Claydon picks up the baton again
Charlie Claydon will lead Newark Rugby Club into the second half of the league season following the serious injury sustained by captain Ed Collishaw last month.
Claydon will captain Newark tomorrow against Wellingborough at Kelham Road (2.15pm) in the first match in Midlands Two East following the Christmas break.
The back row forward has a successful track record as captain following his spell in steering Newark to promotion from Midlands Three in the 2002-03 season.
He takes over the captaincy after Collishaw broke a leg in the final game before Christmas at Syston. He has had surgery on the injury and looks set to miss the rest of the season.
Newark lost at Syston to conclude a disappointing December when they were also beaten by another team challenging for promotion, Ampthill, from Bedfordshire.
Those two defeats leave Newark in fifth place, five points behind Ampthill who lead the table by three points from Dunstablians and Scunthorpe.
The match against Wellingborough also sees a special lunch to mark the 50th anniversary of stalwarts Brian Fisher and Bob Benbow’s involvement with the Kelham Road club as both players and officials. Both are former presidents of Newark.
Frost caused Newark’s intended A team match to be cancelled on Saturday at Hinckley. The game had been arranged to keep players fit for the league matches ahead, but the weather intervened.
Newark Colts also went without rugby at the weekend when their scheduled match against Paviors was postponed on Sunday.
Before Christmas the Kelham Road youth team had produced one of their best performances by beating Mansfield 16-5. It was a first defeat for the visitors at this age-group for two years.
Newark 3rds 54 - Market Rasen 5
Three tries from wing Tom Hill propelled Newark to a big win over Market Rasen.
Bryan Loftus contributed two more in a victory by ten tries to one. The other scorers were Tom Holmes, Toby Edlin, Daley Edwards and Steve Hodge, while Dan Harrison and Edwards kicked a conversion each.
Newark 4ths 22 - Southwell 2nds 26
Dave Rimmer returned to Kelham Road to help Southwell 2nds to a closely-fought win in a Pennant match. The former Newark outside-half made a rare appearance in a season restricted by injury.
Newark kept in the hunt thanks to an excellent second half try from Rob Archer. Other points came from tries by Guy Beale, Chris Wildgust and Martin Brown, with Wildgust also kicking a conversion.
The Redmen replied with tries from Nathan Dixon (2) Reece Dixon, Richard Wagstaff plus three conversions from Wagstaff.
Southwell led 26-10 at one stage before Newark mounted a fightback in a cracking game of rugby watched by a large crowd, with the result hinging on the Redmen having converted three from four conversions compared to the home side’s one success.
It was not a perfect example of rugby, with mistakes and errors on both sides, but it was a full-blooded encounter played in the right way by both sides, with a nailbiting climax.
The man of the match decision for Southwell wasn’t easy, with so many players standing out, but front rowers Simon Emerson and Chris Blackburn gave Newark no respite in the scrum, and scrum-half Ed Hammond also caught the attention with a tough display.
He linked well with another man of the match contender Dave Rimmer, with the pair often at the centre of the visitors’ best play.
There were again good performances from Under-17 players Alex Smith and Len Jackson, and there was another excellent game for Rich Hayes, who keeps finding himself out in the centres but tackled well.
But man of the match was awarded to flanker Toby Shearwood who worked tirelessly all match and was constantly securing the loose ball ahead of a strong Newark back row.
Popular Park Lane figure James Burley faces a tough weekend as he and his Southwell 1st XV team-mates will be facing up to league rivals Kes-teven in a make or break match at Park Lane tomorrow.
Then on Sunday morning he will also lead the impressive Southwell Under-17s squad to Mansfield for a top of the table clash that will go a long way to deciding their title and promotion aspirations.
As 1st XV vice-captain, Burley has been a regular member of the squad and, along with skipper Nick Dunsworth and coach Derek Smith, will be looking to secure two valuable league points against an improved Kesteven side (2.15pm kick-off).
Southwell 2nd XV, nicknamed Death’s Reapers, will also be looking for league points in their match at Kesteven, and will be seeking some revenge after their narrow loss at home earlier in the season.
Paul Orgill will be gathering his Southwell 3rd XV troops for their match at home to their Kesteven counterparts.
With the absence of Under-17 head coach Charlie Anstey this weekend, assistant coach Burley leads the table-topping junior Redmen against second- placed Mansfield in their league match at Eakring Road.
It promises to be a fast and furious match up as the Under-17s look to extend their unbeaten run to 14 games in all competitions, while Mansfield look to close the gap in the title race (11am kick-off).
