Winlaton Vulcans RFC

The Vulcans second string were able to field a strong side for this vital clash away to Chester le Street II in the Durham Junior League. This came about because the 1st XV game was cancelled vs Chester I as they hadn’t enough bodies to field two sides. Consequently the 2nd team players who had been drafted into 1st team action due to unavailability were able to take their places back in the 2nd team. The same was the case for our opponents, so two strong sides took the field down at the Riverside.

With a strong wind blowing down the field the home side decided to play with the wind in the first half and try and build a lead to defend. However Winlaton were in no mood to stick to that script and from the beginning took control of the contest. Having had five fixtures cancelled by the opposition this season the players were champing at the bit and with fresh legs and enthusiasm they took the game by the horns early on. Some strong forward play with good set piece work and excellent quick recycling at the breakdown meant the home side were never able to use the strong wind to their advantage, with Winlaton dominating possession and territory.

Winlaton got their first score after 15 minutes when an infringement at a ruck gave Michael Wharton the chance to slot a penalty from 30 metres. Winlaton then added a second score when some good forward play resulted in another infringement at the ruck, this time a kick to the corner by fly half Chris Wilcox gave Winlaton a line out 10 metres out which they won, the home side expecting a catch and drive were surprised by quick ball being thrown to the backs, Wilcox fed the ball to Kyall Cash in the centre who made good ground before passing to his centre partner Jones who straightened the line and fed Wilcox on the loop he was tackled by the full back but managed to pump his legs and go over for the try.

Half Time 0- 8

The second half started well for the visitors who made some good breaks through the forwards and backs with a combination of quick ball and determined running. On two occasions Winlaton missed penalties when Wharton found the strong wind difficult to counter, then during another promising break the home side created their first real chance. Winlaton allowed the ball to be turned over at the ruck and the ball was fed to the full back joining the line, he found a gap in midfield and raced a full 50 metres before passing to the supporting winger who scored in the corner to make the score
5 – 8.

However Winlaton hit back almost immediately, some good drives resulted in the ball being spun out, Kyall Cash made good ground before being tackled, from the recycled ball a chip over the top from Wilcox was taken by the home full back who was tackled by Fleming the ball coming back Winlatons way Wing Mark Lynn tried to snipe down the blind side but was driven out 10 metres from the home line.
Chester le Street threw in but the ball was overthrown and taken by lock Les Cash at the back of the lineout, he made a break and popped the ball to the supporting Nick Stevenson who went over for the score to stretch the lead to 5 – 13. Several changes were made by both sides, Winlaton brought on Walker for Lynn and McArdle replaced Carrick at hooker.

McArdle nearly scored in his first phase of play, a maul was constructed 10 metres out and was making good ground when he made the break, he was tackled a few yards out and stretched for the line but knocked on just as he was grounding the ball. From the resulting set piece came another score for Winlaton, again the home sides hooker overthrew the ball this time it was gathered by Coates and he drove on, another two good clean rucks allowed the ball to be spun out to Wilcox. He ran laterally across the three quarters and popped a pass to Lock Les Cash who was running straight he stepped inside the advancing tackler and threw a pass wide to Flanker Lee Dixon who gathered on the bounce to score in the corner. 5 – 18
For the remainder of the game Chester forged some good attacks trying to get back into the game but with only 10 minutes remaining they never really troubled the Winlaton line and the game ended with a good win for the visitors.

Final Score 5 -18