Match Report – Northumberland Development v Durham Development XV
Wednesday 8th February – Druid Park
A freezing cold night at Druid Park saw Northumberland Senior Development Squad take on a Durham Senior Development Squad in what proved to be a valuable exercise and an enjoyable experience for all of the players involved.
The original venue should have been Billingham however with the pitches frozen the decision was taken to move the game to Druid Park. The game started fast and furious with some good tackling in the midfield by both sides, the Northumberland forwards then started to show their strength and dominance in the loose play with the eventual benefactor being the Percy Park loose head prop Jo Waffer.
Then came a period of fast flowing play by Northumberland resulting in two quick fire tries by Ali Blair (Percy Park) and Alex Clarke (Northern). However Durham where not about to give up as they battled away in the loose with their forwards and created some good scoring chances for both forwards and backs. After a long period of Durham pressure Northumberland turned over a scrum and Jack Davidson (Percy Park) scored a good opportunists try which proved to be one of a brace he managed to bag on the night before half time. Another score in the first half came through good movement by James Phillips (Morpeth) coming into the line from full back.
The second half started with Durham looking much the stronger side and this resulted in all of the Northumberland replacements finding it hard to adapt and get into the game. After a stoppage which seemed to take an age in the conditions, Northumberland through Captain Greg Dixon (Percy Park) took the game back to Durham with some good driving play from himself and some of the tight five. After several phases Phillips managed to grab his second try of the night after some good interlinking play between forwards and backs. This was soon followed by a real wingers try by Oli Walker (Northern) who squeezed himself through the smallest of gaps to score in the corner.
Still Durham came at Northumberland and refusing to be walked over they showed great spirit and were rewarded with a fantastic try under the posts after some first class play touched down by Oliver Lines (Sedgefield)
Northumberland finished the night off with scores for Hamilton (Alnwick) who made a huge impact when coming off the bench with some strong runs through the midfield, also Cawthorn (Tynedale) who linked well at 7 between forwards and backs and the final score of the night was a real poachers try by wing Mark Smith (Tynedale)
The final score was Northumberland 66 Durham 5
Many thanks once again to all of those involved especially George Robson, Dave Guthrie, Ruth Scott and Albi Duhrin.
1 Jo Waffer Percy Park
2 Carl Hill Ashington
3 Karl Cambell Morpeth
4 Phil Ludford Northern
5 Aaron Hall Berwick
6 Ben Bell Morpeth
7 Jack Davidson Percy Park
8 Greg Dixon (C) Percy Park
9 Adam Faulkner Gosforth
10 Phil Morse Percy Park
11 Ali Blair Percy Park
12 Alex Clarke Northern
13 Ash Smith Percy Park
14 James Bird Alnwick
15 James Phillips Morpeth
Replacements
Gareth Black Berwick
Daren Oliver Alnwick
Ed Cawthorn Tynedale
Paddy Harper Northern
Frank Huitchinson Alnwick
James Hamilton Alnwick
Jo Forsyth Morpeth
Oliver Walker Northern
Mark Smith Tynedale
Marcus Welsh Tynedale
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Same again England to face Italy
ENGLAND today named an unchanged 22 to play Italy in Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations match at Stadio Olimpico.
Seven players were capped for the first time in the Calcutta Cup win over Scotland and the same starting XV and bench will travel to Rome.
Head Coach Stuart Lancaster said: "We have had a good week in spite of the weather and reflected on the game, reviewed and learnt from it and will look to improve the quality of our performance this week.
“We have decided to leave the starting team the same to allow them more time to gel together and we are expecting our bench to come on and make an impact as they did last week. Italy will be a very difficult challenge with nearly 700 caps in their starting line-up and it promises to be an outstanding occasion at the sold-out Stadio Olimpico.”
