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MATCH REPORTS 2006/7
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14th April Jarrovians 24 Blyth III 19
Bruce Parker opened the scoring, closely followed with another by Kev Berry. Then they scored a lucky one against the run of play. Second half we scored a third with a typical Andy Cooper try out of seemingly nothing. Things then began to go pear shaped when they scored their second through crap defence from me. Then they levelled the score at 19-19 and things got a bit hectic. At some point Smurf comically knocked the corner post over with a flying headbutt. Our forwards, however brilliantly saved the day with a try from Andy Burn. Then it was backs-to-the-wall for the last seven minutes and we won 24-19. Doddle
7th April Jarrow blow two try lead
Jarrovians 12 Washington 42
Cooper And Smyth on the break
Jarrovians took on Washington at Lukes's Lane on Saturday for the second time in as many weeks and were well beaten in a stunning and heartbreaking Washington turnaround. The visitors appeared inflicted by last the same slow start malaise that had beaten Jarrow last week. Unprepared after travelling the short distance to Hebburn the same team were a totally different prospect for the first twenty minutes, lacking in both confidence and direction. The Jarrowmen, on the other hand,started with purpose and cruised to a devastating two try lead courtesy of fly-half Bruce Parker, who took the game by the scruff of the neck and scored both. Excellent running from Dan Simpson and David Berry had tested the Washington defence from the off, but it was Parker who stole the limelight. A clever chip and chase after ten minutes saw him open his account. Slotting the conversion Washington restarted. The ball was gathered and taken on by Phil Mcleod who offloaded out of the tackle to Paul Swaddle. The veteran flanker, never one to shy away from the fray, drove deep into the Washington forwards and set up the ruck. Quick ball from scrum-half Gary Archbold gifted Parker the ball who then sold an outrageous dummy and sprinted forty yards unopposed to score his second. Washington were shell-shocked yet never lost their composure and slowly began to take the game back to Jarrow. The home side however, were not about to give up their lead without a fight and kept Washington at bay for most of the half. Fierce tackling from Dave Mcleod and Colin Mckeown ensured that Washington had to make the hard yards, never in doubt that any forward momentum was to be at a price. However towards the end of the half the cracks began to appear. Merest slivers at first, but soon to be yawning chasms. A mis-tackle was the first, ominous sign that things were not going Jarrow's way. Then an angry and heated exchange saw feisty full-back Andy Cooper cooling his heels for ten minutes. One sensed that Washington knew they only had to bide their time and keep plugging away. Sure enough a well worked move in the backs saw Washington score their first unconverted try. Then a second, on the stroke off half-time levelled the score at twelve apiece
Jarrow were by no means out of the game and a timely score might have made all the difference but Washington stole the initiative with a try from deep that should really have been snuffed out in it's infancy by a first up tackle. It wasn't though, and Washington had found the crippling chink in Jarrow's fragile armour. Once Washington became aware that their hosts tackling was not up to scratch their confidence soared and Jarrow's nosedived. A blitzkrieg of three more tries in ten minutes effectively buried Jarrow. Brave, but ultimately unsuccessful running from Andy Cooper and Neil Smyth kept testing Washington but they were up to the challenge. A change in personnell brought brief respite with the arrival of fresh legs. Sean Mckeown and Jamie Broadway rallied the home side with some bone crunching tackling but Washington were slickly moving up through the gears and Jarrow's fate was sealed. They scored another try and constantly threatened more through uncompromising direct running. Jarrow brought on bruising enforcers in the shape of Whittington and Harte but it was all too late and Washington scored two more tries to take a comprehensive 42-12 victory.
31st March Jarrovians Sluggish Start Proves Costly
Washington 25 Jarrovians 12
Jarrovians once again fell victim to this seasons familiar trait of starting the game half-cocked and unprepared. This is not an option against quality opposition such as Washington, as Jarrow found out to their cost on Saturday. Washington exploited the visitors lethargic start and ran in three tries in fifteen minutes leaving Jarrow a mountain to climb. Explosive running from the home side's six foot five, seventeen stone full-back proved an intimidating handful for the black and ambers and he ruthlessly exposed the defence to create Washington's first two tries. Reeling from the onslaught Jarrow were all at sea and struggling to fight back when Washington struck again. Now fifteen nil down in as many minutes it was time for a wake-up call. This came in the unlikely form of a brutal bone crunching tackle from Phil Mcleod. The quiet-spoken number eight knocked downWashington's big full back with explosive force and captain Mark Greenwood followed up to snaffle the ball and put Jarrow on the front foot for the first time. A slide rule pass from Phil Smurthwaite set away veteran centre Kev Berry, who carved up the defence Guscott-style and offloaded in the tackle to younger sibling Aidan who was storming up the left at full pace. The burly prop showed a remarkable turn of speed and humiliated the Washington winger with scarce concealed relish. A try would have been just reward for the swashbuckling move but, alas the final pass was botched and the try went begging. This, however was a turning point in the game and Jarrow went into the break with hope and the merest chink of light at the end a dark and cavernous tunnel.
Against all the odds Jarrow started the second half with hitherto unknown ferocity and pushed the gob-smacked home side back with a series of supercharged rucks. Washington were on the receiving end of some punishing play but held firm. Jarrow, however were in the ascendancy, and a different team to their first half selves. Cleanly won line-out ball from Swaddle established the platform for the talented backs to weave their magic. A neat inside pass from Kev Berry allowed Sean McKeown, making a diagonal run from the right wing to the left, to carve through the Washington defence and draw two tacklers before offloading out of contact to put Neil Winton over. There was still work to be done but Jarrow continued to slug it out toe to toe with sheer sweat and determination. Richard Littlewood, hewing deep in the grimy two foot coal seam of the front row, was at the heart of the resurgent Jarrow pack and it was he who made a telling break in his own half. Fronting up to the defence he bounced two tackles then set up the ruck on the ten metre line. Smurhwaite, predictably found fly half Jamie Broadway who, as ever, was thinking outside of the box and two moves ahead. A howitzer kick from his trusty right boot sent panic through the Washington backs. The telepathic full back and man-of-the-match Andy Cooper had sensed his fly-half's thoughts and was already racing full tilt up the left. The Washington full-back was caught in a paroxysm of self doubt and committed the cardinal sin of letting the ball bounce. As ever the ball cruelly taunted him and bounced over his head not once, but twice. Cooper was there in a flash gobbling up the ball and racing for the line. The defending winger made the tackle but Cooper had the presence of mind to pop the ball up to supporting winger Chris Hastie. Hastie by name hasty by nature, the winger blasted over to score. The game was finely poised at fifteen twelve and Jarrow had regained respect but their purple patch came crashing to an end inside ten minutes when Washington reposted with a try of their own. Jarrow gamely stuck to it and even stopped the big full-back in his tracks with a barely legal double pincer tackle move from messrs Cooper and Mckeown. However the Washington pack, hooker in particular, began to assert themselves and bacame a real nuisance. Jarrow were now a spent force and Washington on the up Even the introduction of big Duncan Whittington and Michael Harte couldn't sway the result and the home side scored two more tries to win a hard fought 25-12 victory.
24th March
Barnard "Berried"
Jarrovians 13 Barnard Castle 12
Jarrovians entertained Barnard Castle at Luke's Lane on saturday in a close fought and enthralling contest. The home side took an early lead when centre Gary Archbold stormed over to open the scoring with a beautifully executed try. Man-of-the-match Mark Greenwood turned over Barnard ball at the ruck and gifted the ball to scrum-half Jamie Broadway. An intellligent miss-pass gave Neil Winton an inch of space and the winger sped fully forty yards before a despairing tackle brought him down. The tackle wasn't enough though as Winton had the presence of mind to pass left to the onrushing Archbold who defied two tackles to score in the corner. A great start for jarrow but the visitors were not about to lie down and began to assert themselves through powerful forward play. They upped the pressure and forced Jarrow onto the back foot. Stalwart tackling from Neil Metcalf and Aidan Berry denied Castle for a time but, given the sustained pressure the try was inevitable. At five all the game was in the balance until veteran back rower Paul Swaddle found hitherto unmined resources and crashed over to take the lead. Much to the home side's dismay Barnard levelled the score in the second half and a draw may have been a fair result until a Barnard infringement at the ruck gave Jarrow an unlikely penalty opportunity. At forty yards out the sensible money was that the score remained the same. However, young David Berry the younger had other ideas and kicked a match winning penalty from the touchline to steal a hard fought 13-10 victory
17th March
Jarrovians 7 Chester-Le-Street 15
For the second saturday running Jarrovians took on Chester-Le-Street and emerged with much more credibility this time around. Chester threw everything at the visitors from the off but stalwart tackling from Andy Cooper and Bob Winn in the backs prevented the home side from scoring for the first twenty minutes. However, sustained pressure from Chester eventually paid dividends with a hard earned try. Undeterred Jarrow restarted and slogged their way upfield deep into Chester territory. A smart back row move orchestrated by in-form scrum-half Jamie Broadway gave mark Greenwood the gap he needed to level the score with a fine Captain's try. David Berry cooly converted to give Jarrow the lead into the second half. Chester however, with superior fitness, began to up the pressure in the second half and scored two more tries to emerge fifteen seven victors.
10th March
Jarrovians 7 Chester-le-street 31
Jarrovians entertained Chester-le-street at Luke's Lane on Saturday in a hastily rearranged fixture. Playing in a howling gale jarrow started with real intent and kept the visitors pinned in their own twenty two for the first fifteen minutes. However, unable to convert the territorial advantage into points, the visitors delivered a killer blow with a breakaway try against the run of play. Charitable defence gifted Chester their second try soon after and Jarrow finished the half 14 points down. A reshuffled Jarrow side started the second half determined to close the gap and man-of-the-match Nicholas Hepple excelled with superb running. A great try from Scott Shorten aided and abetted by Winn and Swaddle put Jarrow back in the game. However Chester moved up a gear and saw Jarrow off with three more tries to seal victory 31-7.
3rd March
Whittington Wonder Try Not Enough
Duncan Whittington's often tried but seldom successful penalty trick finally delivered the goods at Rockliffe on saturday. The big flanker entered the fray for the final twenty minutes on saturday and earned his man-of-the-match performance (whilst also securing his place in Jarrow folkelore) with a try of breathtaking audacity. How many times over the years have the jarrow crowd cringed with embarassment as Whittington repeats his vaudevillian routine? Countless opposition have openly mocked his laughable subterfuge. Not so on saturday. The naive Rockliffe defence were suckerpunched and fell hook, line, sinker and rod. Awarded a penalty on the home sides twenty two Whittington cleverly tapped the ball with his foot then brazenly walked towards the defence waving his arm and demanding the ten yards. The referee played his part and was well aware of what was happening. Rockliffe shrugged, looked at each other walked backwards, appealed to the referee, did everything but tackle the wily conjurer. Suddenly he struck and it was too late for the baffled defence. He offloaded to Greenwood who was over the try-line like a rabbit out of a top hat. Acknowledging the magnitude of what had befallen the ginger skipper spurned the try and charitably handed the ball to the smug Whittington who theatrically dived over to score the points. The big man can retire happy, it finally worked.
However this was small comfort in the end as Jarrow were roundly spanked by a fitter and more confident Rockliffe second string. The visitors had put up a stiff resistance early on and thwarted Rockliffe for a full thirty minutes. Jarrovians more than matched the home side in the scrum and surprisingly, even the lineout was functioning well. Rockliffe, in possession of a youthful set of backs, showed their cards early and were intent on running everything. Outstanding tackling from the likes of Hill, Burn and Phil Mcleod stifled every Rockliffe attack but a lapse of concentration in the backs showed a chink of light and the home side were over. Jarrow suddenly found themselves on the ropes, the home side scented blood and followed up with a double punch of two more tries before half time. An unjust scoreline of 19-0 flattered Rockliffe and was scant reward for Jarrow's efforts.
Jarrow started the second half with devil and turned the tables on the home side unleashing the reshuffled backs at every opportunity. Young Hepple almost scored as did Winton on the wing, but it was Parker who eventually scored the try, bouncing of two tackles with grim determination. The resurgent visitors looked more confident and tries were there for the taking but all too often the final pass was missing or botched, much to the crowds dismay. Unluckily for Jarrow though, a try from Rockliffe against the run of play ended the visitors purple patch and allowed the home side back into the game. It was here that Rockliffes superior fitness paid dividends and Jarrow faded. The exhausted Jarrowmen began to leak tries and the game was over as a contest. At 37-16 Rockliffe were clear winners but, much to the crowds amusement, Whittington had the final say.
10th Feb
Antarctic conditions call time on Jarrovians cup run
Driving rain and sub-artic temperatures conspired agains Jarrovians at Luke's Lane on saturday and saw their dazzling cup run come to an aprupt halt. Newton Aycliffe scored seventeen points in the first half but the referee was forced to end proceedings on the hour when ageing veteran Matty Lindsey succumbed to hypothermia. Scrum half Phil Smurthwaite had been forced to leave the pitch moments earlier when his ball handling skills were hampered by frostbitten fingers. Man-of-the-match Andy Burn had tried to keep the Jarrowmen in the game with a rousing display but was thwarted by the conditions. Just as Jarrow were getting into their game and asking questions of the Aycliffe defence the referee was forced to abandon the game. Had the game went the distance Jarrow would, almost certaintly, have scored and quite possibly beaten a ponderous and pedestrian Aycliffe side.
