Whitley Bay Rockcliff fall to seven-point defeat against Alnwick II XV

It was second vs third in the Counties 2 North East (North) over the weekend as Alnwick II XV travelled to face Whitley Bay Rockcliff at Hillheads, with the visitors running out 20-27 winners.

A strong first-half performance from the away side left Rockcliff with a mountain to climb, but Alnwick were pushed all the way in the second period as the Cardinal and Golds dug deep in an attempt salvage something from the game.

Rockcliff started brightly, taking the game to Alnwick from the kick-off, and were rewarded with the first score of the contest. Outside centre Dan Glover finished a sustained period of play, going over to the right of the posts at the Memorial End. Michael Hansen converted to open up a 7-0 lead.

That breakthrough spurred Alnwick into action, however, and their hard running, good support play, and slick passing had Whitley Bay back-pedalling. Their efforts eventually paid dividends when Eddy Hogg scored the visitors’ first points with an unconverted try.

Three unanswered tries from Alnwick followed, from AJ Burn, Sean Angus, and Hogg - the latter of which was converted by Andrew Spark. Hogg’s effort secured a four-try bonus point, and the teams changed ends with the away side defending a 7-22 scoreline.

Chasing a 15-point deficit, Rockcliff upped the gears, and an early penalty from Hansen kept the scoreboard ticking over for the hosts. That effort was followed by an unconverted try from Evan Bradford, his first of the season, bringing Rockcliff to within a converted score of Alnwick at 15-22.

But momentum swung back towards the visitors once more when second row Jude Hall edged them further ahead with an unconverted try to make it 15-27.

Whitley Bay would rally again, pressing their opponents back and forcing a series of penalties as Alnwick desperately defended their line. Finally, from a five-metre scrum, the Rockcliff pack drove forward and skipper Niall Stokes touched down to reduce the gap back to seven points, but Alnwick would ultimately hang on for the win.

Player of the Match for Rockcliff was Dan Glover, and Jude Hall took the accolade for Alnwick.