A Darren impressive win for M1 uni squad

RUGBY UNION

NORTHUMBRIA Sport M1 head of rugby Darren Fearn hailed his side’s performance after they secured a magnificent 41-5 bonus-point win over Nottingham Trent side under the lights of Kingston Park, writes OSCAR MAUNG-HALEY.

Heading into the tie, Northumbria were good spirits - having secured an impressive 24-7 win at local rivals Durham just a week prior.

Fearn’s side made a superb start, skipper Oli Robinson taking a quick tap penalty in front of the Trent posts to dot down and give the hosts an early lead.

Their dominance did not stop ther with flanker George Bordill, scrum-half Joe Pickering and winger Charlie Parkhouse all notching tries to give Northumbria an unassailable 29-0 lead heading into half -time.

In the second half Northumbria took their foot off the gas a little but were still able to add to their points tally thanks to scores from Yaree Fantini and Josh Rudling.

When the full-time whistle went, an elated Fearn could barely contain his delight with his side’s seven try performance.

He said: “I was proud as punch with our performance.

“From one to 23 everyone was outstanding and there was no dropin intensity at any point.

“Trent came out of the blocks flying in the second half and we defended really well.

“We stayed in every moment we were in – every dropped ball we reacted, we had front rowers pouncing on the ball or giving clever offloads.

“It was a little annoying to concede their try from an error but I thought our defence was fantastic.

“We were excellent and credit must go to all the boys – they were outstanding.

“As a whole, it was just a really good performance.”

Fearn also paid tribute to scrumhalves Pickering and Sam Tovey after they stepped up to fill the absence of Falcons’ A-team scrumhalf James Elliot.

He added: “I thought Joe was superb.

“He and Sam when he came on had big boots to fill with James unavailable because he has played pretty much a full 80 minutes every game this season.

“Fair play to Joe, he has waited about a year and half to get that nine shirt and he did fantastically well.

“He is a tough lad who fights for everything and is a proper grafter.

“He did himself proud and so did Sam when he came on.”

The win means Northumbria sit sixth in BUCS Super Rugby heading into the new year, Fearn challenging his side to continue its strong run of form when the season picks up again in January.

He said: “We have some tough games after Christmas.

“However, we have time now to touch up on a few areas so we can come back after the break and really push on.

“We are sitting comfortably in sixth and we have already played a lot of the big sides in this league.

“We can enjoy our Christmas on the back of two impressive victories and are looking forward to the second half of the season.”