3rd Feb
Broadway steers Jarrovians to victory
Rugby is seen as the ultimate team game, and yet at Luke’s Lane on Saturday we saw a brilliant demonstration of the ability of an individual to galvanise a team. Jamie Broadway playing his first game at fly-half supervised a Jarrovians revival which gave a team on the verge of disintegration last autumn soaring hope for the rest of the season. “It means a huge amount to be here” said Broadway in the bar after the game “I’ve got a lot to pay back to Mark (Greenwood) who took a gamble on me. Luke’s Lane is such a great place, the crowd are so supportive. The noise when I was running out made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I’ve had enormous support since selected at fly-half, it’s been fantastic”. Broadway orchestrated a Wilkinson-esq display with authority, accuracy , prodigious kicking and prodigious tackling. After 28 minutes in the second half he missed a tackle. The rest was almost perfect. Yet, it is some indication of the colossal improvement in this side that he was not given man-of-the-match. That honour went to the dazzling young centre Nicholas Hepple. His four try display was sheer magic and had the crowd in raptures. Hepple was dominating the scoring but it was Broadway who possessed the gold dust and here he was sprinkling it around in generous measures. Broadway’s steady control and murderously accurate right boot kept the Jarrowmen in control for the full game. There were also gems from Andy Burn on the flank, from a Jarrow lineout which was one howler away from perfection and from strapping number eight Graham Linsley, who was a formidable threat in open play. Kevin Berry is no sprinter, and his lack of gas was exploited by Washington, but his passing was electric and he was architect of three of Hepple’s tries. Hepple opened the scoring with a try of breathtaking beauty. This was quickly followed by genius from David Berry. The young winger raced down the left, chipped the ball over the defence and dived over to score. Hepple scored again and Jarrow were 17-0 up after twenty minutes. However, taking their foot off the gas Jarrow relaxed and allowed Washington back into the game. The visitors fought tenaciously, kept their shape throughout and had a purple patch at the end of the first half. Scoring twice they were back in contention with the score 17-12 at half time.
The scoreline, however did not reflect Jarrow’s sheer dominance and, after a half-time dressing down from Greenwood, Jarrovians restarted more focussed and determined. They had the perfect start when veteran winger Bryan McCoy bedazzled the opposition with a sixty yard lung burster of a try. This was all Jarrow needed to boost confidence and they never looked back from this moment on. For the rest of the half they were lively and inventive, totally dominating the demoralised visitors. Then, in the final fifteen minutes came the pedigree moments. Scrum-half Smurthwaite conspired with Tiffen and Lindsey to set up a series of mauls down the left, deep in Washington Territory. The ball emerged right finding hooker Chris Bamford in space. The youngster fixed the defence and slipped the ball to Aidan Berry who blasted through the Washington midfield. The ball was driven on with devil by Shorten and Greenwood and after it was recycled, excellent passing under pressure from David Berry found arch menacer Andy Burn. There was no stopping him from fifteen yards out and, brushing aside the tackle the big balding flanker stormed over to score. Hepple struck again then Broadway crowned his performance with a moment of sheer audacity. Taking possession in midfield the obvious option was to once again release the straining and eager Jarrow backs. However Broadway has not so much a rugby brain as a computer, a computer that is geared towards amassing points. The fly-half had spotted Linsley on the left and with pinpoint accuracy launched a bewitched crossfield kick onto the Washington line. From the moment it left his boot the ball’s destination was never in doubt and it was predetermined to land over the Washington try-line. As sure as night follows day the ball followed it’s plotted trajectory and Linsley collected and scored . The shock was tangible. Players and spectators alike rejoiced. Broadway, fly-half, had arrived and delivered. The game fizzled out after this and Hepple, appropriately after opening the scoring, finished it with his fourth memorable solo try to seal Washington’s fate 46-12. Jarrow’s renaissance men retired to the bar satisfied and were cheered by a televised Jonny Wilkinson display of almost, but not quite, Broadway-esq magnificence.
Jan 27th
Winlaton hold out to grab win
Duncan Whittington’s exuberant and needle sharp display after he arrived from the replacements bench at the end of the second half brought cheer to the near capacity crowd at Luke’s Lane on Saturday. Winlaton initially struggled because they were not positive enough in the early phases. These days almost all tries are scored within the first few phases and there were several times in the first half when Winlaton looked less and less likely to score the longer they retained the ball. However, they discovered one of rugby’s old truths- that there is nothing out of date about committing defenders with a crashing runner and then playing off the quick ball created. They created their chances and notched up points in the process. Starved of any meaningful first half possession the Jarrow backs spent too much time in their own half. However, they were effective in defence and kept the scoreline respectable. The centre pairing of Hepple and Berry in particular were devastating in the tackle and caused Winlaton to reassess their policy of crashing up the middle, deciding to widen play and stretch Jarrow even further. The home side more than matched Winlaton up front. This was never in doubt with battle hardened veterans like Michael Hart and Dave Mcleod on the park. The scrum was solid, but frustratingly the lineout was, at times shaky and leaked possession too many times giving counter attacking opportunities to the better organised Winlaton pack. Winlaton however, didn’t have it all their own way, and Jarrow threatened on more than one occasion. A quick tap penalty fired from industrious scrum half Jamie Broadway launched Jarrow’s own prop idol Anthony Tiffen into the heart of Winlaton’s defending hoard. Colin Mckeown gave the move more thrust as Jarrow headed towards the left corner and slipped the ball to man-of-the-match Andy Cooper. The little winger exhibited his lightning pace and bouncing up from two tackles jack-in-the-box style looked certain to score. He was thwarted by a last gasp despairing effort which just put him into touch. The second half saw a more vigorous performance from the Jarrowmen. Using the wind to good effect fly-half Bob Winn kept Jarrow going forward with howitzer and pin point accurate kicking. A lineout on the visitors twenty two was well won by captain Mark Greenwood. Securing possession Andy Burn broke away from the maul and sucked in the defence. Broadway made an impressive and athletic dive pass out to Winn who, as ever, thinking two steps ahead of the opposition saw the opportunity and switched play back inside to young Hepple. Hepple almost crossed but was agonisingly hauled down short of the try line. This gave the home side heart and the introduction of Whittington and Sean McKeown opened up the attacking opportunities. Winlaton were taken aback and Jarrow upped the ante. Another huge kick from Winn and a stolen lineout ball gave Jarrow the chance they had waited for. A dummy scissors and pop from Kev Berry introduced Neil Metcalf into the line. The menacing full back crashed through and set up the ruck. Broadway intelligently popped the ball to number eight Graham Linsley, making a welcome return from injury. The giant, strapping number eight went blasting up the middle. There was no stopping him as he stormed over to score Jarrow’s first points of the new year. Winn made a difficult conversion look easy and the crowd went to the bar satisfied, their heroes beaten but not disgraced 25-7.
Dec 23rd
Jarrovian’s Christmas Cracker
Jarrovians 57 Houghton II 5
A turbo-charged hat trick from Andy Cooper was the brandy butter on this Christmas pudding of a try feast at Luke’s Lane on Saturday. Houghton arrived short of players and Jarrovians were able to sportingly make up the numbers to give everyone a game. The home side started well forcing Houghton on the back foot and testing their defence with probing runs. The visitors however, held firm and bravely repelled wave after wave knocking back the Jarrowmen with surprising ferocity. Given the Jarrow possession though it was only a matter of time before the defensive line was breached. Sure enough Jarrow’s festive cheer began when the ball was spun wide to Nicholas Hepple. He outwitted the flat footed defenders and scorched over to score. Jarrow confidence sky-rocketed and the home side never looked back. The forwards, dominant throughout in the scrums, even won a lineout! Christmas had truly arrived. The backs, expecting to lose the ball as usual were caught flat but managed to realign and, still reeling from the shock, spun the ball out to Cooper who opened his account with a blistering try. Jarrow were now utterly dominant, none more so than debutant second row J J Van-Broadhausen. Newly arrived on these shores the big strapping Afrikkaner made a huge impact and strode the pitch like a colossus. In the mould of Martin Johnson, enforcer, the steely eyed giant struck the fear of God into the opposition and was rampant throughout. He scored a superb solo try, leaving the field littered with prone defenders as he defied one tackle after another then carried two defenders over the try line on his unstoppable run. His inspiration was immeasurable and he spurred on his team mates to great and stirring deeds. Grizzled veteran prop Dave Mcleod’s man-of-the-match performance will surely go down in Jarrow folklore. The ageing warhorse was immovable in the scrum and everywhere on the pitch. Defying his sixty four years the heroic forward even appeared in the backs, distributing the ball like Santa dishing out gifts in a childrens hospital. One beneficiary of his munificance was Cooper, who scampered over for his second try after a miss-pass from the genial prop. By this stage Houghton were out of the game and couldn’t mount a serious challenge to the Jarrowmen. Their second half was a damage limitation exercise and Jarrow revelled in the stream of possession and territorial advantage. The ball was spun about with panache and style giving Hepple his second and Cooper his third. Veteran winger McCoy found himself on the scoresheet after his unexpected step inside looked to have failed but ultimately triumphed. The tries kept coming and fly half Bruce Parker added one of his own with a typically mazey run outfoxing the demoralised defence. In the final quarter Jarrow eased off the gas yet still kept the scoreboard man busy. Anthony Tiffen and Duncan Whittington both bulldozed their way over the try line to much wailing and gnashing of Houghton teeth. The merciless victory was complete yet the visitors never gave up and scored an unexpected try at the death due to charitable Jarrow defence.
Dec 16th
Jarrovians 7 Sunderland III 42
Jarrow’s deepening player crisis has unfortunately led to the Club’s withdrawal from the Durham and Northumberland league. The remainder of the season will be played at second team level. Heavy with this major setback a resolute Jarrow team travelled to Sunderland to face a well drilled and classy third team. Jarrow started off well enough taking the game deep into the home sides half but Sunderland soon got into their stride and began out-muscling Jarrow at the rucks. Attacking from deep the Wearsiders began to test the Jarrow defence with penetrating running. The Jarrowmen were up to the challenge early on and bone-crunching tackling from Phil Mcleod and man-of-the-match Chris Bamford repelled the incursions. However Sunderland persisted and found a chink in the black-and-amber armour to score the first of their four first half tries. Undeterred Jarrow restarted and once again found themselves under the cosh. However a Sunderland error proved costly when a thumping tackle from Mark Greenwood saw the attacker spill the ball. Ever alert centre Bryan McCoy picked up and sprinted fully eighty yards shaking off the despairing pursuit to score under the posts. Jarrow found themselves 7-5 up and the the world was rosy, but the home side had other ideas and began to move up a gear. A dysfunctional Jarrow line-out began to leak possession and Sunderland exploited the disarray to score further tries.
The second half started off in the same vein but Jarrow never gave up and made the wearsiders work hard throughout. The superb Sunderland backs outclassed Jarrow and ran at every opportunity. The rapidly tiring Jarrowmen made personnel changes in the back line bringing in big Charlie Wilson and Jamie Broadway. This rallied the side and suddenly Jarrow began to look threatening and play Sunderland at their own game. A veteran Jarrow pack gave 100% and were dominant in the scrums. Dave Mcleod, Anthony Tiffen and Colin Mckeown all made thrusting runs into the heart of the Sunderland defence. However Jarrow couldn’t convert the pressure into points and the brave visitors found themselves chasing a lost cause. Sunderland had the measure of Jarrow and found them wanting in open play. It was here they were dominant and it was here that the game was lost.
Nov 18th
Jarrovians 33 Seaham 15
Jarrow entertained Seaham at Luke's Lane on saturday in a thrilling open encounter. In form winger Chris McCabe opened the scoring with a supercharged break down the wing aided and abbetted by Scott Shorten, who later scored two tries of his own. His first saw the ball whipped through the backs hands to put him in the corner. The second came when he broke through the visitors line and sped 70 metres, side-stepping full back, centre then winger. It was an excellent performance from Jarrows backs. With players like Gary Archbold and McCabe outside of him Kevin Berry showed great judgement and had no qualms about shipping the ball out every time. He was proved right by some superb running keeping the crowd entertained and happy. Phil Mcleod had a good day at the office showing his true versatility and lineage ,comfortably kicking four out of five conversions and evoking memories of his retired sibling. Seaham replied with two tries of their own but the Jarrow forwards were more than a match. Skipper and man-of-the-match Mark Greenwood cleared up and turned over Seaham possession time and time again to help maintain Jarrows lead. It was the home sides forwards who finished the scoring with Graham Linsley, on his return from injury, brushing aside Seahams defence, holding them at bay to ground the ball under the sticks. Then big Chris McCintosh tucked the ball under his arm 15 metres out from a set play to crash over the line. All in all a satisfying and well executed 33-5 victory to put Jarrow back on winning ways.
