10:51am Monday 15th March 2010
By Tim Wellock
Darlington Mowden Park 18 Middlesbrough 19
IT was a shame for Richard Horton that his second yellow card of the match meant he was off the field for the last three minutes as Boro hung on for an amazing win.
Midway through the first half they looked like being swept away. They had been under almost constant pressure and their scrum was starting to go backwards.
It seemed Mowden must win by at least 20 points, yet they conceded a converted try just before half-time to trail 10-8.
The ten minutes just prior to that try were crucial, because Horton was in the sinbin and that was when Mowden should really have turned the screw.
There was a pivotal moment when fly half Richie Young was caught in possession near the posts and conceded a turnover.
It simply wasn’t his day, and with a general election looming it was easy to observe that the whole country is crying out for some quality at No 10.
That was what this game lacked. In perfect conditions for fast, open rugby the four tries were all short-range efforts resulting from forward pressure.
Mowden failed to use their greatest asset – the pace of the back three. Right winger Robin Eatough was partly to blame himself as he twice kicked for touch when he had acres of space to counter-attack from deep.
While Mowden took off their old heads, coaches Pete Taylor and John Newton, and found some fresh vigour from the younger legs of Todd Harrison and Andrew Tonkin, Boro did the opposite and almost paid the price.
Martin Howe and Paul Lee, neither of them the right side of 40, went on in an effort to nail down the game in the last 15 minutes. But they were under pressure for most of that time and survived only because Harrison pulled his final conversion attempt with a minute left.
Five metres in from the left touchline, it wasn’t an easy kick for the replacement scrum half, who had taken over the kicking duties from Young.
Boro’s kicker, winger Callum Campbell, converted scrum half Peter Wright’s try just before half-time and added four penalties.
The three he landed in the first 20 minutes of the second half, rewarding the pack for their powerful driving of the mauls, stretched the lead to 19-8.
As though they suddenly realised they could win, the Boro forwards had come out for the second half with much greater belief.
Hooker Horton was central to that and he had excellent support from the other strong men, Craig Chapman, Richie Barker and Iain Bradford, while young flanker Rory Duff continues to look an outstanding prospect.
Mowden were left to ponder how they blew it. They were generally on the wrong end of some tight forward pass decisions, and too many line-out throws were also deemed off line. But not for the first time they gave the impression that they would have been better off playing with gay abandon.
It is a rare match when neither Eatough nor Matty Lister score, the tries coming from their Kiwi forwards.
Back row men Dan Squire and Cameron Pearson both appeared on the wing to finish off in the corner, while hooker Howie Murray finished a line-out drive for the final score.
That came just after Horton had been banished for preventing a penalty being quickly taken. His first yellow card had been for handling on the deck in an equally desperate situation. He’ll probably get a one-match ban, but for the pleasure of avenging the home defeat by Mowden he’ll think it’s worth it.
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