Ready for a cup cracker
Newark Rugby Club start their defence of the Three Counties Cup tomorrow at home to Mansfield, after a disappointing defeat at Paviors that has dented their promotion hopes in Midlands Two East.
A 19-15 loss has left Newark in fourth place, a point behind third-placed Paviors and seven adrift of leaders Ampthill.
The match against Mansfield at Kelham Road, kick-off 2.15 pm, is being looked upon as a welcome breather from the hectic league campaign which continues in the next two weeks with games against Dunstablians and at Ampthill.
Newark are likely to field a makeshift XV against Mansfield because of injuries and unavailability, including the absence of captain Charlie Claydon.
The problems were highlighted on Saturday when Newark had to call upon former regulars, flanker Mark Coles and lock Jon Evans.
Coles started his first game for two years while Evans, a regular last season, came on late in the second half for his seasonal debut. He has not played this campaign because of heavy work commitments.
Despite the changes, Newark should still have won at Burntstump. An excellent opening period saw the visitors dominate but they needed more than one try from prop Harry Pick, converted by Danny Coen.
Coen added a penalty later in the half to put Newark 10-0 ahead, only for the match to swing towards Paviors at the end of the first half when number eight Tim Eggleshaw forced his way through after the visitors failed to clear their lines.
Paviors struck again after half-time to take a 12-10 lead to set up a ferocious second half that was a credit to both sides.
Though Newark were against the elements, they still enjoyed some good periods of pressure and had a number of chances. The only one taken was when Aloesi “Buddha” Waqalevu scored from his first touch on the right-hand side.
However, Paviors had the final say when Eggleshaw again forced his way over from a move off a line-out. An excellent match finished with Newark attacking once more, but the winning score proved elusive.
Waqalevu was one of three substitutes used. The other was debutant James Wood, a former Colts hooker.
Newark 2nds 10 - Paviors 5
Second half tries from Angus Spencer and Sam Sibilski helped Newark 2nds complete a third win in a week following wins over Derby and West Bridgford.
Newark turned round 5-0 down in a closely-fought match but proved the stronger after the interval.
The win followed a Pennant win over Derby and an easier victory against Bridgford in the Ron Rossin Shield.
Newark’s 3rd and 4th XVs both went without games because opponents cried off late.
Minis results, Newark Under-8s 60 (tries — James Brogden 6, Matt Thompson 2, James Harding 2, Ronan Matts, Elliott Garnett), Retford 45.
Newark Under-8s 90 (tries —Tom Evans 7, Tom Marsh 3, Scott Illsey 3, Harvey Raynor 2, Archie Alton 2, Charlie Harris), Derby 85.
Southwell 1sts 18 - Ashfield 14
Cometh the hour cometh the man, or in this case club hero Dave “Lodgey” Milner as he rescued the Redmen with a match-winning try in the dying minutes of their league game at Park Lane on Saturday.
Milner scored two tries in a man of the match performance, with Southwell again struggling because of absences.
It took until the second half for the Redmen to galvanise themselves into action against the much improved visitors.
At one point the home side found themselves staring down the barrel of a gun, trailing 14-3 with only a Dave Rimmer penalty to show for their efforts.
Following the break the Redmen rallied and came back at the visitors, with George Machin scoring a try before Milner took over the show.
The much needed win for the Redmen will hopefully inspire them to ensure Midlands Four East rugby at Park Lane next season.
Ashfield 27 - Southwell 2nds 29
The Reapers travelled to Ashfield on a day of confusion that started with late arrivals and ended with the Southwell players leaving the pitch believing that they had lost before further discussions confirmed a narrow win.
Tries came from Ollie Collingham (2) Ollie Greenacre, Reece Dixon and Toby Shearwood, while Paul Orgill and Eugene Joshi added conversions.
Market Rasen 0 - Southwell U-17s 50
Another long journey awaited the players, supporters and parents of Anstey’s Army, but they were rewarded with tries from Alex Berry (2) Josh Hart (2) Finn Turner, Dan Benson, Drew Shearwood and Sam Hedley, with Hedley kicking five conversions.
Southwell U-15s 10 - Sleaford 5
Southwell Under-15s emulated the club’s 1st XV the previous day by winning their game against Sleaford with the last play of the match with a try from Jamie Dinning to add to an earlier one from speedy winger Ewan Millar.
