Morpeth 43 West 0

By Dave Picken - September 24 2017
Morpeth 43 West 0
You know you've not had a good day  when you leave a ground hearing the parting words  "We hope you can avoid relegation."  Morpeth were sincere in their best wishes but on this perfomance you could understand the sentiment ...

The resounding defeat put us just above the drop zone fifth from bottom with unbeaten Penrith due to visit Brinkburn next week.
Of course, we went into the game missing a number of the stalwarts from last season through work commitments and injury, and the coaches having a nightmare having to rejig the side as late as Saturday morning.
With playmaker Gavin Painter not able to shake off a shoulder injury,  Will Hilditch came into the centre to partner Peter Youll. Youngsters Ben Armstrong and Adam Peacock started on the wings with Matt Siddle drafted onto the bench.
We did start strongly only for Morpeth to score with their first attack. Ben Armstrong covered a kick down the right wing only to be judged to have "held on with his knees" as he collected on the West line. Morpeth opted to go for a line-out and had little trouble in driving hooker Carl Hill over the line to gain an early seven point advantage.
Their pack dominated the scrum throughout, so it was no surprise when they doubled their lead on 12 minutes. It came from another pushover touched down by flanker Josh Williams, and was followed by a try from centre James Phillips who brushed aside several tackles as he raced in from 15 metres.
At 21-0 with less than a quarter of the game gone we needed some inspiration but could not force our way up the field.
Adam Brown was doing a valiant job as stand in No 8 - having to pick up from the base of a scrum going backwards. However, we could not make any headway with the home backs quick to close down a visiting backline which had never played together as a unit.
Morpeth earned their try bonus point just before the half hour with some strong running from their centres resulting in Alex Tait going over wide on the left - Fraser Boldy missing his shot at the posts for the first time.

Rollins - Morpeth
We turned around 26-0 down and with Matt Siddle replacing Zac Southern at fly half - Craig Hadwen already on for Ross Wood in the front row.
However, the pattern remained the same with flanker Josh Williams reacting quicker then several defenders to pounce on a loose ball in the corner. He soon got his hat trick when he crashed over next to the posts.
Morpeth’s scoring spree ended on the hour with full back Jonny Ward cruising over in the corner to take the score to 43-0.
We continued to plug away and, with Scott Butcher making several breaks,  forced three penalties in the home 22 in an effort to gain a consolation score. Sadly, the attack once again floundered as we were penalized for hanging on.
Butcher continued to be the main attacking force and he chased and caught his own kick up the left wing only to be tackled 10 metres short - having to receive lengthy treatment to an ankle injury to sum up the afternoon.


Morpeth: Jonny Ward, Sam Hornby, Alex Tait, James Phillips, Liam Allen, Fraser Boldy, Jack Elliott, Ben Sandall, Carl Hill (capt), Anthony Moody, Steve Long, Karl Campbell, Ian Burnham, Josh Williams, Matt Dawson.
Replacements (all used): James Armstrong, Blake Robinson, Chase Evans.
Tries: Carl Hill, Jonny Ward, James Phillips, Alex Tait, Josh Williams (3)
Conversions: Fraser Boldy (4 )


West: Luke Mallinson, Ben Armstrong, Peter Youll, Will Hilditch, Adam Peacock, Zac Southern, Ryan Painter (capt), Ross Wood, Andrew Rollins, Alex Key, Michael Hogan, Jake Linighan, John Bunter, Scott Butcher, Adam Brown.
Replacements (all used): Craig Hadwen, Matt Siddle, Kyle Jamieson.
Referee: Tony Manley (Northumberland)

 
Morpeth 43 West 0
Posted by: Official West Hartlepool RFC (IP Logged)
Date: 24/09/2017 10:46


Re: Morpeth 43 West 0
Posted by: Rozzy 1 (IP Logged)
Date: 24/09/2017 12:26

Oh dear ... the REAL test now is how we recover from a bad day like that.

Re: Morpeth 43 West 0
Posted by: Old Chestnut (IP Logged)
Date: 24/09/2017 17:01

Totally agree need a response and it starts at training!... let's hope for a reaction!

Re: Morpeth 43 West 0
Posted by: West Park Allotment (IP Logged)
Date: 25/09/2017 11:11

Credit to the lads who went there knowing they would be in for a tricky afternoon. Well done.

Re: Morpeth 43 West 0
Posted by: Supercodhead (IP Logged)
Date: 25/09/2017 12:05

yes thanks lads >>>I'm now top of the prediction league and looking forward to increasing my lead this week>>Penrith 48 Westies 0>>>>

Re: Morpeth 43 West 0
Posted by: Elmo Wilko (IP Logged)
Date: 25/09/2017 12:07

I started brilliantly SCH on my first week in prediction league but now ..... woeful but looking to bounce back

Re: Morpeth 43 West 0
Posted by: Supercodhead (IP Logged)
Date: 25/09/2017 12:16

its not rocket science young un>>>just take the opposition to win by a lot of points >>>

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