125 years young! A milestone celebrated in style (and mud)!

Oh what a day! Despite storm Dennis' blusters and horizontal rain, a crowded sideline cheered on, as Trees' players bravely battled for elusive balls and against slippery opponents. After a few minutes of rolling around in the mud, only the yellow detailing on Thirsk's shirts allowed players to distinguish teammate from opponent. Nonetheless, the intense clash carried on for the full 80 minutes, greatly pleasing the spectators, soaked with rain and ale in equal measure.

Our guests from Thirsk kicked off with the wind at their backs, starting a furious struggle for the control of the ball: the turbulent conditions made anything else other than 10-man rugby a near impossibility, to the despair of the local Fijian contingent. On the other hand, an unyielding defence kept the visitors away from Rowntree's try line, with devastating tackles, in particular courtesy of second row Tom Eaton, and flankers Kens Gayle and Rhys Carlyle. The backs, though their usual swiftness on dry land was much hindered in the sludge, centres Manasa Raikoso and Ali O'Gara offered an impenetrable defence, whilst back three extraordinaire Joe Smith, Sevu Tui, and Jale Bakani covered kicks cleanly and efficiently, supported by an always lurking no. 8 Zak Hardy. For thirty minutes, the harsh battle midfield saw the visitors in possession of the ball, but unable to find a solution. And then, after a short lineout well negotiated by prop Conor Lynch-Smith, skipper-hooker (a type of mammal not unlike a springbock) Ryan Roodt found a breach in Thirsk's defence over on the left side of the field and firmly planted the ball in the wet soil: 5-0. The gale took the conversion, and both teams separated for half-time to go shiver in big huddles.

Trees kicked off, this time with the wind, and advanced to occupy the guests' half. This territorial gain resulted in a penalty in a favourable position, which Ali O'Gara considerately scored: 8-0. The hosts now in possession of the ball, proceeded to attack more frequently than in the first half: prop Ryan Corker for his début at Rowntree displayed much bottle around the rucks, second row Leo Ballantyne proved particularly dangerous around the gain line, whilst the game was animated by the imaginative half-backs, the intoxicating Jack Daniels as a scrum-half and the electrifying John Hatton as a fly-half. The bench got busy, as tired bodies were replaced by fresher, well, certainly cleaner ones: coaching paid: after a fierce series of carries, prop Marc Ford punctured the defence and touched the ball down in the promised land - a well-deserved liberating try converted by O'Gara: 15-0! To their credit, Thirsk never gave up, and kept attacking until the end, but Rowntree's defence remained unbroken.

After this hotly-contested fixtures, played in tempestuous conditions, players old and new celebrated Rowntree's 125th Anniversary in high style, with many family members in attendance - a convivial soirée to remember! Next week sees Trees travel down the A19 for a friendly game against Selby. Kick off at 14:15 at Sandhill Lane, for what should be another exciting afternoon of rugby.

Tries: R. Roodt; M. Ford.
Conversion: A. O'Gara.
Penalty: A. O'Gara.

Squad: R. Corker; R. Roodt (C); C. Lynch-Smith; T. Eaton; L. Ballantyne; K. Gayle; R. Carlyle; Z. Hardy; J. Daniels; J. Hatton. M. Raikoso; A. O'Gara; J. Smith; S. Tui; J. Bakani.
Finishers: G. Churchill; M. Ford; H. Smith; D. Mahlaulo; R. Cames.