick to the corner and finally touching down after a difficult clearance left them within reach of a score (10-43).

But it was Newark who had the final word with a blistering attack giving them a penalty 10 yards out and Walton going on his own to add a further 7 points (10-50, conv. Overland, Full time).

This was a strong whole team, whole game performance from the 2s, who showed a ruthlessness in patches which should stand them well in future fixtures. They will certainly need every bit of that next week against league leaders Notts Medics.

Thanks to Corsairs for the game (they never backed down) and to the ref for officiating and we will look forward to hosting them later in the season at Kelham Road.

Tries: Hunter-Shaw (3), Codd (2), Overland (2), Walton
Conversions: Overland (5)