Pont 2nds turned up with a large squad expecting another titanic battle as in the reverse fixture in November which Sunderland narrowly won. The lateness of the oppositions arrival probably should have been a clue that what turned up was a totally different team, probably made up of a lot of guys who had been playing 3rd xv rugby in November. Credit to those 16 guys for travelling up though.

With the usual change in personnel it took a good 5 minutes of error strewn rugby before things settled down. Pont had the upper hand in the scrums welcoming back Dan Fellows to the coalface after his injury woes. Oscar Redman soon got on the scoreboard moving his elusive sidestepping running causing problems all afternoon. His travels in NZ not denting his confidence at all. Luke Chick filling in well at fly-half (or stand-off if you prefer) was next to cross the whitewash and slot the extras as well benefitting from some nifty footwork from Jordan Varah (must have been a fluke as his air kick proved later). By now it was evident that Pont had the bigger weapons and it was a case of would they continue to concentrate on the job in hand or be refereed out of it. Pete Curry then entered the fray after Elliott Mew needed time to decide if his leg was broken  With his first touch after some good back up play he was dotting down for another try. Phil McAreavey then got in on the act, deservedly so, after a good first 40 working hard with some trademark runs but also decent defensive work too.

Rotating the squad at halftime gave Sunderland the impetus they needed to charge out of the blocks and a sustained period of pressure resulted in their forwards driving over for a deserved try. Ponts new boys then sorted things out and the pocket battleship Sean Bettison darted over to restore the gap. A couple of injuries, one to a Sunderland prop meant Peter Curry pulling on a red yellow and black shirt and the then having to change pitch due to a serious injury to Cam Bell on 1stxv pitch. Thankfully he is not as seriously hurt as first thought. This seemed to have a more detrimental effect on Sunderland and another four tries were ran in during the last 20 minutes by Sean Bettison, again, Adam McGlashan, Andrew Watson (cracking run) and on the final whistle Jamie Taylor showed a clean pair of heels as a replacement wing . A superb drop kick conversion by Luke Chick showing another skill set, a superb run and offload from Chris Steven, imagine what he’ll be like with two working knees  and a spilled ball from Jack Spells when through for what would have been a deserved try kept everyone entertained on the sidelines .

This was another good display admittedly not against the strongest opposition side we have faced this year but they always kept us honest and on our toes. The referee deserves credit for playing the rules throughout and Sunderland never gave up in a difficult game for them .
The mix of experience and youth blended well again with Alan Redman getting 20 mins again at the end showing his son what he was doing wrong 

Next Week seeking revenge on Whitley Bay Rockcliff 2XV at home. 3pm KO meet 1-45 in Changing Room 4.

Team : D Fellows, E Mew, C Steven, J Varah, R Earnshaw, J Spells, J Lockhart, P McAreavey, Tetts, L Chick, A Watson, J Adams, D Stromsoy, D Fulwood, O Redman, P Curry, V Lupnya, D Grice, A McGlashan, S Bettison, J Taylor and A Redman

Match details

Match date

Sat 11 Apr 2015

Kickoff

15:00

Team overview