Jarrovians II 5 Horden 40
A greatly depleted second team fielded ten Jarrovians two Horden, two seaham and one College player to make a game of it against Horden II. Deadlocked for ten minutes Jarrow's defence was eventually breached when Horden picked up the pace to score their first of six tries. Jarrow gamely offered resistance but the result was never in doubt. A consolation try by returning veteran Aidan Berry was all Jarrow had to show against a dominant, faster and fitter
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11th March
Durham III 22 Jarrovians 0
Jarrovians were forced to cancel their second team fixture due to a waterlogged pitch but the first team ventured to Durham City to contest a level and entertaining game. As the game developed Durham proved their superior skill and fitness by running in four tries by half time, despite ferocious tackling from the Jarrowmen. After the break Jarrow continued their defensive efforts and took every chance that came their way but couldn't force their way through to score any points. They did, however manage to prevent any further Durham try scoring for the entire second half. Excellent work from man-of-the-match Neil Smyth in the forwards and Mark Whitehead in the backs took the game to Durham but proved fruitless. The game was marred by one unsavoury incident when Jarrow's, usually saintly, Kevin Berry lost control and the referee was forced to send him to cool his heels for ten minutes. Nevertheless, this didn't spoil an excellent afternoon's entertainment for the Durham crowd who saw their team emerge 22-0 victors.
Nov 11th
Jarrovians 5 Washington 15
Jarrow were unable to fulfill their away league fixture to Hartlepool but managed to field fifteen against Washington by kick-off time on saturday. The visitors were put under pressure immediately by Jarrow, who utilised the windy conditions to good advantage. The Jarrow line-out, an achilles heel recently,was functioning well and producing ball deep in Washington territory. Incursions by Chris McCabe and man-of-the-match Bruce Parker made inroads but excellent Washington tackling prevented any Jarrow scoring. Ageing, yet sprightly, centre Michael Harte battered his way upfield setting up ruck after ruck for the pumped up Jarrow forwards to recycle. Scrum-half Broadway, once again in superlative form whipped up his pack, barking orders and directing operations like Wellington at Waterloo. Jarrow looked odds on to score but despite their best efforts were unable to convert territorial advantage into points. The Jarrowmen piled on the pressure for a good twenty minutes but it was Washington who broke the deadlock with a breakaway converted try against the run of play. Taking their hard-earned points into half time the visitors began to outmuscle Jarrow after the break. A rush of blood to the head by uncompromising prop Charle Wilson proved expensive when his outrageous haymaker of a punch gave Washington a penalty and three more points. Now ten nil down a resurgent Jarrow struck back with a well worked Bob Winn try. Second row Brian Shaw dived on a loose Washington pass and took the ball on. The old fashioned no-nonsense copper charged at the opposition and offloaded to winger and wannabe scrum-half Phil Smurthwaite. Tackled on the twenty two the winger laid the ball back for veteran fly half Winn. Showing a clean pair of heels to the Washington fullback Winn darted over the line to score the try. At 10-5 the game was in the balance and a betting man would,ve put a tenner on Jarrow to score again but it was Washington who seized the initiative and scored another try to stretch the lead and take victory at 15-5.
Jarrovians II 5 Horden 40
A greatly depleted second team fielded ten Jarrovians two Horden, two seaham and one College player to make a game of it against Horden II. Deadlocked for ten minutes Jarrow's defence was eventually breached when Horden picked up the pace to score their first of six tries. Jarrow gamely offered resistance but the result was never in doubt. A consolation try by returning veteran Aidan Berry was all Jarrow had to show against a dominant, faster and fitter opposition.
Nov 4th
Jarrovians v Chester-le-street Match abandoned
Jarrovians hosted Chester-le-street at Luke’s Lane on Saturday in an open and entertaining league game which was brought to an abrupt halt due to a worrying injury to Jarrow’s Graham Linsley. A resurgent Jarrow were clawing their way back from a 27-0 deficit when Linsley sustained the neck injury in a collapsed maul. The Jarrowmen had started confidently and spent the first fifteen minutes encamped on the visitors try line. Unfortunately they just couldn’t convert the pressure into points despite the best efforts of Gary Archbold and co in the backs who looked a genuine threat every time they got their hands on the ball. However the back line was frustrated too many times by a crippling lack of possession due to the Chester forwards slight weight advantage. It was a close run affair and the game could have went either way but it was Chester who scored first and never looked back. A Jarrow attack from Phil Mcleod was snuffed out on the twenty two and Chester turned over the ball at the ruck. Their backs caught the home side napping and scored a breakaway try against the run of play. This proved to be the turning point of the game and Jarrow just couldn’t establish a decent platform to take the game back to the visitors. The Black-and-ambers man-of-the-match Jamie Broadway had the edge on his opposite number and did his best to marshall the Jarrow pack but even his confident assurance wasn’t enough. Ten nil down at the break the home side restarted with renewed vigour, none more so than captain Mark Greenwood. Fielding the kick he stormed forward into the heart of the Street defence. Offloading to Charlie Wilson the visitors looked troubled. The mighty prop gain precious yardage and offloaded to Bruce Parker who whipped the ball out to Phil Cockburn. A certain try was on the cards. The brilliant young centre beat one, then another and set up David Berry for a try in the corner. However, much to the bemusement of players and spectators alike the man with the whistle stopped play for a forward pass. A frustrated Colin McKeown mouthed it, Chester took the quick penalty and Jarrow found themselves another try down. This was typical of the day. Just as Jarrow looked like contenders the visitors would snatch the initiative and deny the home side. The final, fraught twenty minutes saw Jarrow hurl everything, including boots, at the Street. Then cruelly, just as Jarrow finally cruised into gear and began to dominate, the game was brought to a worrying halt and abandoned. Thankfully Linsley is out of hospital with a whiplash injury and Jarrow can have another bite of the cherry in the rematch.
Chester-le-street II 35 Jarrovians II 27
Jarrow travelled down the A1 with only ten men but enjoyed an enthralling contest at the riverside. The hosts were happy to make up the numbers and a cracking game ensued. Man-of-the-match Andy Burn was on fine form and topped off his sparkling game with a rampaging thirty yard try to open the scoring. The home side’s reposte was a try of their own and the game was afoot. Fly half Bob Winn, orchestrated the backs and unleashed his eager charges at every opportunity. Ageing centre Michael Hart was only too willing to take on the opposition and did so with regularity. The forward effort, led by second row Neil Metcalf was convincing and assured. Taking on the defence Metcalf made a thrusting insurgence into the home sides twenty-two. The ball was secured by THE SWAD then taken on by Chris Bamford who romped over to level the score. And so it continued each side swapping try for try throughout. Another Jarrow try from old Davey Hill finished the scoring for Jarrow but the home side emerged victorious at 35-27
Oct 28th Jarrovians 7 Baildon 40
Jarrovians crashed out of the cup on Saturday in a heavy defeat inflicted on them by classy Yorkshire outfit Baildon. The home side started poorly conceding three tries in the first twenty minutes and faced an uphill struggle for the rest of the game. The line out wasn’t functioning well and the scrum was under intense pressure throughout, effectively incapacitating the talented Jarrow backs. Massive tackling from Kevin Berry and Phil Mcleod couldn’t stem the Yorkshire tide and Jarrow were effectively out of the game by half time at 28-0. However the second half saw an improvement from the Jarrowmen. An intelligent blind side move at the base of the scrum from ebullient scrum-half Jamie Broadway caught the visitors offguard. Taking on the Baildon defence he shipped the ball to the onrushing Graham Linsley who stepped inside then passed one handed to centre Phil Cockburn. Cockburn was hauled down on the twenty two but winger Bryan McCoy, on for the incapacitated Gary Archbold, was following up at full tilt. McCoy took the pass and delighted the crowd crashing over to score the try. Bruce Parker cooly converted and Jarrow looked like a different side. Another artfully crafted move from the sublime Broadway almost resulted in a second try for the black and ambers. David Berry was robbed after beating the defence with a clever chip and chase. The ball was over the try line but just as he dived the Baildon full back nudged him off balance and the try was lost. Jarrow’s purple patch was over and the side came crashing back down to reality when the Yorkshiremen scored a brilliant try against the run of play. The home side, sapped of strength and confidence, slipped further behind and retired to the bar, their cup dreams shattered and only the league campaign to concentrate on.
Jarrovians II 0 Newton Aycliffe 45
In an almost identical tale on the other pitch Jarrow’s second team faced a well organised, youthful Aycliffe first team and were also soundly thrashed. Poor tackling early on allowed the visitors to romp over for three tries. Jarrow rallied but were unable to stop the talented Aycliffe backs. On the plus side the half back partnership of Smurthwaite and Winn worked smoothly and efficiently. Debutante loose head prop Chris Bamford also impressed, more than holding his own against experienced opposition. The game also saw the welcome return of iron man Terry Farrell after a long absence.
OCT 21st Jarrovians II 46 Novocastrians III 5
Jarrovians seconds entertained a youthful Novos third team on Saturday and emerged comprehensive 46-5 victors. The eight try demolition started after ten minutes when mercurial winger David Berry spotted a gap in the onrushing defence and cruised through to touch down. Bruce Parker comfortably converted. The Jarrow forwards were dominant throughout, none more so than man of the match Chris McCintosh. He gave a masterclass in lineout technique and was superb in open play. It was one of his bruising charges that gave the black and ambers their second try. Crashing through two tackles he offloaded to wily veteran Matty Lindsay. Using his trademark sidestep to devastating effect the ageing maestro left the transfixed defenders spellbound and crashed over to score. The party continued when scrum half Broadway flung out a laser guided pass to speeding full back Neil Metcalf. With a breathtaking turn of pace he set off down the right supported by the galloping prop Colin Mckeown. Drawing his man Metcalf popped the ball to the grizzled veteran who bounced off the attempted tackle and scored. At this point Novos struck back with a try of their own from a reckless quick throw in from Metcalf. However, this was merely a token and the Jarrowmen were not about to give up their hard earned lead easily. Regrouping after the break with a change in personnel Jarrow immediately upped the ante. Chris McCintosh seized on a loose Novos pass and thundered twenty yards to the line. Taking two defenders with him he scored in the corner to stretch Jarrows lead to 24-5. The visitors were now struggling to gain parity with the mighty Jarrow forwards. The scrummaging,in particular was fraught with danger for the younger inexperienced side and the Jarrow front row went about their business with ill concealed relish. Strapping prop Graham Linsley was also an ever present threat in the loose and used his weight to great effect to score a fine individual try of his own. Piling on the misery Jarrow were then awarded a penalty try through the efforts of Dave Mcleod which had the travelling support howling with derision. Novos, to their credit, stuck to the task but were now on a fruitless damage limitation exercise with more home tries sure to follow. Sure enough Scot Shorten scored the pick of the bunch starting from way back in his own twenty two. Taking on all comers he sidestepped and jinked his way up field. At the last he was almost thwarted but an iron like hand-off flashed from nowhere to flatten his would be tackler. The home crowd were sent to the bar cheered by a final try from Bruce Parker and Jarrow had a convincing 46-5 victory under their belt.
Jarrow were unable to send a team to Bishop Auckland to contest the Durham & Northumberland league fixture
OCt 14th Jarrovians 10 Barnard Castle 43
The mighty Barnard Castle arrived at Luke's Lane undefeated in the league and departed with their record intact. On this form it's not difficult to see why. The visitors outplayed an understrength Jarrow team in every department. Their backs were confident in the attack and had support runners in number. The forwards, as quick as the backs were aggressive and ruthlessly efficient. Fitter, faster and better organised Castle got off to a storming start with two trys inside five minutes. The visibly shellshocked Jarrowmen had to mine hitherto unknown reserves of courage to keep some semblance of dignity and give Barnard a game. To their credit they turned the game around and, despite the 12 point deficit, struck back at the visitors. Jarrow's feisty hooker, Stevenson took the ball deep into Barnard territory and offloaded to the rampaging Linsley. Well known for his thunderous, rampaging charges the strapping prop surprised everyone with a delicate, perfectly weighted little grubber kick through the onrushing defence. He outsprinted the defenders but was barged aside at the last. Fortunately ever alert Jarrow winger David Berry had sensed the opportunity and followed up on the kick. Straining every nerve and sinew he dived and just managed to get a hand on the ball to score the try. Converted by Matthew King Jarrow were well pleased with a 12-7 score after thirty minutes. However, Castle are not top of the division by chance and with players of this quality it wasn't long before Jarrow were under the cosh again. The, usually imovable Jarrow scrum was under increasing pressure. Pushed back off their own put-in Jarrow couldn't establish a platform and the ball was turned over by Castle. Poor tackling was never an option against this standard of opposition and this proved to be the black-and-ambers achilles heel. Two trys were conceded before half time through sloppy and downright embarrassing half-arsed tackle attempts. A superbly struck Bruce Parker penalty took Jarrow to 10 points but the game was now out of reach. The second half started poorly for Jarrow with two more trys by Castle, but again Jarrow rallied and stiffened their defence to keep the scoreline respectable. Excellent tackling by the exemplary Phil Mcleod and Dave Winthrop thwarted the now super confident visitors but they alone couldn't stem the tide and Jarrow were comprehensively beaten 43-10. Due to Jarrows ever growing injury crisis the second team were again unable to field a team.
