Saturday 16 November 2024
Blaydon 33 Percy Park 0
Regional 1 North East
(HT: 19-0)
Percy Park made the short journey to Crow Trees on Saturday for this eagerly anticipated North East derby, our first senior fixture against Blaydon for many a long year. Sadly, for both players and supporters alike, it was very much a damp squib from a Park perspective. Never really in the game from the start, Park struggled to hold a clearly fired up home side and in truth, it could have been worse, Blaydon spurning a number of chances through their own errors and some dogged defending. It has been some time since Park have been unable to trouble the scoreboard in a game and the body language from the players at the end of the match clearly showed how much the result hurt. For coach Keith Laughlin, former Blaydon player, captain and coach, it was not quite the return he was hoping for.
There were several changes in the Park side from that which suffered the narrow defeat to York last week. Toby Davison returned to the left wing in place of Jacob German, Sam Digman returned to the front row in place of Sean Nairn, Jonny Dubois moved to the back row in place of Euan Smart with Louis Adamson replacing him at hooker and Fraser McGlashan coming into the second row in place of the injured Josh Hedley. On the replacements bench, Adam Hay joined Tom Robinson and the returning Jake Smith.
On a dry, generally overcast, breezy and cold afternoon, Blaydon kicked off and almost immediately Park were defending their try line. A penalty for not releasing in the tackle had Blaydon kick into the left corner with centre Alex Clark on a crash ball held up on the line but although the visitors were able to clear their lines, Blaydon were quickly back on the attack, another Park infringement (off their feet) gifting the home side territory deep in the Park 22. The catch and drive was held on the line with Blaydon eventually knocking on but the home side were rewarded for their early dominance on 9 minutes, when, after Park were penalised for crossing on halfway, Blaydon had a lineout on the Park 22. As the maul formed, Blaydon scrum half John Clarkson spotted the space on the blindside and his short pass had wing Jack Appleton sprint in to score wide out on the left. Clarkson was unsuccessful with the conversion (5-0).
From the restart, Park were again straight on the defensive, illegally stopping a huge 20 metre rolling maul and somehow managing to manouvre the resultant Blaydon catch and drive into touch almost on the try line. With the visitors unable to get a foot hold in the game the damn had to break again and it duly did on 19 minutes, the Blaydon fullback Kevin Slow receiving the ball in midfield with seemingly nowhere to go but two dummies later he was touching down to the left of the posts, not a hand laid on him, for an excellent individual try. Clarkson converted (12-0). There was a suspicion of a home knock on in the build up before the fullback received the ball, but referee Matt Arrowsmith was unsighted.
As the first quarter ended, Park had yet to enter the home 22, and an awful restart gave Blaydon possession at a scrum on halfway. Clarkson made an excellent break and when tackled the home side knocked on at the breakdown with the Park defence in disarray. Park at last began to get some meaningful possession but mistakes and ill discipline littered their game. The one bright spot for the visitors was prop Sam Digman, who had his opponent in the scrum in all sorts of bother and it was a scrum penalty that led to our first visit into the Blaydon 22. The resultant penalty was kicked deep into the Blaydon 22 on the right and the resultant catch and drive was held up almost on the Blaydon line. Park spent the next few moments battering the home defence but it held firm and a Park infringement enabled them to clear. As the half drew to a close, another excellent break from Blaydon scrumhalf Clarkson almost had Slow in again but the Blaydon fullback spilled the ball with the try line at his mercy. If Park thought the danger was over, they were wrong; an awful clearance from the drop out was fielded by Blaydon centre Nathan Bailey who ran straight, evaded several tackles to touch down under the posts on 37 minutes, Clarkson converting the try (19-0). The last couple of minutes saw Park gain some possession and territory but they were unable to score.
HT: Blaydon 19 Percy Park 0
The second half began as the first had done, with Blaydon on the attack. A kick ahead had the Park defence scrambling but the ball rolled over the dead ball line. Injuries to both Park halfbacks meant changes with fullback Jordan Carey moving to standoff and replacement Tom Robinson coming on as scrumhalf to replace Andrew Walker though, to his great credit, Walker hobbled back on to take over as fullback and back row Matthew French ended the game as an emergency centre. On 52 minutes Blaydon scored again when the home side turned over the ball at a ruck, the ball being moved at speed left for centre Alex Clark to run in, Clarkson converting the try (26-0).
The passage of play over the next few minutes really did sum up Park’s day. From the restart, the visitors gained a penalty which was kicked into the right corner. The catch and drive was held by the home defence but Park gained a 5 metre scrum from which they again attacked the Blaydon try line but they knocked on. Blaydon won a penalty from the resulting scrum and cleared their lines and two quick infringements later, Blaydon had kicked their way back in the Park 22.
As the game entered the final quarter, Park managed to put some pressure on the home team. Blaydon were penalised twice in quick succession (not releasing in the tackle and a high tackle) and both times Park kicked to the Blaydon 22 but, yet again, on both occasions the ball was too easily turned over. A kick ahead by Clarkson was well fielded by wing Toby Davison who stormed forward and a great exchange of passes with Sam Digman seemed to put the visitors on the front foot but one of the passes was called forward and the brief Park momentum was stalled. Blaydon attacked off the scrum, on halfway, and former Park player Ethan Clarke, the home No8, crashed through two or three weak tackles to score on 35 minutes, the try being converted by Clarkson (33-0).
Blaydon sensed another score and were immediately on the attack from the restart, Clarkson again to the fore but they made a hash of an attacking 5 metre lineout and another great run from Davison cleared the danger. As the clock ticked down, Blaydon saw the game out with ease but there was no further score.
FT: Blaydon 33 Percy Park 0
Another tough day at the office with Park just not at the (Blaydon) races. In truth, on the day Blaydon were much the better side and thoroughly deserved their victory and the final score did not flatter them; it could have been worse. Injured player/coach Ash Smith summed up the day: “We were just awful. No excuses, we were. Yes, the injury list and the injuries we had today didn’t help but what is so frustrating is that we are so, so much better than that. We were sluggish and just never got going. We will review it and look to see what went wrong and why but we are all so disappointed. At least there is a rest week now and we may have some players back by the time we next play”.
For the home side, John Clarkson deservedly won the man-of-the-match award but standoff Rhys Burt and both centres Clark and Bailey were all excellent. The Blaydon back row also played well, and Park could never really get on the front foot. Sam Digman was excellent and injured player Marc Cook, a fellow member of the front row union, was vociferous in his belief that Sam had won a penalty at every scrum, though referee Arrowsmith clearly didn’t think so! Matthew French and Toby Davison both tried to get some go forward into Park’s game and played well in a losing effort. Errors and ill-discipline did not help matters and our defence was at times poor. Blaydon were gracious in victory, and we thank them for their excellent hospitality and for a good, hard game, if not the result. We look forward to the return fixture in March. Our thanks also to referee Matt Arrowsmith without whom there is no game.
Blaydon celebrated a clean sweep against Park over the weekend. On Friday evening, the Colts suffered a heavy 55-19 defeat to their Blaydon counterparts under the Crow Trees lights and at Preston Avenue on Saturday, Blaydon Georgians triumphed 24-29 over the Lions. This coming weekend, both the 1st XV and the Lions have a rest weekend but on Sunday, the Colts travel to Billingham (KO 1pm) and also on Sunday, the Panthers make a welcome return to action as they travel the short distance to take on Rockcliff, KO 2pm. All support would be most welcome.