>> National 2N Team of season
Champions Sale take top billing but the best backs in National Two North all come from elsewehere
HISTORY was made as Sale lifted the National 2 North title for the first time and are rewarded with four players in The Rugby Paper’s Team of the Year.
Sedgley Park, who finished second in the league but lost in the promotion play-off to Chinnor, see a trio selected and, such was the competitive nature of the league, nine of the 16 clubs have at least one representative included in this team, selected by
TRP correspondents.
1. Dan Birchall (Sale)
Birchall led the way in the Sale pack throughout the year as the league champions lost just twice in the entire campaign. The prop was a solid and consistent performer for Sale all season to earn his spot ahead of Wharfedale’s Toms Asejevs and Alex Battye of Huddersfield.
2. Daniel Maher (Sedgley Park)
Maher has really impressed in his maiden season at Sedgley Park and just pips Sale’s experienced Neil Briggs to the starting hooker slot. The Sedge hooker was not only solid at scrum and lineout, he also scored 21 tries in his 28 appearances.
3. Chad Thorne (Stourbridge)
An impressive campaign from Stourbridge, which saw them finish level on points with third-place Tynedale, was epitomised by Chad Thorne. A junior with the club in his youth, this is Thorne’s second spell with Stour and he’s making it count. Billy Robinson of Macclesfield just misses out.
4. Matt Tuckey (Leicester Lions)
Competition was fierce to make the second row of this team with Bob Birtwell, of Sedgley Park, and Hinck- ley’s Ben Marshall running Tuckey extremely close. But the towering Lions captain cliched it for his huge presence throughout the season in a team that struggled at times.
5. Rhys Davies (Sale)
Davies re-signed with Sale at the beginning of the season and it’s proved to be a shrewd investment. The agile second row has great hands which sees him beat Adam Malthouse (Huddersfield) and Piers Morrell (Luctonians) to the punch.
6. Tom Ailes (Sale)
Another key member of the champions’ squad, Ailes was everywhere for Sale on the pitch and is selected alongside his captain Andy Hughes in the back row. Stourbridge’s Nigel Mukarati is unlucky not to break into the starting XV.
7. Andy Hughes (Sale)
Captain of the victorious Sale side, Hughes is one of the first names on this teamsheet. A former Sale Shark, Hughes is also the club’s community coach but has done his talking on the field. He’s been a major part in the club’s recent turnaround in fortunes.
8. Alex Salt (Hinckley)
Outstanding for the last two seasons, Salt has had another 12 months to remember. The Hinckley captain has been awesome with ball in hand providing opposition defences with regular headaches. Honourable mentions must go to Chester’s Joe Ford and South Leicester’s Joe Collingham.
9. Steve Depledge (Sheffield Tigers)
Despite Sheffield’s relegation, Depledge has been a standout and offers a serious kicking option from scrum-half, which is always good news. The scrum-half showed on numerous occasions that he was far from out of his depth at this level. Callum McShane at Sedgley Park and Wharfedale’s Philip Woodhead also had good campaigns.
10. Rickie Aley (South Leicester)
The league’s leading points scorer with 343, Aley has been a kicking sensation again at South Leicester. For regularly holding his nerve to nail match-winning kicks, Aley gets in ahead of Wharfedale’s Tom Barrett.
11. Myles Bean (South Leicester)
Following his teammate Aley into this side, Bean has been devastating on the wing for South Leicester in this campaign. His 29 appearances have resulted in an astounding 27 tries which sees him race into our starting XV.
12. Ash Smith (Tynedale)
Another option with the boot, Smith kicked 213 points for Tynedale in just 22 appearances. The inside centre is equally as devastating with ball in hand though as he beats Matt Riley of Sedgley Park.
13. Jamie Broadley (Sheffield Tigers)
On the field Broadley has scored 26 tries this season and he is also an important pair of hands off the pitch among the Sheffield Tigers setup. Capable of playing in multiple positions across the backline, we’ve slotted him into outside centre to accommodate others.
14. Jamie Harrison (Sedgley Park)
Another fantastic finisher, Harrison scored 24 tries this season – only Bean and Broadley managed more. Fast, with a deceptive step, Harrison gets in ahead of Sam Driver at Hinckley.
15. Andrew Riley (Sedgley Park)
A fantastic 22 tries gets him in at fullback ahead of the equally impressive Lewis Barker for Macclesfield. No side scored more points than the Tigers this year and with Harrison and Riley in the back three, we’d expect more of the same.