England
15 Ben Foden (Northampton Saints)
14 Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints)
13 Brad Barritt (Saracens)
12 Owen Farrell (Saracens)
11 David Strettle (Saracens)
10 Charlie Hodgson (Saracens)
9 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
1 Alex Corbisiero (London Irish)
2 Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
4 Mouritz Botha (Saracens)
5 Tom Palmer (Stade Francais)
6 Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers)
7 Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt)
8 Phil Dowson (Northampton Saints)
Replacements
16 Rob Webber (London Wasps)*
17 Matt Stevens (Saracens)
18 Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers)
19 Ben Morgan (Scarlets)
20 Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints)
21 Jordan Turner-Hall (Harlequins)
22 Mike Brown (Harlequins)
*Uncapped
Joe Simpson (London Wasps) and Joe Marler (Harlequins) will travel as reserves.
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North Under 18 coach in confident mood
NORTH Under 18s RU Head Coach Peter Taylor is in very positive mood as he looks ahead to his first Divisional Championship in charge at Broadstreet RFC, Coventry on the weekend of February 17/19.
The former Harrogate and Yorkshire lock joined the Under 18 set-up this season and has been delighted with every aspect of the preparations and the attitude of the North squad.
“I know that last season Martin Pepper had plenty of problems with the weather which disrupted his build-up to the Divisional Festival, but this year we’ve been very lucky with our plans and we’ve had everything we were looking for,” says ex-RAF man Taylor. “We had a trial at West Park Leeds, where we pruned the squad to 26 and we followed that up with a Development Weekend at Altrincham Grammar and a game against Sale Academy.
“We beat Sale 26-0, which was a really good result and a massive positive in getting us up and running.
“From my perspective, I couldn’t have asked for more in terms of where we’ve got the players to and now we’re really looking forward to the game against the South West.
“The amount of rugby that has been watched even before we got to the trial stage has been huge and trial was very competitive. So we’ve accumulated a plethora of information about the lads and I think we’ve got the selection process right.
“The lads all deserve to be there and they’ve all bought into it. Hopefully we can now have a good get-together in Leeds this coming weekend.
"We’re a team that won’t rely on star individuals, but in pulling together as a group. They’re a cracking bunch of lads and the general mood amongst the other members of the coaching team who were part of the preparations last year is that we are well advanced and set up to do well.
"The North play their first game on Friday week (February 17) against the South West under floodlights at Broadstreet (kick-off 5pm). Two days later they face the Midlands at 11am.
Durham’s Guy Van Den Dries, one of six Barnard Castle players in the team, will captain the side.
North Under 18s: Matthew Dudman (Prince Henry's Otley, Leeds Carnegie & Yorkshire), Sebastian Tullie (Bradford GS, Otley & Yorkshire), Bruce Clegg (Barnard Castle & Durham), Michael Haley (Myerscough College & Lancashire), Ralph Dowds (King Edward VII, Lytham & Lancashire), Alec Beaumont (Barnard Castle & Durham), Peter Weightman (Gosforth HS, Northern & Northumberland), William Boardman (Leeds Grammar School), Otley & Yorkshire), Nathan Bailey (Gosforth HS, Gosforth RFC & Northumberland), Sam Allen (QEGS, Wakefield, Doncaster & Yorkshire), James Flynn (Stockport GS, Manchester & Cheshire), Matthew Beaumont (Bradford GS & Yorkshire), Alec Clarey (Barnard Castle & Durham), Conor McGrath (Myerscough College & Lancashire), Luke Cole (Prince Henry's, Otley, Old Brodleians & Yorkshire), Jacob Nickson (Arnold School, Fylde & Lancashire), Oliver Parkinson (Myerscough College & Lancashire), Daniel Potts (Barnard Castle & Durham), Declan Dunn (Prince Henry's, Otley, Sheffield & Yorkshire), Cameron Neild (Manchester GS, Sale Sharks & Cheshire), Liam Riley (East Durham, Darlington Mowden Park & Durham), Guy Van Den Dries (Barnard Castle & Durham), Anthony Harrison (Barnard Castle & Durham).
