Sitting bottom of the BUCS Men’s National League with one win in nine, and on the back of a 74-6 disintegration against league leaders Leeds Beckett, Newcastle would have been hoping that derby day unpredictability might bring a change of fortunes.
Northumbria on the other hand, sitting pretty in second having lost only to unbeaten league leaders, Leeds Beckett, would have entered this fixture brimming with confidence having won their previous four games on the bounce, most recently dispatching Exeter 50-6.
Meanwhile, Northumbria’s favourable record against Newcastle – winning the previous varsity fixture in March 2024 and comfortably winning 66-4 at Coach Lane in November – indicated that if the home side got anything from this clash, it would be a serious upset.
Whilst both teams steeled themselves in the changing rooms to the clacking of studs and the ripping of sports tape, tension mounted outside.
Steam rose from hot drinks to mix with the visible breaths of spectators leaning out from the clubhouse balcony, while nervous chatter hummed from the spectators clad in puffer jackets and woolly hats that lined the pitch-side barrier below.
In days gone by this might have been a night filled with the meaty aroma of Bovril poured from flasks to ward off the cold. On this occasion it was the beer-jacket that was favoured in the form of pints and bottles of smuggled wine.
In days gone by this might have been a night filled with the meaty aroma of Bovril poured from flasks to ward off the cold.
Nervous tension gave way to eager anticipation as cheers and clapping heralded the emergence of both sides from the tunnel; the home side in blue dashed with red, the visitors in black.
Northumbria kicked off, and it looked to be a bright start for the boys in blue, who earned a set restart almost immediately, before capitalising on some poor discipline to pin the away side down in their own half.
Five minutes in and the home side’s sustained dominance of the territory might have permitted the careful whisper of a question - could this be the start of something special?
At the first changing of possession, however, Northumbria’s whippet fullback wasted no time dancing through a dog-legged Newcastle line into the opposition half. A last-ditch effort from a frantic cover defence was all that stood in the way of Northumbria scoring against the run of play.
The deadlock came to an end when a Northumbria player scooted from dummy half to give us the first try of the evening, converted by Northumbria’s number seven, Hansen. Not the ideal start then, as Northumbria led 0-6.
A communication mix-up at twenty minutes from Newcastle’s right wing and fullback meant a looping Northumbrian punt went unclaimed, bouncing conveniently into the hands of Northumbria’s left winger who gratefully gave us try number two. A missed conversion kept the score momentarily respectable at 0-10.
Shortly thereafter, déjà vu struck as another punt ended up in the arms of a man in black via grass, whose try was converted to make it 0-16.
This was immediately followed by quick passing to Northumbria’s touchline-hugging right winger who was felled deep inside Newcastle’s half by a limb-grasping, fabric-pulling cover defence, only for Northumbria’s number five, Alfie Heppenstall, to finish up a well-executed, but unconverted, move on the opposite side.
Five minutes from half time, hard running from Northumbria’s forwards had the home side on the backfoot, leaving an open gate behind the markers for Northumbria to cross Newcastle’s line for a fifth time. A failed conversion, and the half was brought to a close, 0-24.
It was looking like a long night for Newcastle’s men who ambled into the tunnel for some respite whilst their opponents jogged past. But Rugby League is a game of two halves, meaning a chance to reset and come out fighting. After all, it couldn’t get any worse… could it?
It was looking like a long night for Newcastle’s men who ambled into the tunnel for some respite whilst their opponents jogged past.
As the second half began, it was clear that Northumbria’s tails were up. Quickly gaining territory from Newcastle’s kick off, the visitors were once more within touching distance of the increasingly familiar home side’s try line.
Northumbria’s sixth try of the night, successfully converted, brought the score to 0-30 whilst some fans were still waiting in the queue for their half time pint.
What followed was a tough watch for the Newcastle fans, as poor discipline showed and fatigue from constant defending resulted in repeated breaches behind the markers. Meanwhile, the away side refused to relent, with dominant tackling and line speed meaning whenever Newcastle did regain possession, they couldn’t do much with it.
Northumbria scored twice in quick succession around the fifty-minute mark, tired tackling at fault for the former, and sloppy handling to gift Northumbria the latter, both successfully converted. Just like that, the score was 0-42, and this writer’s coffee cup was crying out for something a little stronger.
Northumbria’s second-row set up two more tries with almost identical outside flick passes, one of which was converted, while clinical passing and a self-gathered grubber resulted in two more unconverted tries for the visitors, increasing the score to 0-60 by the 70th minute.
With Newcastle heads dropping and shoulders sagging, it seemed increasingly likely that they would be ‘nilled’ in their own backyard.
At 72 minutes, Northumbria scored the try of the night, when a speculative grubber was bounced into the home side’s in-goal and looked to be going dead… until Northumbria’s number five, Alfie Heppenstall, resurrected it, leaping acrobatically into a summersault to catch and place the ball down in Hollywood fashion. Shame he couldn’t convert his own try - 0-64.
Northumbria’s number seventeen, Jack Skelton, finished the scoring, brushing off several tired Newcastle defenders en route from his own half to the opposite posts, his converted try rounding off the score at 0-70.
Newcastle’s night was summed up when their best, and final, chance of the night went begging, the ball being knocked-on one pass out from the back of an attacking scrum on the visitors’ doorstep. Final score, 0-70.
Newcastle next face Leeds on Wednesday, 5th February, where they will be looking to dust themselves off and go again.
This result means that of the six lead-up Varsity games in the competition’s fourth year, Newcastle have won three and lost two. The Women’s Rugby game on Wednesday 5th February will be the last chance to cement an advantage heading into the Big Friday Varsity Day in March, as Newcastle look to make it four in a row.