End of season not Super - but Fearn’s still hopeful
UNIVERSITY RUGBY
NORTHUMBRIA University will build on a breakthrough season despite the bitter disappointment of a disastrous month, writes OSCAR HALEY.
Darren Fearn’s side was transformed from BUCS Super Rugby also-rans to title contenders towards the end of 2017.
However, the new year has brought new challenges as Northumbria lost their final four fixtures of the season to finish runnersup in the league and slip out of the play-offs at the quarter-final stage.
Those losses included a narrow defeat to derby rivals Newcastle University at St James’s Park in a match where 10 Northumbria players were handed first-team debuts.
It is that strength in depth which gives Fearn hope heading into this summer’s Sevens competitions and the 2018/19 Super Rugby campaign.
Northumbria lost their final match of the 15s season 43-29 to Bath University on Wednesday.
A frank Fearn said: “There was nothing to complain about because ultimately I thought Bath fully deserved their win.
“We know we are a good team but Bath just looked like the better side.
“If you had have asked someone who was second in the league after the final whistle had gone you would have to say it was Bath.
“Everything they did was better than us in almost all aspects.”
While TN managed to finish 2017 on a high after their stunning last-minute defeat of eventual league champions Exeter, their start to 2018 stood in stark contrast.
Fearn was left frustrated by his side’s performances down the stretch which could have seen TN claim BUCS Super Rugby glory.
He added: “I suppose the overall review would be it has been an OK season and probably above what we expected.
“The most disappointing thing is once we got into the positions we got ourselves into we should have taken our chances.
“Since the Durham game we have hit a real downward spiral and I think we saw that against Bath.
“This is where we probably needed to end up - second in the league and out of the cup in the quarter-finals because that is where we are at right now.
“Maybe because of the results we pulled out we thought we could go all the way in the cup, which we could have potentially done but it was not to be.”
While disappointed, a proud Fearn also hailed a number of his third-year players who played their final games for TN against Bath.
He went on: “I thought Jake Ellwood was absolutely outstanding.
“James Christie has been a talisman for us and he pretty much carried us last year.
“It was also Aedan Moloney’s last game for us too and he has had good impact performances for us - the same with Matt Jenkinson who has potentially played his last game for us. They are a great bunch of lads.
“I am not going to lose focus of where we are or what they have achieved just because of a sour couple of results.
“It is a bad note to end the season on but at the same time there are great servants to Northumbria rugby in this side and they will be missed massively.
“They are and have been an absolute pleasure to coach. The challenge for us is we have to now kick on.”