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Newark Rugby Club 1sts enjoy perfect start to Midlands Two East North as rivals Southwell keep pace




Newark sit top of the league and remain unbeaten after what was their fourth successive bonus-point win on Saturday.

Newark Ruby Club 1sts were 33-20 winners at Kelham Road, leaving their Midlands Two East North rivals in the rear-view mirror after an explosive first-half performance.

Will Britten in action for Newark Rugby Club 1sts (52593391)
Will Britten in action for Newark Rugby Club 1sts (52593391)

Tim Barker, director of rugby at Newark, said he was pleased with the promising start to the season.

“It has been a fantastic start and it was fantastic again on Saturday,” said Barker.

“There were at least 150 supporters in the crowd and it was a really good atmosphere.

Rhys Overland in action for Newark Rugby Club 1sts (52593387)
Rhys Overland in action for Newark Rugby Club 1sts (52593387)

“I can sense that people like the way we are playing at the moment and I enjoy it myself as well.

“We are playing very expanse rugby — it is quick, entertaining and, importantly, we are scoring tries.”

The bonus-point win again highlighted Newark’s pace in tries for backs Rhys Overland, James Archdale, Will Britten, Alex O’Dell and Josh Ashe, while O’Dell kicked four conversions.

Aloesi Waqalevu in action for Newark Rugby Club 1sts (52593389)
Aloesi Waqalevu in action for Newark Rugby Club 1sts (52593389)
Josh Ashe in action for Newark Rugby Club 1sts (52593393)
Josh Ashe in action for Newark Rugby Club 1sts (52593393)
Josh White in action for Newark Rugby Club 1sts (52593395)
Josh White in action for Newark Rugby Club 1sts (52593395)
James Archdale in action for Newark Rugby Club 1sts (52593397)
James Archdale in action for Newark Rugby Club 1sts (52593397)
Sean Denning in action for Newark Rugby Club 1sts (52593399)
Sean Denning in action for Newark Rugby Club 1sts (52593399)
Toby Taylor in action for Newark Rugby Club 1sts (52593401)
Toby Taylor in action for Newark Rugby Club 1sts (52593401)

Lincoln took an early lead through a penalty but Newark struck back almost immediately with a flowing move finished off by Overland in the corner.

The game was one of contrasting styles with Newark looking to move the ball wide at pace and Lincoln taking a more direct route.

Newark imposed themselves with two well-taken tries, the first through full-back Archdale and the second soon after through captain Britten. Both were converted by O’Dell.

Lincoln continued to press and forced Newark to concede penalties which eventually tested the referee’s patience and he gave a yellow card to Archdale.

Newark defended strongly with 14 and held out for a healthy 19-3 lead at half time.

Lincoln were certainly not out of the game and scored an unconverted try soon after half time to make it 19-8, but the home side hit back after 55 minutes with a try from scrum-half O’Dell, which he also converted.

With ten minutes to go, winger Ashe kept up his scoring record, again O’Dell converted to put the game beyond the visitors.

They did have the last say with a converted try on the stroke of full time to make it 33-20.

The back row of Denning, Dobson and Codd were always to the fore adding pace to the game which Lincoln could not live with.

“We were always hopeful of a good start to the season and looking at the fixtures we thought we had a reasonable chance, but honestly, in this league, as you saw on Saturday, anybody can beat anybody,” said Barker.

“It is a bit of a cliché though it is true in this league.

“I was looking at some stats and although we have used a reasonable amount of players, there are ten players who have started all four games.

“That has been a solid base to work from when it comes to understanding your team-mates and their capabilities and strengths — it has made a big difference.

“The consistent selection has made things a lot easier.”

Southwell, like Newark, have also enjoyed a dominant start to the season, winning their four opening games.

They beat Market Rasen 45-8 on Saturday and sit third in the league.

“It would have been a tasty game anyway, but doubly-so now,” said Barker, looking ahead to the derby game.

“They are unbeaten as well. I haven’t seen them yet because when we play, they play, but that game is on Saturday, December 11, so we are looking forward to it.

“We have got some tough fixtures before Southwell in the likes of Long Eaton on Saturday and Melbourne, who are also unbeaten, in the next game but one, which will be a real test.

“We are taking it one game at a time, so now we move on to Long Eaton on Saturday.

“I don’t want to get too carried away at the moment and make a wild prediction and end up looking a bit silly come the end of the season.

“We know we need to keep our feet on the ground and go from there.”

Newark Colts were also winners over the weekend, progressing into the second round of the National Colts Cup with a 44-0 success over Mansfield.

Kye Robson and Toby MacFarlane scored two tries apiece while Raf Ruiz, Tom Farrell, Sam Raynor and Will Dickson also went over.



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