Men's Rugby Union Articles
12th November 2008
Durham Celebrate after Charity Rugby Success
The annual Durham Charity Rugby match was a massive success once again and topped off a great sporting week for Team Durham. The match in aid of Sport in Action Zambia was a typical BUCS fixture in which Durham's Rugby Union men faced Nottingham. With Both teams tied at the top of the Premier table alongside Loughborough, all was to play for in this match.
As usual, the event attracted a massive crowd. With over three thousand people at the Durham City ground the confidence of the home team grew. The game began well, although a disappointing Penalty against Durham resulted in an early 3-0 advantage for the visiting side. A number of well fought scrums and end to end runs were witnessed in the opening period and the Durham attack looked impressive and powerful.
However, the Nottingham side persistently tested the Durham defence who unfortunately crumbled after a Nottingham pass was spun out to the wing and resulted in a try, followed by a conversion. With a ten - nil advantage, Durham worked hard to stay in the game and both teams played to an equal standard. After the initial disappointing try, the Durham defence toughened their barriers and refused to give way to subsequent attacks.
The Durham attack hunted a try towards the end of the first half. After a period of sustained pressure the ball was spun out to the backs and Rory Price was in for the try. A conversion scored by James Crozier soon followed creating an 8 - 10 halfway score.
The positive Durham men returned to the pitch instilled with determination to succeed. With a minimal advantage held by the Nottingham side, Durham knew this was a game that they could win. The second half began with a number of fantastic runs by David Astle which applied constant pressure to the tiring Nottingham defence. The Home side battled through a number of scrums and an impressive attacking 5m scrum was picked up by Ben Maidment, which off the back of the ruck was caught by Robert Malaney resulting in the second Durham try. A conversion followed and increased Durham's lead. With a 14 - 10 score the closing stages of the match remained incredibly tight.
With a yellow card issued to a Durham player, maintaining the score was a key priority for the Durham men. With Nottingham refusing to give in the fight, Durham withstood several vicious attacks preventing further Nottingham tries.
Overall the match was a fantastic display of sporting talent in which Durham deserved to win. The game closed, Durham 14 - Nottingham 10.
Katie Spencer
15th October 2008
Durham in control as the Rugby Union season starts
This season’s league opener saw Durham record a decisive 33-8 home victory over a hardworking Leeds Metropolitan side.
Durham looked to apply pressure from the start, which was evident when home side player James Crozier scored a penalty in the opening minutes to give Durham a 3-0 lead. Leeds hit back immediately and obvious determination was shown as they threatened Durham’s success by removing the advantage after converting a penalty of their own.
After the initial counterattack Durham improved significantly, controlling the scrum, possession and territory. This hard work culminated in a 15th minute try from Ben Maidment, which was converted by Crozier to increase Durham’s lead.
During the first half the Leeds Metropolitan backs looked threatening as they displayed some fast attacking play. However this was controlled by the strong Durham defence who performed superb fierce tackling in order to maintain the lead.
Crozier then added another penalty, extending Durham’s lead to 13 -3 on the half hour mark. This was followed by a rare period of pressure from the visiting side which created their only try of the game. At 13 – 8 Leeds Metropolitan lost touch with the home side, after David Astle scored an incredible try by dodging the weakening defence from the halfway line, making it 18-8 at the break.
The second half started much as the first ended, with Durham looking increasingly confident. In the 60th minute Crozier further extended Durham’s lead to 21-8 with another penalty, before a series of intricate passes allowed Paul Loudon to cut inside and score the try of the match which was once again successfully converted.
The palatinates scored once more in the closing minutes of the game against a battling and tired away side. Durham were impressive throughout, their performance was both determined and uncompromising which resulted in the final score of 33-8.
Joe Nagle
