WITH three fixtures in the seniors' calendar, Northallerton sought to capitalise on a busy weekend for the club.

The first XV hosted local rivals Wensleydale RUFC at Brompton Lodge, looking to claim the bragging rights once more. The game started with North struggling to contain an aggressive Dale attack.

Playing downhill gave the Dale wide players the impetus to attack with pace and run in several well worked tries. The half time score stood at 0-22. The slope and wind proved in the second half how much of a boost it can provide to a team. An inspiring team talk and some more wind in the sails saw North come charging out of the blocks and bring the game right back into contention.

If not for some profligate play in the Wensleydale 22, North could have seen several more scores on the board. This resurgence of form showed what North can do when on song as well as the style of play the players are looking to implement. Despite their best second half efforts though, Dale showed enough composure to hold on to their lead and bring the game to a close with a final score of 19-27.

The second XV travelled away to Newton Aycliffe for their first game with a squad and replacements full of enthusiasm to start the new season. North began the game with plenty of intent and early tries from Ben Gray, converted by Ollie Redding and crowd favourite Connah Richmond gave North a pleasing lead. Two tries from Aycliffe brought them into the game and the scores level. Connah Richmond once more showed scoring prowess, dotting down in the corner to keep the scoreboard moving. The quick feet of Redding left Aycliffe players on the floor as he scored his first of the game and converted to give North a healthy lead, albeit one pinned back by a late Aycliffe try. North held a half time lead of 17-24. The exuberant pre-match warm up started to take a toll on North who, with the handicap of a yellow card and some injuries, began to show signs of early season fatigue. Aycliffe took advantage of this and posted several tries that took the game away from North and ended with a score line of 50-24. Congratulations to debutants Alex Hadley, Jonny Gamble and Ray Humpreys, the club look forward to seeing them in action throughout the season. Man of the match was awarded to Will Harrison for ferocious tackling and carrying.

The ladies first XV welcomed Scarborough to the Lodge for their first league of the season. Fielding a mixed team of experience North started brightly, carrying hard and full of energy. Scarborough were able to exploit the wide channels to great effect with their pacey backs, posting several tries in a frenetic first half. Against the combination of a strong pack and pace out wide, the home side found it difficult to contain a varied Scarborough attack. Into the second half, North’s defence improved and with aggressive tackling from all players, North showed signs of what they hope to build on throughout the season.

Meg Hills claimed North’s only try of the match on her first front row start for the club and brought a final score of 5-73. Undoubtedly a strong learning curve for a number of new players but one that will stand them in good stead for the remainder of the season. A special thanks goes to Catherine Pringle, Katie Frame, Kate Easton, Lottie Jones and Carrie James who played for the away side to assist with numbers. Player of the match jointly went to Pringle and Hills. The ladies’ first XV will next be in action away at Keswick in a cup match on October 9.

The juniors enjoyed a varied weekend of games. The U14s had their first mixed training session with Thirsk RUFC at Thirsk and hope to continue this arrangement throughout the season.

For anyone interested in joining Northallerton RUFC, training for the men's team is at 7pm Tuesdays and Thursdays, ladies at 7pm on Wednesdays and juniors on Sundays at 10am. All abilities and experience welcome.