Oct 7th Jarrovians 7 Richmond 32
A solitary try from Jarrow's departing Martin Husband was the only crumb of comfort in this Durham & Northumberland div 3 fixture. The Jarrowmen travelled to Richmond handicapped by fourteen unavailable players and knew the game would be tough. And so it proved to be. Richmond came out all guns blazing and their talented back-line severely tested the visitors defence. Stalwart tackling from winger Phil Smurthwaite, Paul Swaddle and captain Mark Greenwood kept Jarrow hopes alive but the odds were stacked high against them and the first, inevitable try, wasn't long in coming. A Richmond pattern was established and their big fijian fullback and winger ran everything at Jarrow. More trys were conceded but Jarrow stubbornly refused to lie down. Inventive play from scrum half Jamie Broadway brought Jarrow close to Richnmond's twenty two. Full-back Husband feigned left then cleverly dinked the ball over the cover defences heads. Gathering the ball he sidestepped one then handed off the other to score a fine individual try bringing his impressive Jarrow career to an end on a high note. Unfortunately this glimmer of hope was soon extinguished by two more Richmond trys. Jarrow faced the long journey home heavy hearted with the bitter regret of lost chances and the cold hard reality of defeat.
Sep 23rd Jarrovians 12 Ponteland II 15
A brace of tries from Gary Archbold was not enough to secure victory in this close fought friendly at Luke's Lane on Saturday. Jarrow were ahead at the break and looked as if they were determined to claim victory. However, the visitors stole the lead in the second half when Jarrow were reduced to thirteen men after a mass brawl erupted. The referee had no option, sending off one and sin-binning the other after the unseemly fracas and this key moment proved to be Jarrow's downfall. The game before this had been a crowd pleaser with both teams using every opportunity to attack. Archbold was a revelation at outside centre and his two tries were fair reward for his outstanding man of the match display. Another highlight was the polished performance from veteran utility back Kevin Berry shining, saint like, above his team mates and surely consolidating his place in the first team set up. Jamie Broadway and veteran lock Brian Shaw also rose imperiously above the mayhem to show their class. Individuals, however don't win games and this one ended on a sour note gifting victory to the visitors on a plate.
Jarrovians II 19 Shildon Town 34
On the other pitch Jarrow's second string blew their chances in the first half with a witless display plumbing new depths of ineptitude. Appalling tackling allowed the visitors to romp over three times before Jarrow eventually got into gear. The scrums were uncontested. Good quality ball was guaranteed but even so Jarrow wasted chances with a bizarre series of farcical knock-ons, wrong decisions and overcomplicated moves in the backs. Jarrow were almost tripping over each other in frenzied attempts to break the gain line, all to no avail. However, late in the second half Neil Smyth provided a glimmer of hope, defying age and logic, with a stunning sixty yard try. The Jarrowmen were still in it with the score at 19-7. The second half saw a much improved performance from Jarrow, despite spending most it with only fourteen men. A switch around brought Dan Simpson into the pivotal fly-half role and gave the backs renewed vigour. Direct, uncomplicated running from centres Metcalf and McCoy unleashed debutante winger Dave Gibson, who scorched down the right wing to score a fine try. Gibson almost scored another but agonisingly just put a foot into touch. Unfortunately more defensive lapses allowed Shildon to consolidate their lead with two more tries but Jarrow went down fighting. Strong no-nonsense running from Andy Burn and Chris McCintosh gave Jarrow forward momentum and drove deep into Shildon's half. Scrum-Half Phil Smurthwaite sensed the opportunity at the ruck and gave a dive pass left to David Berry who cleverly passed wide to winger Steve Watson, straining at the leash. Watson took the pass and sidestepped the cover defence to score in the corner and close the gap further. It was all too late though. On a better day a more purposeful Jarrow would have given Shildon a run for their money. Unfortunately this wasn't the day
Sep 16th Jarrovians 0 Seghill 25
Seghill were rubbing their hands with glee when a disorganised, scratch Jarrow side arrived late to contest this Durham & Northumberland division three fixture. The home crowd fully expected a rout but were sorely disappointed. Seghill threw everything at Jarrow in the opening salvos, utilising the wide pitch to their backs advantage. However, much to their surprise, they were met with fierce and determined resistance. Jarrow defended as if their lives depended on it, holding firm for the first, breathless twenty minutes. Three points were scant reward for much effort, given that the big Seghill backs had thrown everything at Jarrow. Superb tackling from Scott Shorten, Phil Mcleod and Dave Winthrop inspired Jarrovians to stop Seghill at all costs but relentless pressure inevitably bore fruit when the home side crossed for the first of four tries. Jarrow were only fifteen points down at the break and still in the game. A tactical substitution shored up the defence bringing on Kevin Berry,who gave a flawless full-back performance, fielding every kick with panache. The second half saw the Jarrowmen, driven by scrum-half and man of the match Jamie Broadway, take the game to the home side. The forwards taking inspiration from ageing warhorse Colin McKeown stood toe to toe with the massive Seghill pack and battered their way upfield. Excellent running from Bruce Parker and Andy Cooper asked questions of the Seghill defence but, despite coming agonisingly close, never altered the scoreboard. Steve Mcleod also raised the bar with an intelligent interception, only to be denied by a last gasp tackle. At this point Seghill went down to fourteen men due to a shameful, ill tempered stamping incident and Jarrow hearts soared. Sensing an upset they stepped up a gear and laid seige to the home sides line. Despite mighty efforts from Lindsley and Stevenson, Seghill broke away and increased their lead with a well executed try. Jarrow hopes were dashed and Seghill romped over again to emerge 25-0 victors. Jarrow were beaten, but far from disgraced.
Jarrovians II 5 Durham City III 55
A brilliant Captains try from Paul Swaddle was small comfort in this one sided game at Durham. Outclassed by a well-drilled and experienced team the Jarrowmen struggled to contain the free running Durham backs and were several tries down by half time. However. the Durham veterans appeared to tire in the second half and Jarrow's determination was rewarded by Swaddle's superb solo try. It was never to be though and Durham sealed the Jarrowmens fate with two tries at the death.
Sep 2nd Jarrovians II 12 Sunderland III 8
Jarrovians second team executed a stunning turnaround at Lukes Lane on saturday when they defeated Sunderland thirds 12-8. Losing the toss Jarrow started in atrocious, monsoon style conditions which the Wearsiders revelled in. Their big heavy pack dominated and kept Jarrow pinned in their own twenty two for much of the half. Defying the conditions Sunderland elected to utilise their backs at every opportunity, severely testing Jarrow's defence. Inevitable penalties were conceded but Sunderland only emerged with three points from three attempts. However, despite excellent tackling from the jarrow backs a try was eventually conceded. The big outside centre stormed over to take what appeared to be a confortable 8-0 lead into half time.
Jarrow restarted with several personnel changes and began to exert pressure on the visitors. Sunderland resolve began to falter and their stong backs appeared to abandon the game plan, opting to kick instead of run. Excellent running from Lindsley and Stevenson took the game to Sunderland and the cracks began to show. Jarrow line out domination from Brian Shaw in particular gave Jarrow the possession they had been denied in the first half. A series of rucks gave Mark Dobson the opportunity to bludgeon his way over for Jarrow's first try. Confidence grew and Jarrow stole the game from the visitors when fly half Bruce parker scored a superb converted solo try to win the game 12-8.
Once more unto the Breach dear friends, once more.
Jarrovians 55 Novos 15
At this time of year most rugby players are putting their feet up, enjoying the cricket with an ice cold G & T. Or if not so fortunate they may be found meandering around the metro centre regurgitating the same old hobbledehoy. "Yes dear, no dear, whatever you think dear" praying for September to come round once again, and for the smell of Firey Jack to infiltrate and stimulate the nostrils once more. Not Jarrovians however. When the call came from Novocastrians to host their non-touring tourists, the Jarrow men were only to keen to accept. The week before, Jarrovians began another new era, this time once again under the leadership of gluten for punishment, Mark "Red" Greenwood, in the inaugural Bob Scratchit Memorial Match against local rivals South Tyneside College. The men in black and amber had walked away with the spoils thanks to the efforts of the magnificent seven (they know who they are) so spirits were high, and confidence stratospherically so.
It is hard to believe that Jarrovians have ever had a quicker or more dangerous back line than the one that took the field on Saturday. Veteran scrum half Broadway turned the clock back 10 years and gave an authoritative display. Intelligently marshalling the forward drives before releasing the backs with bullet passes. Joining him at half back was the resurgent Daniel Simpson. It is a crying shame that his injury nightmare and battles with alcoholism have taken away the best years of his career, but at last he has begun to show the form he is capable of. His two-try man of the match display had the lot. Explosive tackling, haymaker kicking, barn storming running and distribution out of the very top drawer. In the centres was young Phil Cockburn. Cockburn has a weighty rugby intellect matched only by his weight in tackling. It is a major coup by the Chairman that he has negotiated his signature for the up coming campaign. He is the perfect foil for the older of the O`Neil brothers at outside centre. Simon O` Neil has returned from his sojourn around South Tyneside. With Simpson and Cockburn orchestrating inside of him he was unstoppable. The wings consisted of the electric McGhee on the left, with the pace and hair style of Sonic the Hedgehog these days, and occupying the right wing was Jarrovians all time record try scorer. Bryan McCoy. He no longer possesses the formidable pace of old but has adapted his style of play, by piling on the muscle. The rapier outside swerve has been replace by the belligerent rhino charge. It was one such stampede that increased his Jarrovians try tally to 150. The last line of defence was provided by Archbold Jnr, who is morphing into JPR Williams with each match. Courageous in defence, pacey in attack and handy in a ruck, in both the proverbial and actual sense
It was a day when the Jarrovians pack realised that it would be a crime not to provide ball for their flyers so it was magnificent to see them dominant the early forward exchanges. The powerful running of Lyndsay provided the launch pad for many an attack that was to lead to a try. Within two minutes one such surge sucked in the entire Novos pack and with this much space in open field it was inevitable that O Neil was going to score as soon as he received the ball despite being 70m from the try line. Cockburn and Mccoy added their names to the score sheet as Jarrovians began to motor. Cockburns an 80m breakaway solo effort and McCoys a turbo charged rampage from short range through the heart of a bewildered defence. By this time the line out, for so long the Achilles heal of the side, began to provide a steady supply of ball. New signing at hooker, Ray O`Neil younger brother of Simon, was unerringly accurate with his line out throws. This allowed the athletic line out jumpers, Swaddle and Ginger Baker, to pluck the pull from the air with relentless ease. On one such occasion the result was the try of the game. The ball was taped from the top of the line out to Broadway who fired a reverse pass the best part of 20m into the path of the on rushing Simpson. The decoy runs of Cockburn and O Neil allowed Simpson to blast through a half gap. He side stepped the full back and then charged the 20m to the try line bouncing off two back row forwards on route. One of whom was forced to leave the field due to the severity of the impact. If this try came from the shelf labelled power then the next from Broadway would be found under S for sublime. A scrum was won against the head just inside the Jarrow half. Number 8 Shorten, with deft hands flicked the ball to Broadway on the blind side with little room to manoeuvre with the opposite winger and touchline in close proximity. Some how his grubber kick hugged the touch line, eluded the winger but stayed in. Broadway picked the ball of his bootstraps in time to see the fullback hurtling across to cover. This time Broadway took the aerial route and delicately chipped the ball over his head and reclaimed the ball at full pelt. It was then a 22m footrace to the line. The cover defence had too much ground to make up and the touch down was made in the corner. Sublime. With this half time came and Jarrow had a well-deserved 31-0 lead.
The second half saw the Jarrowmen take their foot of the gas. This allowed the visitors to score three unconverted trys within 10 minutes. This was enough to inspire the Jarrow Captain to ring the changes to bring new enthusiasm to the side. It worked, Back row Stalwarts, Winthrop, Whittington and Farrell entered the fray and used their vast experience to bring a bit of discipline to a Jarrow team that become a bit loose and ragged. From a driving maul it was Winthrop who emerged from under the pile of bodies, aided by Tony Teabag to claim his first of the season and perhaps dispel the premature talk of retirement to the golf course for another season. Farrell was next to trouble the scorers. Decades of side stepping had forced Farrel to under go a hip replacement earlier in the year, so it was with rapturous applause from the touchline that his line out steal at he back of the line was welcomed. From 5m out no one was to deny him. The forwards were to claim one more try from the iconic Mad Mal Frazer before normal service was resumed with the backs scoring with Simpson and O Neil crossing the white wash. Despite their best efforts Novos never crossed the gain line again. Simpson and Cockburn continued to keep the midfield water tight with some tumultuous tackles and the game ended with Jarrovians victors by 55 points to 15. With this sort of performance Jarrow will surely be a force to be reckoned with in the new league campaign.
