Sat 26 Feb 2022
This was a cracking encounter. Sutton came looking for points to support their relegation battle. Newbold are sitting mid-table but want to finish in the top six to show steady progress, and on this occasion put out a side showing around ten changes from the previous week. This was a re-arranged fixture and many players were on the bus to Twickenham, or elsewhere. It was this that makes this result one of the best of the season. Stuey Houghton was guest skipper for the day and loved it, and it was great to see some less-than-regulars Danny Treherne, Eddie Allen, Ben Hartwell and Mickey Pails put in a great shift, and young colt Fin Conway make his debut on the wing. He’s rapid and had a great game. Mark Fisher made a good debut from the bench and looked the part, Chris Halcrow too didn’t look out of place during his cameo Writes Sean Obrien.
Newbold started with the wind behind them, but within three minutes Sutton scored through their left winger who found a gap in midfield following a lineout in Newbold’s twenty-two. Newbold’s tactics were sound, keeping Sutton in their own half, making them attack from deep.
Newbold were stringing phases together quite well but looked disjointed unsurprisingly. On fifteen minutes Dan O’Brien slotted a penalty, and soon after a drop-goal. A Sutton clearance was returned by the impressive (top carrier again) Rudi Reid who started a move that released Carter Murphy to score well under the posts. Welcome home Carter. The home team scrum was dominant, but Sutton stayed in the game, themselves playing some good rugby. Their scrum half then went over for a deserved converted score.
In the second half Newbold had to keep the ball in hand against the wind and this showed that the coaches had established playing patterns that were adopted by this new look team. Rudi Reid scored after a catch and drive line-out and Stuey Houghton burst. Manny Sidhu ran half the length of the pitch to score after Dale Heaton put in a big tackle. Oisin McKenna, who is looking better every week at inside centre, cut back against the grain to take a Huw Thomas pass to score by the posts. Newbold went a bit Fijian for a while, trying too hard to offload, and it cost them possession and territory. Things calmed down again, Bullet Messum dominated the lineout and Alex Harris did all the unglamorous stuff from start to finish, running himself into the ground.
Sutton gave as good as they got and could have taken the points. They put plenty of pressure on the home side and two memorable try saving tackles from Fin Conway and Carter Murphy were critical. Dan O’Brien slotted everything to maximise the points available and this proved decisive in a close game.
There are a few tough games to come and it would be great to take a scalp or two of the top three sides. Newbold have a great blend of youth and experience at the moment; some kids that run forever and a handful of old heads that lead the side through when things get a bit tough. The remaining couple of months should be really enjoyable, without the pressures of promotion or relegation, but with a real feeling of ambition just to get better every game.
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