Scarborough RUFC ease past Consett in RFU Cup clash

Scarborough cruised to a convincing 55-0 victory over Durham/Northumberland One side Consett, notching nine tries in a one-sided affair in the RFU Intermediate Cup at Silver Royd.

Playing into the sun Scarborough fielded the visitors’ kick-off and drove infield in the early exchanges.

Consett won their own throw at an early lineout but were bundled into play just inside their own half.

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A quick line-out was taken and moved right to left finding wing Harry Domett who scampered away and cut inside to score in the fourth minute.

Fly-half Tom Harrison’s well struck conversion attempt was blown off-course but the Seasiders nudged 5-0 ahead.

And within a couple of minutes Scarborough had doubled their score when Harrison won possession, chipped over the Consett defensive line and released skipper Tom Ratcliffe.

The big centre turned his opposite number centre Luke Draper inside-out and sprinted off to score wide on the right.

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Harrison made a good fist of his wide conversion attempt but was unsuccessful and Scarborough led 10-0.

A swirling wind never made for a classic game but a battle of the back rows ensued with the Scarborough breakaway unit of Eamon Chapman, Matty Else and Hayden Ogilvie having the upper hand at the breakdown.

Influential tight-head prop Paul Taylor was sin-binned for a repeated technical offence and Consett full-back Mark Lee’s resulting penalty-kick was well struck but off target in the 25th minute.

With Wesley Langkilde on for Taylor the home pack struggled at first but eventually held their own in the forward exchanges.

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Taylor returned to the fray in the 35th minute and a couple of Scarborough scrums later number eight Matty Else drove over from the base in the 37th minute.

Harrison’s sweetly struck touchline conversion sailed over and Scarborough led 17-0.

The Seasiders continued to pile on the pressure and when great work by Ogilvie resulted in a turnover, a surging run and pass by Ratcliffe saw full-back Corey Dennis set off on a searing run from inside his own half to score the try of the season in the 38th minute for a 22-0 lead.

The half ended with another spectacular try on the stroke of half-time when Harrison again chipped over a flat Consett defence, gathered and set centre Graeme Jeffrey galloping in from 40 metres to score.

Harrison added the extras for a 29-0 half-time lead.

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If the Seasiders thought they were going to run away with things after the break they were mistaken as the men from county Durham dug deep and made the most of what was a pretty unstructured game and it took until the end of the third quarter for the home side to get the scoreboard moving again.

Following several incursions into the Consett half mostly from broken play, a jinking run from the irrepressible Harry Domett took him past most of the visiting team only to be hauled down short but the muscular frame of lock Nick Ingham was on hand to barge over and finish the job in the 57th minute.

Harrison added the extras for 36-0.

Consett continued to stick to their task with fly-half and skipper Alex Paulus, inside centre Hayden Petch and full-back Lee excelling.

However they made mistakes in vital areas and when the ball was spilled in their own 22,

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Domett pounced and cantered over for his second try of the game in the 67th minute.

Harrison converted for 43-0.

With a plethora of substitutes available, Corey Dennis left the field with a hamstring tweak to be replaced by Tomasz Chadwick who made an immediate impact scything through the visiting defence only to be stopped short of the line.

From a series of subsequent rucks Langkilde, on for the yellow-carded prop Mark Hopper was unstoppable from short range and crashed over in the 76th minute.

Harrison made it 50-0 with the conversion.

There followed a couple of puzzling incidents.

Scarborough’s Joe Marshall went bullocking up the right touchline only to be stopped by a shoulder charge without the use of arms by a beefy visiting defender.

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The young winger’s head hit the pitch with a sickening thud and as far as I could see, as it happened in front of me, his assailant should have been sanctioned.

However the previously card-happy referee Jordan Wagner appeared to think it was amusing with a smile on his face.

Minutes later what appeared to be a dangerous ‘spear’ tackle from Ingham was immediately and summarily punished by a red card. What price consistency?

The game ended as it had begun with a Scarborough score as Chadwick ghosted in to the left of the uprights following a punishing home scrum with the last move of the match.

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Harrison’s drop-goal conversion was wayward but the game was over.

This game highlighted the gulf between the Yorkshire and Durham/Northumberland leagues.

The outcome was never in doubt although Consett played with great commitment.

Scarborough moved the ball wide with regularity and scored six tries through their backs, but this was not against a Yorkshire One defence.

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Outstanding up front was Paul Taylor, Mark Hopper, Taylor Smith, Eamon Chapman and Hayden Ogilvie.

Behind them Tom Harrison, Joe Marshall, Harry Domett, Tom Ratcliffe and Corey Dennis took the plaudits.