Morpeth rugby on a roll – win anything but simple

Rugby.Rugby.
Rugby.
Morley 3Morpeth RFC 15Morpeth, like the 'Toon,' are on a roll at the moment, albeit without any multi-million pound deals, writes Richard Green.

The recent impetus was continued in a tough away trip with another important victory. Whilst the score and result would seem relatively straightforward, the whole experience of the day requires some explanation.

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The home side carried out an early morning pitch inspection due to the amount of rain over recent days. The concern at that time was a forecast of more rain around lunchtime. With that in mind Morpeth continued the journey south and the kick off was brought forward.

Morpeth arrived with heavy snow falling, putting the game in further doubt. Discussions took place with both captains and referee, who had misgivings regarding the pitch markings. That said, with agreement from all, the match got underway, with Morpeth indebted to the recovering David Dickinson, who not only ran touch, but also prepared the forwards in their warm up.

It was the home side who opened the scoring with an early penalty almost immediately from the kick off. 3-0

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The shock of conceding an early score seemed to galvanize the Mitford Road side who hit back with both territory and pressure. It was always going to be a forward dominated affair, given the underfoot conditions, and it was flanker Josh Williams, in cracking form as of late, who led the way. On 5 minutes he charged down a kick to go over for a much needed try which McKay was unable to convert.3-5.

Centre McKay was back in the groove on 12 minutes when he converted a penalty to increase Morpeth's lead. 3-8. Although the forwards naturally took the plaudits it was Jake McKay's fellow Centre, Sam Hornby who got the try which ultimately sealed victory. It occurred on 25 minutes when he took the ball on in the opposition 22. He shimmied and carried their defence with him, as he slid over to touch down under the posts, for a crucial score that McKay converted. 3-15.

It remained that way, not only till halftime, but for the remainder of the match.Morpeth had the best of the second half, particularly in terms of possession, with most of the play being in Morley's half, but ultimately the conditions dictated the game