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Teenage contingent boosts North Senior Women's team
NORTHERN candidates for a place on the pathway to representative honours with the England Women’s RU team will be hoping to put down a marker this weekend when the first game of this season’s divisional programme is held at Sheffield RFC’s Abbeydale headquarters on Sunday, February 12 (2pm).
The RFUW Divisional Programme, which embraces Under 15, Under 18 and Senior players, forms an integral part of the RFUW Player Pathway, which can see players progressing from club rugby to representing their county, their division and their country, with Emily Braund, who got her first cap for England last weekend in the RBS 6 Nations match against Scotland, the latest example of a player who has followed that route.
Players selected for the Divisional Programme have been chosen by their Constituency Body and if they are successful at that level, the can earn an England trial or qualify for the Under 18s and Under 15s RFUW National Talent Development Groups.
The composition of the North Senior squad which opens the programme in South Yorkshire on Sunday, weather permitting, is one which excites Rob Thompson, the North’s Talent Development Officer.
“I’m very pleased with the make-up of the squad and really looking forward to seeing the team in action,” he says: “I’m delighted that six players have progressed from last season’s Under 18s into the senior squad and that we have eight new players to Divisional rugby involved.
“This season the North squad has a lot of new faces and the fight to get in was tougher than last season. The squad is not only looking to improve on last season’s one win, but to develop each of the players and enable them to push forward this season to be more involved in the England player pathway.”
The North Senior Women’s squad is: Danielle Wiseman (Waterloo, Lancashire); Meadhbh Westwood (Waterloo, Lancashire), Vicky Pinks (Leeds Met, Yorkshire), Ashleigh Neale (Birkenhead Park, Cheshire), Julie Hope (Carlisle, Cumbria); Alessandra Lewis (Waterloo, Lancashire), Claire Shutler (Saracens, Lancashire); Sarah Batley (Leeds Met, Yorkshire), Rachael Thomas (Waterloo, Lancashire), Charlotte Evans (Sheffield, Yorkshire), Lucy Brook (Waterloo, Lancashire), Daria Hinz (Waterloo, Lancashire), Corinne Allmark (Waterloo, Lancashire), Ruth Nash (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, Yorkshire), Abbie Scott (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, Northumberland)
Replacements: Fran Walker (Waterloo, Lancashire), Emma Hutchinson (Waterloo, Lancashire), Heike Niemand (Leodiensians, Yorkshire), Jenny Evans (Unattached, Cumbria), Stephanie Veal (Waterloo, Lancashire), Danae Zamboulis (Birkenhead Park, Cheshire), Victoria Britland (Team Northumbria, Northumberland).
The programme: February 12: Seniors - North v London & SE, Doncaster, KO 2pm; February 19: Under 18s – Midlands v North, Five Ways, KO 245pm; Under 15s – Midlands v North, Five Ways, KO 1pm; February 26: Seniors - North v Midlands, Blackwell Meadows, Darlington, KO 2pm. March 18: Seniors – South West v North, Stroud RFC, KO 3pm; U18s – South West v North, Stroud RFC, KO 1.15pm.
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Northumberland Development Team to play against Durham Development, Wednesday 8th February 2012, 7.30pm at Druid Park.
1 Jo Waffer Percy Park
2 Carl Hill Ashington
3 Karl Campbell Morpeth
4 Phil Ludford Northern
5 Aaron Hall Berwick
6 Ben Bell Morpeth
7 Jack Davidson Percy Park
8 Greg Dixon (C) Percy Park
9 Adam Faulkner Gosforth
10 Phil Morse Percy Park
11 Ali Blair Percy Park
12 Alex Clarke Northern
13 Ash Smith Percy Park
14 James Bird Alnwick
15 James Phillips Morpeth
Replacements
Jon Coffey Northern
Gareth Black Berwick
Darren Oliver Alnwick
Ed Cawthorn Tynedale
Paddy Harper Northern
Frank Hutchinson Alnwick
James Hamilton Alnwick
Jo Forsythe Morpeth
Oliver Walker Northern
Mark Smith Tynedale
Marcus Welsh Tynedale
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