Lambs Poisioned
Over Thirty's 24 Under Thirty's 0
This years grand finale at Jarrovians left a sour taste in the mouth for some, and not just those who chose the beef at the players dinner the evening before!
The cantankerous under handed veterans teams have slumped to some negative tactics before, but this year they reached new depths of skulduggery in an attempt to gain the upper hand.
Half of the unders sides were up until 5.00am in the morning suffering from nausea and severe headaches with acute loss of balance. There is whisperings that something may have been placed in the food and drink the previous evening, although these allegations have so far been strenuously denied.
The match had suspiciously been scheduled to take place on the same day that the unders fly half, playmaker and talisman Bruce Parker was unavailable. His under study,Simpson was told by an unknown text messager that the game was a 3.15 kick off and therefore arrived at half time. His Herculean tackling and siege gun right boot changed the game, but by this time it was already lost. The early exchanges in the forwards were dominated by the youthful pack. The overs scrum creaked and strained until it buckled under the pressure like the hull of an overlaiden 17th century Spanish Galleon. They were forced to wheel the scrum illegally, refuse to engage or simply stand up in an attempt to save their embarrassment. To the bemusement of the under 30s captain and scrum half Broadway the referee Harte (veteran of many Over 30s teams himself) refused to penalise the overs. This allowed the one dimensional Mcleod to clear his lines and any advantage the unders had at the scrum was negated. The first score of the match came against the run of play and was controversial to say the least. Stand in fly half Cockburn fired a flat pass out across the backline expecting to see the referee penalise unregistered South Shieldsman O Neil who was standing 10 m off side. Perhaps he was standing in an off side position because he was on his way to pay his subs for the season which are still outstanding. We will never know, but he galloped 60 m unchecked to score under the sticks.
Seven nil down after ten minutes the unders looked determined to fight back despite the obstacles in front of them. The inexperienced Holman on the openside for the overs team was being given a merciless crash course in wing forward play by the older of the Cockburn brothers who was guesting for the unders. Holman was second to every brake down, scythed down every time he tried to take the ball up and was blasted out of every ruck by the Kronfeld like Cockburn. The superiority of the unders number 7 was there for all to see so it was no surprise to see the brutal assault that took place at a ruck, that once again Cockburn was first to attend. Although the perpetrators of the attack (there were several) could not be identified the evidence of the barbaric act was there for all to see. The already heavily strapped calf muscle bore the scores of several stamp marks. Once again the offence went unpenalised and the unders were forced to play the last 70 minutes of the match without a recognised number 7. The iconic Cockburn was forced to leave the field with what looks like a career ending injury. As the unders where trying to re organise wiley old prop Dobson crashed through an unprepared defence on a trade mark rampage to make the score 12 - 0. The uders can be forgivin for not spotting him as he has been seen less often than Hayleys Comet these days and no doubt it will be another 75 years before the treasure receives any annual subs from him.
The unders, now perhaps understandably were shell shocked. Another bit of bit of bad look fell their way when the speedster Mcgee was taken out off the ball by the cunning Winn. Winn only this year made the change from unders to overs and his allegiances were now obvious as he allowed the arch "baby liner" McCoy to canter over the line with is china like hamstring unstretched. The injustice that was being meted out was becoming unbearable for some of the crowd and they could be seen retreating to the bar as half time approached. No one epitomised the valiant efforts of the unders more than Archbold Snr and McKewon. One rhino-like charge from the powerful, yet agile eighteen stone Archbold saw twelve stone Berry, swatted like a fly. The pathetic cry's of Berry, lying at the feet of the prop, caused the gentle giant to stop in his tracks, fearing he had inflicted a serious injury. He put the ball down only to find Berry had picked him self up dusted himself off and trotted away leaving Archbold to be penalised for a knock on.
Half time allowed the overs team to change half there side, while the now seriously suffering unders team were forced to battle on with 14 men two of whom were strangers to the oval ball game. It was too their credit that they only conceded one more score to the illegal O Neil. This try came from a line out steel from Lyndsay, who was had already caused a significant delay to proceedings while waiting for the physio to fetch the WD40. The overs were tiring quickly at this stage but safe in the knowledge that their indiscretions would go un penalised they attempted to kill the game. The outrageous Swaddle continually lay on the ball playing it with his hands. The referee three times warned the overs that another offence at the breaktime would see someone in the sin bin and yet after another offence Swaddle remained on the pitch. Davey "staying alive" Hill was next to offend. Again unpunished. It looked like Harte was finally about to send someone to the bin when the long arm of the law appeared in a ruck ( in the shape of law enforcment officer Shaw) but after whispers between the two the card was dispatched back into the pocket.
The game ended 24 - 0 but the biggest loser of the day was our noble game rugby. However all is not lost. The gloating in the bar by the over 30s was graciously accepted by the unders safe in the knowledge that sooner rather than later they will of all died.
LAMBS TO THE SLAUGHTER
Over Thirty's 24 Under Thirty's 0
The young pretenders were led, eyes wide and blinking, into the Luke's Lane sunshine as lambs to the meadow. Confident and carefree, blissfully unaware, then ruthlessly dispatched, abbatoir style, by a strong and utterly superior veteran side. From the moment the outstanding Simon O'Neil intercepted a telegraphed pass then carved up the hapless defence to open the scoring, the youngsters knew it wasn't to be their day. Their initially strong scrummaging and forward led momentum dissipated like smoke on a windy day. Any pretense of saving the day and salvaging any pride disappeared in that one fell stroke.
Taking his final curtain call for Jarrovians Steve McLeod bowed out with a masterclass in intelligent, entertaining rugby. He dictated play from the off and showed what a supreme tactician he really is. He will be sorely missed and his unfortunate opposite number, Jamie Broadway, can take small comfort in the knowledge that on this day he was truly in the presence of genius
Seven nil down after ten minutes the unders already looked like a defeated side. Their pride was like their game plan. Non-existant. All resistance had collapsed like the French facing a blitzkrieg. Any youngster who had the audacity to stick his head above the parapet and run forward was cut down, scythe like, by the brilliant Dave Holman. Holman was everywhere. He was the straw that broke the camel's back. The painful and uncomfortable thorn in the side that constantly and unremittingly grinds down all hope and confidence. Overturning ball at ruck and maul, tackling all and sundry, his fitness and determination were a pleasure to behold. Taking the ball forward he launched himself at some unfortunate fool who tried to stop him. Defying one tackle, then another, the unders finally had the guts to haul him down when who should hove into view but Mark Dobson. The monstrous shape of the veteran prop cast his, not insignificant, unholy shadow on the quaking and clearly terrified youngsters. Their attempt to stop him was nothing short of farce. Wise men stepped aside but those who tried were swatted away one after the other like bothersome flies. The partisan crowd were cheered by a second overs try and the despairing youngsters fragile confidence was shattered like crystal on the hard granite of the veterans steely resolve.
Now twelve nil down all semblance of under thirty's team rugby had flown out of the window. Petty squabbling and plaintive cries to the referee are no substitute for knuckling down to the job at hand. The wily veterans exploited the disarray and went for the jugular. Man-of-the-match O'Neil once again exploited the slack and Keystone-cop like defence but was brought down by a lucky tap tackle. Holman took it on and drew what was left of the cover, popping the ball to ever-alert winger McCoy. Sensing the line, the artful poacher still had considerable work to do and just managed to squeeze in and touch down, laughing at the feeble attempt of a tackle from the vanquished and sprawling Colin McGhee.
Now seventeen to naught the veterans went into half-time comforted that the game was in the bag and the opposition were mere bit players in the unfolding drama. They changed personnel and the youngsters plumbed new depths of despair. After the break the vets dominated from the off. Thrusting running from Kev Berry and Martin Husband fed wingers McCoy and Winn, who defying their combined age of 97, teased and tortured the unders. The humiliation was almost too unbearable for the crowd to watch.
Paul Halliday, in his last appearance in this fixture, was simply awesome. He led his pack from one heroic deed to another and carved through the opposition like Alexander at The Granicus. The overs superiority was absolute. Veterans McKeown and Archbold, who once again backed the wrong horse, choosing youth and ignorance over age and experience were ruthlessly exposed and totally outplayed. One rhino-like charge from rotund, eighteen stone Archbold was easily stopped with a brutal tackle from twelve stone Berry, who picked himself up, dusted himself down and sneered at the prone prop lying at his feet. The shambolic unders pack stuttered and stalled in the face of overwhelming odds and began to wither under the relentless and pitiless assault. Fruitless charges from big strapping Graham Linsley were snuffed out with astonishing ease by Greenwood, Shaw and Lindsey. Embarrassingly, given the supposed pace and talent at their disposal, the unders never looked like scoring all game and didn't come close even once. Mcleod couldn't believe his luck and had an armchair ride of it, toying and mocking the opposition with clever kicks then unleashing his eager backs when necessary.
O'Neil finished off the try scoring with a dazzling, effortless waltz through the transfixed and starstruck Phil Cockburn, Dan Simpson, Mark Whitehead, Colin McGhee, Jamie Broadway, Andy Cooper, Chris McCintosh and Charles Wilson. Mcleod easily converted. The Gods finally smiled on the unders by putting an end to their misery with the final whistle. The day was lost 24-0, their humiliation total and complete. The veterans, this band of brothers, left the field contented and with face-splitting grins, safe in the knowledge that they were the wheat to the youngsters chaff. Hyperions to their Satyrs. Mighty Gods against feeble mortals. And in the bar afterwards the silence of the lambs spoke volumes.
Jarrovians 50 Shildon 0
Incredibly Shildon had inflicted a heavy defeat on Jarrow earlier in the season so nothing less than a stiff test was expected when Jarrow travelled down the A1m on Saturday. Sure enough Shildon came out with all guns blazing and put the visitors under severe pressure. However Jarrow weathered the storm and began to exert pressure of their own. A Shildon hand in the ruck saw Jarrow awarded a penalty which Bruce Parker comfortably converted into three points to give Jarrow the lead. Five minutes later a typical Graham Lindsley drive stretched the Shildon defence and gave Jarrows backs a chance. Swift hands from Phil Cockburn released mercurial winger Colin McGhee who made a mockery of the defence to score the first of seven Jarrow tries. From this point on Jarrow were in charge and irresistable. Basic rugby and simple passing produced beautifully executed tries from Andy Cooper and Simon O'Neil, all converted by the metronomic boot of Bruce Parker. However a spate of injuries just before half time changed the nature of the game. The scrums went uncontested and Jarrow's inspirational centre Phil Cockburn limped off with a calf injury. After half time with the score at 24-0 Jarrow, missing Cockburn, stuggled to get back into their attacking rythmn. Wasted chances and pointless kicks allowed Shildon back into the game. Indeed had it not been for teeth rattling tackling from Cooper and Broadway, Shildon would surely have scored. The scoreline went unchanged for a full fifteen minutes into the second half until Simon O'Neil struck again with a sublime forty yard solo effort. This gave the Jarrowmen renewed confidence and once again Shildon were put on the back foot. Surging runs from Mark Greenwood and Chris McCintoosh drove deep into the home teams half and set up the ruck. The ball was turned over and Shildon attempted to break out but a botched pass allowed Bruce Parker the interception for an easy try. Shildon were now dead and buried and on a damage limitation excercise. Mazey running from second row Brian Shaw bamboozled the defence to reward him with a richly deserved try. Prolific try scorer Jamie Broadway delivered the coup de grace with a sidestepping finesse to finish the scoring 50-0 in Jarrovians favour.
Jarrovians 10 South Tyneside College 19
The scoreline doesn't paint a true picture of this even and close fought league encounter. Jarrovians led for most of the first half with College struggling to get out of their own half against wind and driving snow. Jarrow seized the initiative when artful schemer Jamie Broadway, at scrum-half, took a quick tap penalty. He cleverly sucked in the cover defence and slipped the ball to Neil Smyth who strolled over the line unchecked. Bruce Parker converted comfortably. Jarrow kept up the pressure with Phil Cockburn resolute in defence and audacious in attack. Jarrow's lineout performed effortlessly well too with Mal Frasier securing possession from the deadeye accuracy of Tiffens throwing in. The tenacious Dave Holman also played a stormer. Osama Bin-Laden may have escaped him, but College's rampaging Terry Kirkham couldn't. The combined might of Phil Mcleod and Holman, who's face bore the obvious scars of a brutal encounter, managed to tame the beast for most of the game. However towards the end of the first half Kirkham broke through twice to score two tries and snatch the lead from Jarrow. The second half kept the crowd well entertained, both teams attacking with gusto and panache. However Jarrow couldn't cope with the Shieldsmens legendary rolling maul and their ball possession dried up. A solitary penalty from the reliable boot of Parker was scant reward for the Jarrowmens brave efforts. College managed to keep their noses in front and had Jarrow's Chris McCintosh not squandered a three man overlap, much to the dismay of his team-mates, the outcome may have been very different.
