Newark Rugby Club suffer narrow loss against Long Eaton at home

Old rivals met in what was again another close game for both teams.

It was a case of what might have been at Kelham Road as Newark narrowly went down 38-31 to Long Eaton.

Last season saw both sides walk away with one win each in their exchanges and Newark will be hoping to secure the bragging rights when the teams meet again later in the season.

The game was a tight affair throughout which saw Newark gain two bonus points from the match.

One was awarded for losing by less than seven points and the other was a try bonus for scoring four or more tries.

Newark's backs provided some fast play with three tries seeing both wingers, Oli Gilder and Josh Ashe score, and captain Will Britten also cross over the try line.

Not to be left out, forwards Mattie Ashton and Jed Chapple also scored with scrum-half James Tarbatt kicking three conversions throughout the game.

Long Eaton posted the first try on the board after just three minutes which stunned the home crowd.

Newark responded 12 minutes later and a good back-and-forth developed between both teams.

At the half-time break, Long Eaton walked off the field ahead 19-14.

Newark started the second half in fine style with their powerful forwards scoring two tries to give Newark a 24-19 lead.

Long Eaton then responded to put the visitors back in front 26-24.

An incident around the 60-minute mark resulted in a yellow card issued for Long Eaton and a red for Newark lock Will Ellison.

The lead flipped back and forward as Newark again broke ahead before Long Eaton regained the lead.

Long Eaton again crossed over and hit a beautiful conversion to take the lead 33-31.

Newark were awarded a penalty but elected to tap and run.

The resulting play saw Long Eaton successfully defend their line before scoring again but they failed to hit the conversion and the final score stayed at 38-31.

The side will now travel to Melbourne on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).