Newark push Long Eaton Rugby Club all the way at Kelham Road

A minute’s silence was held before the home match against Long Eaton at Newark Rugby Club, for club stalwarts Dick Barnsdale and Christine Fergusson who both died recently.

Newark 1sts almost caused a major upset after they put in an excellent showing against the league leaders, narrowly going down 35-29 in the Regional Division Two North Midlands fixture.

It was, according to spectators, a cracking match that saw Newark push Long Eaton in the best match of the season so far at Kelham Road.

Will Britten’s improving squad had the consolation of two bonus points thanks to four tries – two each for wings Josh Ashe and Scott Edmed – and for losing by seven or fewer points.

The last time the teams met, Long Eaton had won convincingly, 38-7 in the NLD Shield Final.

When the visitors shot into a 14-0 lead early on the match looked like following a familiar course of Long Eaton dominance.

This time, however, the tide turned midway into the first-half when Newark found their legs in attacking Long Eaton in midfield.

Long Eaton’s 21-14 half-time lead did not last long as Newark deployed substitute Waqalevu Aloesi to full effect in the second-half as the veteran centre was a constant menace. Appearing for the first time this season, Aloesi provided a new attacking edge..

He helped put Ashe over for a converted try to level the scores at 21-21.

However, Long Eaton’s consistent forward effort brought a fourth score to re-take the lead, which they held for the rest of the half.

Though the influential James Tarbatt added a penalty to reduce the gap, Long Eaton added a fifth try before Newark finished on the attack, Edmed finishing off for his second try and Newark’s fourth.

That try put Newark within touch of Long Eaton but the Long Eaton defence managed to hold out Newark’s attacking efforts for the rest of the game. and a further midfield move ­— Aloesi this time acting as a decoy ­— gave Edmed a chance to outsprint the visiting cover which just managed to push the wing into touch.

Overall, it was an entertaining match and both teams deserved the round of applause they received as they left the field.