Jarrovians 30 Wearside 0
Jarrovians travelled to Wearside and, despite a slow start emerged 30-0 victors over a strong and feisty Wearside team. A brace of tries from captain Phil Mcleod, one a quick tap and sprint from his own twenty two helped inspire Jarrow to victory. Surprisingly, the score was only 3-0 from a Steve Mcleod penalty at half time. However, after the break Jarrow decided to up the ante and got into a steady rythmn of drive and push forward. The pressure paid off and man-of-the-match Gary Archbold and Colin McGhee both found themselves on the scoresheet with excellent individual tries. Indeed Jarrow's dominance was so great tha they had, no less than, four tries disallowed in the second half. Phil Cockburn and, the in form Dave Holman. both had superb games and vied for man-of-the-match. Steady Wearside defence maintained a damage limitation exercise but had Jarrow found this form in the first half a rout would have been ineviatable. Final score Jarrovians 35 Wearside 0
Jarrovians II 36 Houghton II 19
Jarrow entertained Houghton II at Luke's Lane on saturday in wet and muddy conditions. Under pressure from the start the jarrowmen found themselves pinned back in their own twenty two and five points adrift after concedeing a try from a rolling maul. Despite this early setback the Jarrow forwards suddenly gelled and began to put the oppsition under intense pressure. Expertly marshalled by returning scrum-half Jamie Broadway the pack proceeded to ruck their way into the visitors half. Quick ball and swift hands through centres O'Neil and Whitehead unleashed winger Chris Bamford, who comfortably shrugged off three tackles to dive over and level the score. David Berry converted and the home side were in front. Keeping up the pressure Jarrow grew in confidence and strong, direct running from Richard Littlewood and Graham Lindsley gave strapping second row Will Nelson the space he needed to burst through and score. There was no stopping Jarrow now. A kick from Dan Simpson was fumbled by the Houghton full-back. Winger McCoy just got his toe to the ball and Simon O'Neil hacked it over the line to be awarded the penalty try, having been cynically pulled back by the despairing Houghton winger. Tactical changes at half time saw Martin Husband come on at fly-half, who made an immediate impact with a breathtaking, side stepping try to stretch the lead even further to 25-5. Houghton appeared dead and buried at this point and Scott Shorten piled on the agony with a twenty metre solo try of his own. However the overconfident Jarrowmen took their foot off the gas and allowed the visitors to claw their way back. A schoolboy howler from David Berry gifted their winger the easiest try he'll ever score with a direct pass from a ridiculous quick lineout. The rejuvinated Houghton pack began to stamp their authority and another try was conceded by Jarrow. However the clock was against them and despite the visitors growing confidence Jarrow resisted and held firm to win 36-19.
Feb 25th
Jarrovians 10 Hartlepool BBOB 17
Jarrow were knocked out of the cup on saturday by BBOB in a close fought and entertaining contest. The Hartlepool third division side chose to play with the elements in their favour in the first half so Jarrow found themselves playing into gale force winds and driving rain. This didn't stop some incisive running from the Jarrow backs, Chris McCabe and Phil Cockburn in particular showing outstanding form. The strong and determined Jarrow forwards made the visitors work hard to secure their own ball, but when they did the wind was utilised to full effect and Jarrow found themselves two unconverted tries down by half time. After the turnaround Jarrow played the same strategy and put BBOB on the backfoot. Impressive breaks from Jarrow's Mark Greenwwod and Andy Burn hammered back BBOB's resolute defence and took the black-and-ambers deep into the opposition half. The home side were awarded a five metre scrum and great power play, combined with excellent control at the base of the scrum by captain and man-of-the-match Phil Mcleod, allowed scrum-half Gary Archbold to touch down. Further Jarrow pressure led to a lineout ten yards out from the BBOB try line. An infringement from an ill-tempered Hartlepool forward saw Jarrow awarded the penalty. Shunning the three point option the quick tap was taken and returning prop Mark Dobson, unstoppable over five yards, crashed over to level the score. Jarrow kept up the pressure and made an inspired tactical change by bringing on young Duncan Whittington, living proof that Jarrow's youth policy is paying dividends. The big flanker made an immediate impact taking the ball on and inspiring his fellow forwards to power their way through Hartlepool's defence. Unfortunately despite keeping BBOB in their own half Jarrow couldn't convert the pressure into points and the visitors scored a breakaway try against the run of play to win the game.
Winlaton II 45 Jarrovians II 5
At home Jarrow had demolished Winlaton earlier in the season and travelled away expecting to mete out similar punishment. However, the home side had other ideas and set about Jarrow with an unexpected and ruthless efficiency. Gutsy performances from Neil Smyth and Will Nelson in the centres repelled the first few waves but Winlaton soon wore down the struggling defence and scored the first of many tries. In adverse and difficult circumstances, Aidan Berry and Dave Hill in the forwards managed to mount a brave, but ultimately doomed challenge to the home side. Jarrow's only consolation was a spectacular try from full back Neil Metcalf. Totally against the run of play fly half Kevin Berry managed to weave his way through heavy traffic in the midfield. Appearing on his left shoulder was the big full-back who took the ball on, upped a gear and wrong-footed the transfixed winger to score in the corner. However this was small comfort in a difficult, one sided league encounter.
Jarrovians 38 Seaham 5
Jarrow travelled to Seaham and put the home team to the sword with a thrilling and courageous performance from both backs and forwards alike. The defensive effort was outstanding throughout and only failed once when a lapse in concentration allowed Seaham in for their solitary try. Young Gary Archbold and Dave Holman played superbly, both vying for man-of-the-match and both scoring tries of real quality. Bruce Parker had a field day at full-back finding seemingly non existant gaps in the Seaham defence to set up his fellow backs. Tries from Steve Mcleod and winger Chris McCabe, who made ground every time with good strong running, heaped on the misery for Seaham. The home team were out of it by half-time but refused to lie down and kept Jarrow from scoring for a long period in the second half. It was Kevin Berry who broke the deadlock with the pick of the tries. The fiery centre intercepted a wayward Seaham pass on the halfway line. Sensing an opportunity he feinted left then shimmied through the despairing wingers tackle. Picking up the pace he left the fullback for dead and glided over to score triumphantly in the corner. With Steve Mcleod's four conversions Jarrow found themselves 38-5 to the good and pushing for promotion at second place in the league.
Jarrovians II 17 Washington II 16
On a sun-kissed pitch Jarrovians produced a game of running rugby which brightened the hearts of the large crowd at Luke's Lane. Withstanding the visitors opening onslaught Jarrow began to produce some pressure of their own. A piece of legerdemain (n1. juggling,conjuring,sleight of hand 2. trickery) from Will Nelson sent the entire visitors defence right whilst the perpetrator went left. Swift hands sped the ball to Mark Whitehead who sprinted fully sixty yards before being cruelly caught inches from the line. From the resulting scrum Jarrow's pack drove the Washington eight backwards and the ever alert Matty Lindsay picked up at number eight and with a shimmy worthy of Astaire glided over the line. Washington came back and took the score to 16-5 but Jarrow invention always gave the supporters hope. It was Scott Shorten who lifted the spirits catching a twenty-two drop kick and speeding through almost untouched to narrow the gap. The Jarrowmen continued to exert pressure and were rewarded when a driving maul was propelled over the line with Lindsay again claiming the try. The whole stadium fell silent as David Berry cooly lined up the kick. He calmly struck it sweetly and it bissected the posts perfectly to win the game for Jarrow by one point.
Feb 4th
Jarrovians 0 Consett II 17
A makeshift Jarrovian first team found themselves up against a strong Consett second team at luke's Lane on Saturday. In a gutsy performance the jarrowmen played with spirit, resiliance and determination . Outstanding defence from exciting young prespect Philip Cockburn and experienced Kevin Berry knocked every attempted attack firmly back. The defensive efforts were aided by a wily and experienced back row of Phil Mcleod, Peter Cockburn and Mark Greenwood. The trio were all in excellent form and attempted to keep Jarrow moving forward and took the ball on at every opportunity. Unfortunately Consett's experience got the upper hand and scored a try to take the lead 5-0 at half time.
It was the same story in the second half with Jarrow defending superbly. The attacking opportunities were few, but fine running from fly-half Bruce Parker and Phil Cockburn kept the visitors on their toes. Solid work in the tight from Tony Tiffen and Chris McCintosh also paid dividends but Consett managed to stretch the lead with a breakaway try against the run of play. The Jarrowmens hard work continued but Consett's superior fitness was rewarded with another try and victory at 17-0.
Jarrovians II 17 Blyth III 17
Late arrivals, lane closures and dodgy sat nav all conspired against the hapless jarrovians second team, who turned up at Blyth twenty minutes after the kick-off time with only eleven men. Blyth sportingly dragged four reluctant volunteers out of the bar to make up the numbers and the game eventually got underway. Blyth set the pace and started the game with real intent, keeping the visitors pinned back in their own twenty two for all of the first fifteen minutes. A well organised, well versed set of veteran forwards denied the visitors any possession and dominated both set-piece and loose play. With a stream of quality ball the Blyth backs, their big inside-centre in particular, asked questions of the Jarrow defence. However, Jarrow were up to the test replying with resolute tackling from backs and forwards alike. In the face of this onslaught Jarrovians looked likely to concede a try but suddenly turned the tables on the home side and scored a breathtaking try of their own. Jarrow picked up from the back of the scrum deep in their own half and released fly-half, Bob Winn, who had appeared on the blind side. A simple sixty metre sprint with only the fullback to beat and the black-and-ambers scored the first points of the game. Blyth restarted with renewed vigour. It was the inside centre who struck back . After repeated attempts he finally got the better of the Jarrow backs with a deft side step and dive to level the score at 5-5. Minutes later Jarrow again took the initiative when centre Bryan McCoy popped the ball to fullback, Neil Metcalf coming through on the burst. He split the defence with a superbly angled run and chipped over the startled Blyth defenders heads to score in the corner. The conversion from Bob Winn took the score to 12-5 at the break.
The second half continued in much the same way with Blyth seeking to attack at every opportunity. Their useful inside centre once again crossed the line in what, to Jarrow eyes, appeared to be a double movement. With the score level at 12 all the Jarrowmen had everything to play for and inspirational man-of-the-match Brian Shaw upped his game and drove into the heart of Blyth's defence. The whole pack responded magnificently and a rolling maul took old Davey Hill within 5 metres of the try line. There was never any doubt the grizzled veteran would score as he stormed over to retake the lead for jarrow. However, the elation was short lived when the home side scored another fine try to draw level. A tense five minutes ensued with Jarrow tackling like demons as Blyth refused to accept the draw. Despite Blyth's best efforts Jarrow held firm. A last ditch effort from hooker George Taylor almost won the game when he sprinted out of his own twenty two but was bundled into touch agonisingly close to the opposition try line. The ref whistled full time and Jarrow had played a well deserved 17-17 draw
Jan 7th 2006
Jarrovians 11 Wearside 5
A young jarrow side containing many enforced changes played poorly from the off against a strong Wearside team but still managed to emerge victorious. Initially it was only stout defence from Andy Burn and Steve Mcleod that kept the black and ambers in the game. Wearside exerted all the pressure and eventually it paid off when their hooker dove over for a try. Both teams cancelled each other out for the remainder of the half and Wearside maintained their five nil lead. However Jarrow played with more passion in the second half and put the visitors on the back foot. The Jarrow pack visibly grew in stature and dominated the opposition. Strong running from Chris McCabe set Colin Mcghee off on a sixty yard sprint to score in the corner. Two penalties from the trusty boot of Steve Mcleod took Jarrow six points clear and Wearside were out of it. Jarrow just managed to keep their noses in front with a huge effort led by captain and man-of-the-match Phil McLeod to see off Wearside in a 11-5 victory.
Jarrovians II 5 North Shields III 37
Few teams at this level can boast that they have a sprinter of true class in their backs but a surprisingly strong North Shields third team can, in the shape of Jared Deacon, a commonwealth gold medalist in the 4x400 relay who turned up on the wing for the visitors. Jarrovians, however are not in awe of celebrity and undaunted by his 10.8 personal best in the 100m tackled him out of the game. The lively winger simply couldn't find a way around his opposite number Duncan Whittington. Young Phillip Cockburn, in particular made it his mission to seek him out and made at least two try saving tackles to keep him in check. However a team consists of fifteen men and North Shields must have strength in depth to field a third team of such quality. Jarrow started well, encamped in the opposition twenty two but couldn,t convert the pressure into points. Repeated Jarrow handling errors in the midfield proved costly and once the visitors got into their stride they were difficult to contain, eventually scoring the first of five first half tries. Although Jarrow tackled well Shields were well organised and always had a support runner to offload the ball to. Jarrow found themselves in disarray and spent most of the first half defending frantically. However, their heads never went down and they found some solace when man-of-the-match Sean McKeown scored in the corner. The ball eventually got past the centres and flashed through the hands to see the young fullback dive over in the corner. The second half could have ended up in a rout but Jarrow had other ideas. The home side played with much more passion and renewed vigour led by captain Aidan Berry and veteran fly-half Bob Winn. Although the scrums were uncontested due to a lack of daft lads to play in the front row the Jarrow mauling and rucking was very effective and managed to keep the visitors at bay for much of the half. Strong running from Neil Smyth and and Paul Swaddle ultimately went unrewarded and North Shields managed just one more try to close the game 37-5 up.
