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Photos: Jack Western
The inaugural Durham-York College Varsity Rugby match ended in a disappointing 49-0 defeat for Halifax, against a superior Hatfield college on 22 Acres. The game saw Halifax dominated for the large majority of play, with the team failing to leave their own half in the first forty minutes, and then struggle with keeping the ball in the second forty.
The first half was a drubbing for Halifax, with Hatfield putting thirty four points on the score sheet, with Halifax offering very little in response. The Durham side, which from the very first minute of the game looked a far more cohesive unit, fielded a strong back line which dominated play. The passing of the Hatfield side opened up the defensive frailties of the Halifax side, which also struggled to cope with the pace and power of the Durham team.
Six tries and two conversions sealed a dominant performance from Hatfield, with the only disappointing part of the winning side was their inability to slot home conversions.
The second side saw Halifax play with more confidence as they broke out of their own half from kick-off, showing Hatfield just how they could play. Although on the defensive for sizeable periods of the half, Hatfield were still able to score three more tries, to raise the score to 49-0. Halifax came close to scoring tries off both wings, but each time the Hatfield defence was either to fast or too strong to allow Halifax to get the ball over the line.
An entertaining match in all, at least if you aren’t from Halifax, which showed the superiority of the Durham side, who only fielded sixteen players compared to the twenty four man squad of the Halifax side. Man of the match goes to Robin Hardman of the Hatfield side who scored three tries in the first half, as well as displaying strong passing in the whole match. Elliot Fairclough, Halifax winger is the notable player of the losing side, displaying strong runs in both halves.