we kept up the pressure and Davy Tighe opened yup the Spoon defence to go blindside form a scrum and send in young Gav Painter to me it 12 all.

It was young legs against some vast experience and bulk and it was the young legs which got the next score. Jonny Boatman showed his class with a  break on the half way line and he outpaced the defence on a diagonal run to the post.

Spoon came back with another show of muscle to score in the corner tot make it 19-19 at the break.

The effort continued in the second half but we only had a Moss penalty to show for it. The Spoon continued to battle and benefited from the loan of Rovers' Andrew Lilley from the West squad [yes that makes sense] and he entertained with some sharp running whenever he got the ball.

But it was the Wooden Spoon forwards who had the last say. With both teams much changed in the last 15 minutes they managed yet another push over try in the op corner in the last minute. It produced one of the most endearing moments of the afternoon when big John Dixon realised the player he was lying on was his 18 year old son Tom who had joined the West back row. Father picked up son only to be grated with the words "doyle!"

There's no other player would have got away with that!

Wooden Sport Match Report from Jon Eagle.....

SpoonAAs successful in the North East.

The SpoonAAs events to celebrate West Hartlepool RUFC’s 125^th Anniversary and as a tribute to long serving New Zealand prop Brett Cullinane were hailed by all as a great success over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Large numbers turned out for the afternoon golf, and the celebration dinner on the Saturday evening, where speakers Dave Stubbs and John Stabler kept the guests amused, along with John Dewhurst who spoke on behalf of Wooden Spoon. All who attended agreed the SpoonAAs objectives of raising awareness, funds and membership through playing rugby were more than met.

Match report 

A superb sunny day with only a gentle sea breeze meant ideal conditions for running rugby for SpoonAAs visit to Hartlepool and West did the SpoonAAs the honour of fielding a full first team who were clearly well coached and organised by coaches Stubbs and Stabler .

The SpoonAAs invitation side who were captained by ex West and North second row Kevin Westgarth fielded a good blend of youth and experience, and were well marshalled by ex Leeds Tykes half backs Jon Swarbrigg and Dan Eddie. The SpoonAAs also had the game’s outstanding runner in Hartlepool Rovers full back Andrew Lilley, but ultimately it was to be their forwards who were to prove the difference between the sides. 

The opening exchanges were dominated by SpoonAAs who gained most of the early possession and quickly established a 7 – 0 lead through a try from ex west legend John Dixon converted by Eddie. At this stage the guest side clearly had the edge, particularly in the back row where man of the match Tim Fourie and openside Shaun Cassidy were to the fore. Within ten minutes the SpoonAAs team combined well again to put together several phases of play before stretching West wide, first to the right corner and then swift handling to the left, allowed  Andrew Lilley to go over.

West hit back with two tries to level at 12 all before prop Paul Beal (also ex West) was driven over under the posts, Eddie goaled to move the SpoonAAs 19 – 12 clear. The young and lighter West team however continued to apply pressure and after a sustained period of attacking in the opposition 22, the SpoonAAs made a mistake as they tried to counter attack to gift West a converted try just on half time. 

In the second half, the crowd of over 300 supporters, including well known names such as ex England Stand Off Alan Old and ex West stars, John Benson, Craig Lee, Derek Boyd and James Pontin, were kept hugely entertained as both teams played open running rugby. The SpoonAAs not surprisingly did opt for the odd kick to touch to gain some rest as some of the older invitation players began to tire, and at this stage it looked as though West fitness would win through. 

With 10 minutes left the scores were still tied as John Dixon was greeted with huge applause as he retook the field to play against his son. The West side swept down field and were awarded a penalty 30m out, stand off Moss took the 3 points on offer to try to secure a home win 22-19. However SpoonAAs were not to be outdone and their forwards rallied to drive down field and match manager Shaun Cassidy was driven over with the last play of the match to give a final score of 24 – 22 and SpoonAAs their first victory of the season.

 Thanks to all the players and supporters who made the event a great success.

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