Jan 14th
South Tyneside College II 12 Jarrovians II 7
Injuries, Illness and cry-offs once again saw Jarrovians field a weakened side against the visiting College second team, who inflicted a heavy defeat on Jarrow a mere three weeks ago at South Shields. The College started strongly but Jarrow gamely fought back to gain parity and by half time neither team had managed to stamp their authority and score any points. Unfortunately for Jarrow they couldn't sustain the intensity after the break and the College scored a neatly converted try within minutes of the turnaround. Strong running from man-of-the-match Bruce Parker, supported by Chris McCabe gained good field position for Jarrow and got them within striking distance. However a long kick, poorly dealt with by the inexperieced Jarrow full-back gifted the Mariners their second try. Undeterred, Jarrow fought back and excellent play from Bruce Parker, Paul Swaddle and Phil Mcleod gave the break Terence Kirkham needed to bound forty yards and score a try in the corner. This was cooly converted by Bruce Parker to keep Jarrow in the game but intense pressure and good play from Jarrow brought no further reward and saw the final score 12-7 in South Tyneside College's favour.
Dec 17th
Jarrovians 12 Shildon 24
Late cry-offs once again proved costly in this Durham & Northumberland league four fixture against an improving Shildon side. Jarrovians were unable to field two teams and sent the second team away five short. At Luke's Lane the first team never really got started and struggled to make any impact on the game. Of the two teams Shildon were really up for it and got off to a great start. Powerful running and some charitable defence from Jarrow saw the visitors 19-0 up at half time. In the second half however, Jarrow played with much more pride. Some great lungbursting running from winger Neil Winton made a strong impression every time he took possession of the ball. Excellent tackling from Dan Simpson also saved the home side from slipping further behind. Four penalties from Bruce Parker kept chipping away at the Shildon lead but resolute defence from the visitors nullified any chance of a try and the scoreline finished 24-12 in Shildon's favour
Jarrovians II 0 South Tyneside College II 36
The College took advantage of a weakened Jarrovians back line and ran riot in the first half in this league fixture at South Shields on saturday. Jarrovians severely depleted second team arrived with only ten men, but the College sportingly made up the numbers. The damage was done in midfield where the College centre pairing of Duffy and Martin ran some excellent lines and, despite fierce Jarrovian tackling, always found support and a man to offload the ball to. After holding out for fifteen minutes the determined Jarrow defence broke and the home side found the try line in the first of five first half tries. The Jarrow pack were holding up well and even pushed the College scrum back on occasion, but it was in the backs where Jarrow were struggling. Playing out of position, fly-half and man of the match Bryan McCoy, gifted the shieldsmen their second try with a nervous wayward kick. The unsettled backs however found their confidence restored with ball in hand. Going forward the nifty backs looked dangerous and threatening but never managed a score despite Neil Metcalf coming agonisingly close. The Jarrow lads approached the second half with renewed vigour but were brought crashing back to earth when scrum-half David Berry limped off injured. An ingenious reshuffle saw captain Aidan Berry at scrum-half and big Duncan Whittington in the centre. Despite misgivings this worked wonderfully well and the flood of College tries was halted. The Jarrow forwards started to show their mettle and punched their way up the park with driving runs from the likes of Phil Cowan and old Davey Hill. Berry's accurate passing found fly-half and man of the match Mccoy every time. The backs were set away at every opportunity but unfortunately never found the try they so richly deserved. It is to the Jarrowmens credit that they managed to halt a rampant home side after a severely testing first half. Indeed Captain Aidan Berry was well pleased with the second half performance and the fact that the Shieldsmen only scored one more try
Dec 3rd
Jarrovians not many. College more
Jarrovians II 7 Yarm 20
In dreadful conditions Jarrovians second team were ruthlessly knocked out of the Durham County fourth team shield competition by a formidable Yarm side. In the opening skirmishes Yarm revealed their intent by running everything, even from their own try line. Despite this brash confidence it was a full twenty minutes before they slipped through the magnificent Jarrow defence to score the first of three first half tries. Jarrows youthful back line repelled wave after wave of Yarm attacks through excellent defence from Bryan Whitehead and Brian McGhee in particular. However, Yarm kept up the onslaught and Jarrow found themselves Fifteen nil down at half time.
Struggling to contain the rampant Yarm backs, Jarrow switched to good old fashioned nine man rugby and slowed the game down. This tactic almost resulted in a Jarrow try when hooker and man of the match Phil Cowan appeared to have grounded the ball but was denied by the referee much to the bemusement of players and spectators alike. Injuries handicapped Jarrow and reduced them to thirteen men for much of the second half but the defensive efforts continued to deny Yarm. Further questionable refereeing gifted the visitors their fourth and final try when a seemingly forward pass allowed the Yarm full-back to storm over the line in the corner. Jarrow found themselves knocked out of the competition, but a consolation try by Chris Bamford in the last ten minutes, converted by Tony Tiffen gave Jarrow some solace prior to the bar
Nov 26th
Jarrovians 21 Consett II 0
In-form Bruce Parker, Andy Cooper and Mark Dobson claimed the tries in this impressive victory over a strong Consett second team. Captain, Phil Mcleod was satisfied with the performance and on this form promotion looks increasingly likely as Jarrow are surely capable of beating any team in their division.
Jarrovians II 0 Washington 31
Jarrow's second team knew they would be up against it when they travelled to Washington with only twelve players. An injury crisis and cry-offs saw them unable to make up the numbers. However, despite this being a league fixture, the home side sportingly lent them a player and Jarrow started with thirteen. Young Chris Bamford gamely took on the challenge and coped well covering both the openside winger and fullback's role. An early mistake gifted Washington their first try after only five minutes. Undeterred, the Jarrow pack brutally asserted themselves and dominated the set pieces, but the dearth of players in the backs was always going to be a challenge and the homeside used the overlap well to score two more tries. Jarrow attempted to establish a foothold in the game but struggled to break the gain line. Bruising, direct running from man-of-the-match Kevin Berry at inside centre made some yardage but jarrow couldn't get themselves on the scoresheet. A late arrival brought the visitors strength to fourteen at half-time but the game was out of reach at this stage. Stout defence from Mark Greenwood, Kevin Berry and two try saving tackles from Gary Archbold senior prevented a rout in the second half and kept the scoreline to a respectable 31-0.
Nov 19th
Jarrovians 46 Wearside 0
Jarrovians demolished Wearside in this one sided league encounter. The visitors blew away a feeble Wearside defence and notched up eight tries in the process. Led by fly-half and man-of-the-match Bruce Parker, the backs threw caution to the wind and spun the ball about at every opportunity. The opening try came from winger Andy Cooper, who sidestepped his opposite number and dived over in the corner. Just to prove the point he then repeated the same trick a mere five minutes later to score again. The Jarrowmens confidence soared after establishing this early lead and more tries came from Colin McGhee and Bruce Parker. The Jarrow pack were firing on all cylinders and, through solid scrummaging, established an excellent platform for the backs to weave their magic. Wearside had no answer and found themselves on a damage limitation exercise. Further tries from Dan Simpson and Gareth Malcolm hammered home the point and took Jarrow to a 36-0 lead at half time. The Wearsiders found themselves staring down the barrel of a possible cricket score defeat, with little chance of redemption. However, overconfidence took the wind out of Jarrows sails in the second half. They couldn't maintain the exceptionally high standard they had set in the first half and stalled. The glut of possession yielded two more tries, one from Steve Mcleod and a second for youngster, Colin McGhee, but the game was effectively won by half-time. Final score Jarrovians 46 Wearside 0.
Jarrovians II 12 Barnard Castle II 12
Jarrow's second team entertained Barnard Castle at Luke's Lane and held the visitors to a draw. Cry-offs and work commitments saw the home side take to the field with thirteen men, yet despite this handicap the Jarrowmen dug deep and took an unlikely lead through an excellent solo try from young David Berry. Shunning the obvious option of an easy pass to spectator-cum-winger Bob Winn, he cleverly kicked through and dived on the ball to score. It seemed as if Jarrow had further increased their lead when Martin Husband was cruelly denied a try by the referee for an offence which only he appeared to have seen. The controversial decision proved to be a turning point for the visitors who got their act together and began to mount a serious challenge to the outnumbered home side They scored two tries either side of half time and it looked as though they had done enough to secure victory. However, Jarrow manfully clawed their way back into contention when Martin Husband powered his way over the line from five yards. An easy conversion levelled the score 12-12 and Jarrow had avoided defeat.
Nov 12th
Jarrovians II 43 North Shields 0
Bruce Parker helped himself to a hat trick of tries in Jarrovians seven try demolition of North Shields third team. Three weeks ago in the same fixture North Shields rampaged through an older Jarrow back line and won convincingly. The boot was on the other foot this time around and the visitors couldn't live with a younger, more energetic team. Winger, Gareth Malcolm scored a brace of tries. Colin McGhee and veteran prop Mark Dobson also got themselves on the score sheet with a try each
Oct 22nd
Jarrovians 17 Seaham 12
Jarrovians II North Shields III Match Abandoned
Jarrow maintained their unbeaten record in the league in fine form with a 17-12 victory at home to Seaham.
Meanwhile, the second team travelled across the Tyne to take on North Shields third team. However,Jarrow's late arrival due to alarmingly heavy traffic did them no favours. Inadequate warm-up due to lack of time led to a spate of injuries by half-time. As if losing three players to muscle strains wasn't enough, North Shields with no second team fixture and experienced, skilled players in key positions proceeded to carve up the visitors with relish. The Jarrow pack, weakened after five minutes by the loss of prop Tony Tiffen in addition to Charlie Wilson's martyrdom( suffering mental and physical anguish with a bad back), struggled to contain the North Shields forwards and failed to deliver any ball to their backs. Dominated in both line-out and scrum the Jarrowmen valiantly held off the home side for a full fifteen minutes. However, despite some bruising tackling, from Andy Cooper and Matt King, North Shields eventually scored their first try with a sucker punch quick tap penalty. Undeterred, Jarrow tried to fight back. Great individual runs from the likes of Michael Harte, Richie Garvin and Andy Cooper ultimately came to naught and the tide gradually turned heavily in North Shields favour. The Jarrow forwards stuck manfully to their task against superior odds but were comprehensively outplayed in all departments. Fine performances from Tom Smith and Phil Cowan were small consolation against a rampant home side high in confidence. Battering runs from Shields probed for weakness in Jarrow's defence and inevitably found them. By half-time Jarrow were under the cosh and four tries behind. The high attrition rate continued with both centres Will Nelson and Bryan Mccoy limping off the field of play by half-time. A hastily reshuffled team with borrowed resources started the second half in much the same manner. Tackling high on the list of priorities. Unfortunately, Jarrow fell for the same old routine and conceded two more tries to quick penalties. Jarrow were just edging back into it when a head injury to Richie Garvin, ironically whilst attempting a quick tap penalty, forced the referee to abandon the game with the score at 27-0 to North Shields.
October 15th
Chester-le-street 21 Jarrovians II 13
An injury ravaged and depleted Jarrovians XV travelled down to Chester-le-street and started the game with fiery determination. The rush defence from the Jarrow backs forced the home side into conceding two penalties, which were capably converted into six points from the ever-reliable boot of fly-half Bruce Parker. However, the visitors couldn't maintain their dominance and a lapse in concentration allowed the big rangy Chester number eight to score a try under the posts. Undeterred, Jarrow soon struck back through a try from debutante Richard Garvin. A superlative break from pacy winger Gareth Malcolm, supported by flanker Dave Smith made a mockery of the home sides defence and gave Jarrow's exciting new prospect enough space to score in the corner. Things were looking good for Jarrow at half time with a 13-7 lead. Indeed more points seemed likely as the the Jarrowmen pressed their advantage and put the Chester try-line under siege. However, stout and resiliant defence from Chester denied them any further progress. At this point Chester decided to ring the changes and brought on five replacements, who made an immediate impact on the game. The extra power of the new players in the scrum put tremendous pressure on the tiring Jarrow pack. Chester saw their salvation and, despite excellent tackling from Chris Bamford and Bruce Parker, scored two tries and finished the game 21-13 victors. Jarrow skipper Colin McKeown had no complaints after the game and was well pleased with his sides performance against a virtual Chester-le-street first team.
8th Oct Jarrovians v Seaham abandoned
Jarrovians II 42 Rockliffe III 14
Jarrow first team were clawing their back from a 19 point deficit at Seaham when the game was abandoned due to a severe leg injury to the unfortunate Jarrow scrum-half Phil Smurthwaite. Two tries from Greenwood and Hepple had turned the game but delays from the ambulance service finished any prospect of the game carrying on. The league fixture will be replayed at the earliest opportunity.
