Calm Newport weather the storm as All Blacks slip up
Newport head coach Bob Adams was delighted his side weathered the storm on and off the pitch to keep their title charge on track.
Torrential rain over Saturday morning had left a large amount of standing water on the pitch at the Old Showground and it was only through the hard work of a dedicated group of volunteers who forked and swept the surface that the game took place at all.
When the match did get under way, Midlands Premier leaders Newport battled to a 20-10 victory over Broadstreet and now lead second-placed Sheffield by six points, with a game in hand.
And Adams – also Newport’s director of rugby – commented: “In the context of where we are in the season and given the weather conditions a win was the most important outcome on Saturday.
“A bonus point would have been nice, but Broadstreet came here to defend and the weather conditions were certainly a leveller. As a group what we must realise is that we can take nothing for granted.
“Every team in this league is capable of a performance on their day. We must be ready every week and continue to take one game at time.”
A minute’s applause took place before the game to remember the life of Jack Jeffery, who died following an injury sustained playing for Evesham the previous weekend.
The wind was probably the strongest it has been all season at the Old Showground an,d combined with the finger-numbing cold, was never going to make for flowing open rugby.
Newport chose to play up the hill and into the wind in the first half, which as expected was a very hard slog. They did, however, cut loose after 25 minutes when Tom Cowell, George Castledine and Nemani Rayabo combined to set up a chance that the jet-heeled James Morton finished.
Broadstreet used the wind well, pinning Newport in their 22, and after 31 minutes the visitors’ pressure resulted in a try from a driving maul off a lineout.
Newport had several more visits to the Broadstreet 22, which were however fruitless, and the opponent’s ability to clear their lines with a kick that at least ended up in Newport’s 22 and in one case the in-goal area proved hard work indeed.
The hosts started the second half brightly with some early pressure that saw Jake Leonard slot over a penalty after 44 minutes – and five minutes later they regained the ball in their own 22 from a scrum and Castledine’s wonderful crossfield kick found Toby Evans, who combined with Leonard to feed Henry Vaka for the try.
Newport added to the scoring in rather bizarre fashion in the 63rd minute when a pass was taken by the wind, bounced off Leonard’s head and fell to Evans, who dotted down.
Newport had several opportunities to get the bonus point, but the strong wind that had made passing so difficult all day thwarted a number of efforts. And it was Broadstreet who would get the final score after grinding their way up the field by using their driving maul to good effect.
Newport are at home to Oundle this Saturday in a fixture rearranged from earlier in the season – kick-off 2.15pm.
Meanwhile, Bridgnorth endured a tough away day at Nuneaton on Saturday, as they slipped 15 points off the pace set by county rivals Newport.
The hosts struck first with a converted try, with the All Blacks struggling to create any clear-cut scoring opportunities and losing scrum-half Conor Barker to a hamstring injury.
Jordan Burgess went close to scoring but was held up over the line.
A scrum infringement resulted in a penalty, which the hosts’ fly-half converted to extend the score to 10-0 after half-time.
Bridgnorth then lost the ball close to their own line to fall 17-0 behind , but North then enjoyed their best period of the game after half-time and, following a good catch and drive from a lineout, Marley Finn was able to sprint in at the corner for an unconverted score.
Nuns bagged their third try before Finn completed the scoring with another moment of individual skill, fielding a kick in his own half and spotting a gap in the visitors’ defence to touch down under the posts to round off a 24-12 defeat.
Bridgnorth have a break from action this weekend before hosting bottom side Oundle on March 5.
Whitchurch were beaten 24-0 by Stratford-upon-Avon in Midlands One West, but Ludlow’s match fell victim to the weather. Whitchurch have no game this weekend, while Ludlow host Lichfield.
Clee Hill overcame Cleobury Mortimer 17-9 in one of only two games to survive in Midlands Three West (North)m, while neither Market Drayton or Oswestry got on the field in Midlands Four West (North).
There was, however, a full programme in Midlands Five West (South) – including Bishop’s Castle & Onny Valley’s 27-10 defeat at Bloxwich.
