Bricks league run derailed – Saturday 22nd March; Ashington IIs 36, Bricks 12

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26086313%40N08/collections/

Scores: Trys Joe Melia and Ryan Convery
Conv Joe Snowdon

With most of the Bricks cup team available and Joe Melia, Matty Bell and Ryan Convey on loan from the 3s for the missing positions, we arrived at Ashington with a decent level of confidence following our current run of League victories. This was a good test for us as the week prior Ashington had drawn with Winlaton IIs, our cup final opponents.
Ashington had a squad of about 26 players and a lot of them a decent size, we were thinking scrums could be a struggle. It all started well our scrum was well on top, even stealing their ball. The Ash. hooker compensated by striking very early every time, which was not picked up by the referee.
Our team were flat, we had the ability on the park to win this one, but we were operating at 100 mile an hour, making loads of mistakes; knock on, drops, wrong options and getting caught in our own half and turning over the ball. It was not the controlled game we needed and Ashington lived on scraps and made a break away try from their own half.

High and Lows:
• Billy Bell, Matty’s dad made a return to rugby, but was yellow carded 10 minutes in to his Bricks’ debut, better luck next game.
• Joe Melia and Matty Bell made their 5th appearance this season and were awarded their Bricks polo shirts.
• Ryan & Joe Melia put in 100%,both scoring trys
• Harry and Stu Bailey were hitting everything and stopping them in their tracks.
• Savs and Joe Snowdon made some good breaks, but the defence, notably the 15 from Ashington was good and off loads were not made in time, or the support was not with them.
• Big #21 on the hoof, Joe Melia stripped the ball off him, how silly did he look running without the ball…..

The outcome, one to forget, felt like a game people were trying to stay away from injury for the final, so a lost for a game we should have won and hopefully we got all the silliness out of our systems and next week gives us a final chance against Sunderland IIIs for everyone to turn up this time, in what is another league double header at Blaydon.

1 Paul Winter
2 Keith Winter (Grumpy)
3 Joe Melia (Charlie)
4 Ryan Convery
5 Marge (Billy Bell, yes Matty’s Dad)
6 Harry
7 Strachs
8 Windy (Matty Bell)
9 Stu Bailey
10 Savs
11 Damien (Paul Dingley)
12 Chester
13 Thacks
14 Liam
15 Joe Snowdon