At Luke's Lane Jarrovians second team entertained Rockliffe III in a lively and spirited game. The wet conditions indicated that this might have been a tight forward orientated game but the home side decided to opt for a free flowing and entertaining style of rugby. The superb Jarrow pack, led by Aidan Berry, performed well in the set piece against a bigger Rockliffe scrum and supplied the backs with a steady stream of quality ball. Tactical kicking from fly half Bruce Parker pinned the visitors in their own twenty two for the opening fifteen minutes and winger Sean McKeown opened the scoring, pouncing on a clever grubber kick from centre Jim Moore. Another try came from flanker Neil Smythe who shrugged off three tackles and barged his way over the line.
Rockliffe had no answer and tried to fight back but struggled to get out of their own half. Jarrow kept up the pressure and winger Bryan Mccoy picked up a loose pass, spotted a gap and slipped the defence to score again. At this point the visitors seemed to rally and used their big forwards to push Jarrow back in a series of driving rucks and mauls. The huge second row took the ball on and, despite gallant defence from Duncan Whittington and David Berry, scored under the posts. However, Jarrow had the final say in the first half when a clever miss pass from Moore gave his centre partner Mark Whitehead a scoring opportunity which he took with aplomb. Rockliffe started the second half with real intent and once again, in a deja vu moment,scored through a try from their lock forward. At twenty points to fourteen the game was on a knife edge but Jarrow slammed the door on the visitors prospects when Smyth sliced through the defence for his second try. Rockliffe's renewed confidence faltered and Jarrow ran riot. The try of the game came in a barbarian style move from Jarrow's try line. Full back Neil Metcalf twice sidestepped the hapless onrushing Rockliffe backs and fed the sublime Bruce Parker. Leaving the defence for dead he took the ball on and was finally tackled near the try line. Gaham Lindsley was on hand to score the try. Even when down to fourteen men due to the sin-binning of captain Aidan Berry Jarrow continued to pile on the misery. A brace of trys from hooker-come-winger Gareth Malcolm sealed the visitors fate. Final score Jarrow 42 Rockliffe 14
1st Oct Jarrovians 34 Wearside 5
A changed Jarrow side played with a lot of grit and determination to earn a sound victory over Wearside.
Wearside turned up to play a spoiling game and Jarrow had to work hard to earn the right to play the rugby they wanted to play.
The first twenty saw Jarrow exert a lot of pressure eventually breaking down Wearside's defence in a move that ended with Dave Archer's blockbusting run as he dragged 3 defenders over with him to touch down. Skipper Phil Mcleod converted the simple kick from in front of the posts.
More Jarrovians pressure on the Wearside line led to a controversial penalty under the posts. Mcleod kicked the three points thinking a penalty try more appropriate under the circumstances. Half time 10-0
A slow start to the second half saw Wearside score a soft try due to poor Jarrow defense. This seemed to wake Jarrow up and repeated penalties from Wearside helped Jarrow keep the pressure on with some superb kicking from fly-half Simpson and excellent set-up play by inside centre Berry.
Space was created from a lineout and McGhee motored 60 yards leaving a string of defenders in his wake to touch down. The outside 3 of Archer, McGhee and Hepple began to run riot as Jarrow spread the play left and right leading to a further McGhee score and a magnificent Hepple try. Skipper, Mcleod who helped himself to 4 conversions and two penalties was full of praise for his team saying:
"whilst we didn't play great rugby until the last 15, I can't fault the lads for their effort and commitment and I was reasonably pleased with the win. The drinks are on me next saturday. Fill the bar"
Jarrovians travelled to Shildon hoping to keep their successful league campaign on the rails. Their efforts were rewarded by a 14-7 victory. Excellent back play from the likes of Dan Simpson, Kevin Berry and Neil Hepple provided two tries for Gareth Malcolm, and Dave Archer. Both were converted by captain Phil Mcleod. The Jarrow forwards also played their part with man of the match Dave Holman showing outdstanding form. Even when reduced to 14, after the outrageous sin-binning of fresh replacement Andy Grainger, the Jarrow defence held firm. Shildon's solitary converted try simply wasn't enough to deny Jarrow a well earned victory.
Jarrovians II 3 Newton Aycliffe 0
At home the Jarrow second team entertained a back to form and tidy looking Aycliffe side. Aycliffe declared their intent from the start attacking deep from their own half at every opportunity. The, initially shaky, Jarrow defence began to pull together and repeatedly stopped the determined visitors. The turning point was a try saving tackle from winger Dave Winton. From this point on Jarrrow began to exert their own pressure. The big Aycliffe pack looked the part but were ruthlessly exposed by a magnificent effort from the jarrow pack. Props Tony Tiffen and Charlie Wilson showed the chinks in the Aycliffe armoury with brute strength and determination. The Jarrow backs began to cut loose with a steady stream of quality possession exploited by scrum-half Phil Smurthwaite. Classy centre Will Nelson almost scored with a deft side step and sprightly turn of pace but was hauled down short.
Tactical changes at half time piled on the pressure and the jarrowmen almost scored again. Winger Sean McKeown was uleashed on the right and the mercurial youngster dove for a certain try, only to be thwarted by an awesome flying tackle which sent him sprawling into touch. Soon after an Aycliffe hand in the ruck gave Jarrow the chance they needed. A difficult penalty kick was made to look easy by fly-half and man-of-the-match Bruce Parker. In the end the three points was enough and Jarrow bravely held on to their slimmest of margins to secure a satisfying victory, maintaining an unbeaten record in the league.
Sept 17th Jarrovians II 36 Winlaton II 19
April 09thRockliffe II 15 Jarrovians 15
Jarrow travelled over the river and produced,
possibly, their finest display of the season against a
formidable looking Rockliffe second string. The home
side took the field with a massive pack and it looked
as though the Jarrow forwards had their work cut out.
Sure enough the first three scrums saw the Jarrowmen
pushed back at an alarming rate. However , with grim
determination, the visitors fought back and slowly
dragged themselves back into contention. It was
Jarrow who opened the scoring when Bruce Parker
intercepted a wayward Rockliffe pass five metres from
his own line. The lightning quick fly-half sprinted
almost to the try line but was brought down in a last
ditch tackle five metres short. He cleverly offloaded
to the onrushing Colin McGhee who scored under the
posts. Bruce Parker cooly converted. Rockliffe kept
Jarrow pinned in their own twenty two for the
remainder of the half and scored a converted try of
their own to level the score 7-7.
The second half continued in the same manner with
Jarrow under continuous pressure in their own half.
Despite their best efforts though Rockliffe struggled
to take advantage of their dominance and it was Jarrow
who scored again. It was a brilliant individual
effort from Colin McGhee, beating all comers in the
race for the line to notch up his second try of the
game. The conversion was missed but Jarrow were
mighty pleased to find themselves 12-7 up. Rockliffe,
however remained unconvinced and once again pinned
Jarrow back and heaped on the pressure. Despite a
monumental defensive effort from Jarrow, Rockliffe
took the initiative and went 15-12 ahead tightening
the screw even further. It is to Jarrows credit that
the home side failed to score again. Their defence
was remarkable with man-of-the-match Chris McCabe in
particular putting in the big hits and tackling like a
man possessed. It looked as though the game was lost
but Bruce Parker hadn't read the script. Rockliffe
conceded a needless penalty which, to many, seemed
unkickable. This, however, was not the case and our
hero produced a magnificent fifty yard kick to level
the score. The home side were unable to score again
and the game finished 15-15. Jarrow captain Mark
Greenwood commented that this was Jarrow's best
performance of the season and had particular praise
for Mal Frasier and Ian Maxwell who he descibed as the
backbone of his scrum.
April 2nd Jarrovians II 30 Gateshead III 19
Jarrow travelled the short distance to Gateshead and
started well, pushing their opponents deep into their
own half. However, a sloppy pass was intercepted
allowing the gateshead fly-half a clear run to score a
converted try under the posts. Undeterred Jarrow
pushed forward down the blindside. Slick hands
changed the direction of play and young Scott Shorten
took off for the line, heroically shrugging off two
tackles to score in the corner. From the restart
Jarrow, once again, looked dangerous but were thwarted
when another pass went astray and was intercepted to
allow another soft try. This saw the home sides lead
stretched to 15-5. Jarrow refused to let this spoil
the day and driving runs from veterans Swaddle and
Lindsey set up Phil Smurtwaite, who took his
opportunity to score magnificently under the posts.
Another fine forwards drive from Gateshead gave them a
try and the upper hand at half-time 19-12.
The second half couldn't have started better for
Jarrovians when old-timer Paul Swaddle burst through
the defence and scored to level the score. There was
no stopping the Jarrovians now as their forwards
seized control. Tries soon followed from Hill and
Berry. More agony was piled on by full back McCabe.
Following up his well conceived up-and-under the ball
bounced square into his arms and he scorched past his
opposite number to touch down. The conversion was
missed but by then who cared as Jarrovians had
triumphed again and everything in the world was fine.
Jarrovians 12 Hartlepool BBOB 27
Jarrovians exited the Durham County Shield let down by
a poor showing in the first half. Their cause wasn't
helped when strapping second row Lindsley was injured
in the first half. Respectability was regained in the
second half through two tries from Gareth Malcolm and
Phil Mcleod, but it was all too late. Skipper Mark
Greenwood was disappointed with his sides first half
performance which he described as lacking in heart.
He did, however single out praise for Colin McGhee
and, in particular Ian Maxwell, who switched from
second row to prop, and gave his seasoned opposite
number a particularly uncomfortable time.
March 19th Jarrovians 14 Houghton II 14
Jarrovians entertained a lively Houghton second team
at Luke's lane in ideal conditions for the open
running rugby their young backs relish. And so the
game panned out with both sides probing for weaknesses
at every opportunity. It was Jarrow who opened the
scoring. Fly-half, Bruce Parker made a break in his
own half and wove his way through a flat-footed
Houghton defence to score under the posts. He
comfortably kicked the conversion and kept up his
remarkable 95% kicking rate, probably the best ever
seen at Jarrow. Houghton, however had reduced the
defecit by half-time with a well worked forwards try
of their own.
Soon after the break Jarrow found themselves trailing
14-7 when the visitors broke through the otherwise
solid defense. As the half progressed the visitors
resolve was severely tested with a series of excellent
back moves from Jarrow. Young David Berry, playing on
the wing seemed to be everywhere. He was looking to
be involved at every opportunity and came off his wing
into superb attacking channels. Gary Archbold junior
is also a natural full-back. His ability to catch the
ball at full tilt is uncanny and his defensive work a
pleasure to behold. With this sort of talent in
Jarrow's armoury it was no surprise when Colin McGhee
blazed his way over through the sluggish Houghton
back-line to score a fine try. Man-of-the-match Bruce
Parker dutifully converted to level the score.
Scenting victory the Jarrow pack went for the jugular.
Ageing veteran Matty Lindsay showed the way and tore
into Houghton with a vengeance. The big strapping, and
strikingly good looking,lock forward Graham Lindsley took
the ball off him and, taking three tacklers with him,
drove for the line. The ruck was formed and the ball found it's way
to Bruce Parker, who sprinted for the line and seemed
certain to score when the Houghton full-back clothes
line tackled him with a stiff arm. An unseemly fracas
broke out and the ref signalled time with the crowd
howling for a penalty try. It wasn't to be and the
game ended in a 14 all draw.
March 12th Durham Constabulary 3 Jarrovians 49
Durham have recently dropped out of the league but Jarrovians travelled the short distance down the A1 expecting nothing less than the traditional hard-fought game they have come to expect over recent seasons. However, despite an early setback when the home side kicked a penalty, Jarrow dominated every phase of play. The police side were never really in it and were chasing the game from that point onwards. The Jarrowmen asserted themselves early on and pushed Durham back into their own twenty two with a series of driving mauls. A scruffy kick from the Durham fullback went straight into the arms of powerful lock forward Graham Lindsley. From ten metres out the try was never in doubt and the second row rampaged through the feeble defence like a mounted poliss through a miner's picket line. The writing was on the wall and Jarrow were on the offensive. Once the Jarrovians backs realised the game was afoot they were unstoppable and went about their business with a ruthless efficiency. There is not a more arresting sight than the young Jarrow b
Jarrovian II's, with 21 available players entertained Winlaton II's and
Mick Harte, who had a man of the match performance as a Winlaton
flanker until a head cut forced his withdrawal.
Jarrovians were always in front in this game running up a 24-0 lead at
half time due to some great defence and excellent forward loose play
setting a platform for the backs to cut through with excellent lines of
running and support play. Chris Macintosh at 8 ably assisted by Rocky
Colman and the evergreen Paul Saddle were a fantastic loose forward
unit and allowed man of the match Martin Husband at 10 to dictate the try
scoring from Garth Malcolm (2), Mark Dobson and Chris Mudge.
5 changes at half time changed the game a touch but still Jarrovians
continued to pull ahead into a 36 - 0 lead which saw fine performances
from Gareth Wright, Ian Carrol, David Berry and Chris Bamford.
Unfortunately Jarrovians settled for the win after 70 minutes and
allowed Winlaton back into the game to score 19 unanswered but not enough
points.
A great team performance and a satisfactory start to the league
campaign.
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