Winlaton Vulcans RFC

Houghton 2nd XV 24 vs Winlaton Vulcans 2nd XV 20

Both clubs were able to field strong sides due to the fact that neither club had 1st XV fixtures with it being a league free weekend.

Houghton and Winlaton started with true 2nd team players starting and a sprinkling of 1st team members starting or lining up on the bench and in the spirit of the game both Captains allowed rolling substitutes to make sure all players got good game time under their belts.

This was a funny game as both sides enjoyed periods of dominance which allowed for a quick and attractive game with plenty of opportunities, Winlaton took the lead through some good forward play which set up skipper Kevin Scott for the opening try when the big number 8 crashed over from short range and Micky Wharton converted the kick. 0-7

The lead was extended twice when Houghton’s eagerness at the ruck was penalised and Wharton again punished the home team with two quick penalties to extend the advantage to 0-13. The game came alive at the end of the half when Houghton were pinned into their own 22 and had a lineout in a dangerous position. A set move was planned to perfection and a throw to the front was immediately popped back blind for the home scrum half to race 70 metres unopposed to score under the posts, Valentine converting. 7-13.
This prompted some endeavour from the home side who reduced the deficit through a further Valentine penalty to leave the half time score at 10-13.

Houghton took control in the 1st 20 minutes of the second half and scored 2 good tries from flanker McBernie and Valentine who converted both giving them a 24 -13 lead. The game then changed again when despite being down to 14 men when Fly Half Wilcox was sin binned Winlaton proceeded to dominate both territory and possession. Some excellent defence from the home side and some less than excellent refereeing kept the response down to one converted try from scrum half Micky Wharton for a final score of 24-20. But both sides left the field knowing they had enjoyed a close and competitive game.