Old Saltleians 19 Newark 19: Regional Two North Midlands match report

Newark fought back to gain a deserved share of the spoils on the club’s first trip to Birmingham-based Old Saltleians in Regional Two North Midlands.

The home side grabbed the lead in the second half but Newark finished stronger and gained a 19-19 draw thanks to tries from two ex-colts in centre Joshie Waqalevu and wing Henry Allen.

Newark led 7-0 at half-time after a try from all-action back-rower Sean Denning was converted by fly-half George Leeson.

Besides the contribution of Denning, another forward to win plaudits was another ex-colt in hooker Ted Coen who played a full 80 minutes on his debut.

The squad will rue some missed chances at Old Saltleians which started early on when Leeson struck the outside of the posts from a penalty attempt.

In the end the opening score did not materialise until near half-time. Scrum-half James Tarbatt took the ball blind, fed Leeson who sold a nice dummy to buy himself some space to put back-rower Ed Clayton away.

The Newark pack were then patient, allowing Tarbatt to assess the options and put Denning over near the posts to give Leeson a straightforward conversion.

The second half started badly for Newark who conceded a penalty on their 22 which OS duly kicked.

Another Newark mistake saw one of the OS centres gather up a loose ball and show a clean pair of heels to score under the points. The conversion took the home side to an improbable 10-7 lead.

Things got worse for Newark when a goal line drop went straight to the OS fly-half who took aim and kicked a punishing drop goal to make it 13-7.

The visitors stuck to the task and worked their way back up the park. Tarbatt fed Clayton who again made valuable yards. Tarbatt then moved the ball left and captain Olly Dodders and Denning took the play on. Tarbatt then sent a long pass out to full-back Noah Catley who moved the ball smartly to put centre Waqalevu in just enough space for him to crash over. Leeson couldn’t add the extras but Newark were back in the game at 13-12 down.

However, it was the home side who stretched their lead with two penalties in quick succession to open up a seven-point gap with 10 minutes to go.

To their credit, the young Newark side kept pushing and when Tarbatt trapped a loose clearance just inside the OS half it allowed Denning to make a trademark piercing run. The ball moved right before Leeson missed out Catley to allow Matt Walton to put wing Henry Allen in a bit of space. Allen still had a lot to do but his pace took him past five covering defenders and he got near enough to the posts to make the conversion a formality for Leeson.

That made it 19-19 with five minutes to go and Newark quickly got back on the attack. However, despite the scoreboard clock showing two minutes to go, the referee blew for time.

Newark have a break from league action before they host Melbourne at Kelham Road on October 12.

Newark 2nds were outplayed at Kelham Road, losing 67-17 to Ashbourne. However, 18-year-old prop Mateusz Dogiel, on his senior debut, scored two tries alongside one from 40-year-old ex-first team captain Ian Tomlinson. Rhys Overland added a conversion.

The club’s women’s squad are through to the second round of the National Cup after Amber Valley withdrew from Sunday’s first-round tie at Kelham Road.

The colts squad are also in national competition and travel to Sheffield this Sunday for a second-round tie, kick-off 1pm.