Persistent rain throughout the day had made for a sodden outfield at the University sports ground in the shadow of Kingston Park and from the outset it never looked like being a day for throwing the ball around. The playing surface was in immaculate condition but the ball was like the proverbial bar of soap, sliding through hands and skidding around the greasy pitch.
As well as the tough conditions West had to cope with some late changes to the starting lineup. Andy Cheslin and Gav Robinson came into the backs in place of Darren Thomas and Peter Hodgson with Stephen Stockdale and Ross Wood switching places between the front-row and the bench.
Team Northumbria started by far the brighter and with 10 minutes gone it had been all the home side and was looking like being a long afternoon. Thankfully we saw out the pressure without conceding a point and, after a good break from Andrew Foreman moved play from one end of the field to the other, it was Northumbria who struggled to clear and our turn to spend time in the opposing 22.
A couple of opportunities went begging - Stu Waites missed a shot at goal and then dropped a pass with an overlap outside but eventually on 33 minutes Gav Robinson broke the deadlock with a good straight run off Gareth Foreman to go over from 5 metres. Waites missed the simple conversion and from the restart we conceded a penalty which Joe Rowntree slotted over to peg the lead back immediately.
Gareth Foreman saw a speculative long range penalty drift wide with the last kick of the first half but we went into the break by far the more encouraged of the two sides. The defensive effort and scrapping for loose balls had been impressive but once the second half got underway the level of intensity was raised again.
The forwards became an unstoppable force, retaining the ball superbly and every man making ground when asked. In defence we hounded and pounced on any mistakes and made life difficult in every area for Team Northumbria.
Jon Boatman finished off a series of barnstroming runs from his forward colleagues with a try on 50 minutes. The skipper the beneficiary of some good vision from Gareth Foreman who spotted a defensive shortage on the blind side and switched play well. Boatman then went on to add a second score 10 minutes later, once again following great work from the forwards. After several lunges for the line, Boatman surged through and somehow got the ball down as he was tackled.
The forward dominance had taken it's toll on the home side but they finally showed what they could do with the ball in hand on 64 minutes, spreading play wide and sending centre McKenzie on an arching run before releasing winger Whittingham who finished well. Rowntree made no mistake with the conversion and brought Northumbria back into the game only 10-15 behind.
We didn't panic though and stuck with what had been working well throughout the half. The forwards gave another masterclass in ball retention, starting with a maul on half way and then battering their way up the field with phase after phase of runners breaking through the gain-line. It was left to replacement Stephen Stockdale to finish things off, the prop smashing his way over to stretch the lead again with 9 minutes left.
Rowntree had the final say by adding a penalty for Team Northumbria with the last kick of the match to earn them a losing bonus, but it couldn't take the gloss of a fantastic performance for West, set up by terrific defensive work and showing the sort of intensity which has often been lacking away from Brinkburn.
West: Waites (Watson), Butcher, C Cheslin, G Robinson, A Cheslin, G Foreman, A Foreman, Carr, Bailey, Wood (Stockdale), Davies, T Dixon, D Boatman, J Boatman, Howard (Miller).
Tries: G Robinson, J Boatman 2, Stockdale
Team Northumbria: Rowntree, Whittington, McKenzie, Smith, Bellon, Harper, Webb, Edler, Entressengle, Cookson, Schofield, Coleman, Watt, Fedo, Ludford. Reps: Holtam, Nutley, Hamer.
Try: Whittington
Con: Rowntree.
Pens: Rowntree 2.
Referee: Michael Harris [Northumberland].