1st XV
W 49-14
League
19-02-2022
Durham City
By Charlie Hopper
Scarborough returned to winning ways in emphatic style with a comfortable 49-14 victory over Durham City at Silver Royd on Saturday.
In the snow and rain, it was Matty Jones’ side who came racing out the blocks and scored the game’s first try in the opening minute. The ball was worked along the line and centre Aaron Wilson intercepted a pass on the halfway line and paced clear to score his first try. Tom Ratcliffe added the extras for 7-0. The lead was then doubled in the 10th minute when Dylan Robinson collected a pass from Ratcliffe to score another converted try. City responded in the best possible fashion with a try of their own. Peter Dent took a freekick quickly and had too much power to score close to the posts. Captain Paul Armstrong added the conversion to half the deficit. The game then opened up and Scarborough responded immediately with a penalty try. Robinson latched onto the loose ball and kicked it towards the try line. As he was about to double his tally, he was pulled back and denied the opportunity to score. Referee Josh Walker awarded a penalty try and gave a City man, a yellow card. That would be the final, noticeable, action of the first half with the Silver Royd outfit leading 21-7 at the break.
The second half started in similar fashion to the first, with Wilson bagging his second try of the game. He ripped the ball from his opponent, spun and raced towards the try line. Ratcliffe added the conversion to his 100% kicking record for 28-7. The fly-half was involved again in the 52nd minute, registering his sides fourth try of the afternoon. He collected the ball, bursted through the tackles and scored directly under the posts. Another seven points were added in the 59th minute as Scarborough stretched their lead to 42-7. Replacement Phil Watson went close, before the returning Sam Dawson powered through the tackles to score. Ratcliffe, once again, added the extras. Man of the match Harry Domett scored his sides seventh converted try, with minutes remaining. Debutant Dan Boyes passed wide to the winger, and he managed to crash over near the corner for 49-7. As the game approached the final seconds, City scored their second try of the match courtesy of Andy Kirkup, who latched onto a pass and scored under the posts.
Scarborough climb to sixth in the North One East table and travel to second place Heath on Saturday, with Jason Lowde stepping in as first team coach for the match.