The Courier 1268: Stan Calvert

78.75 - 64.25

STAN CALVERT

2013

2.StanCalvert

Tuesday 12 March 2013

The Courier

Powerful Poly show Stan Calvert Cup 2013

MEN’S RUGBY UNION Newcastle 1sts

14

Northumbria 1sts

30

By Ralph Blackburn Sports Editor Despite losing the Stan Calvert Cup, Northumbria triumphed in the showpiece event in arctic conditions at Kingston Park last Sunday. Northumbria asserted themselves early on in each half, and despite a spirited comeback leading to two Newcastle tries at the end of each half, the Poly’s points total was too much to overcome, and they ran out deserved winners.

The game started scrappily, with Northumbria consistently offending at the breakdown, however Newcastle were unable to capitalise as most of the offenses were out of kickable range.

Newcastle’s line out was uncharacteristically dysfunctional; they won only two of their six first half line outs, considerably blunting the amount of territory they accumulated. Northumbria’s mammoth pack began to force Newcastle back down the pitch, however they continued to infringe at the breakdown meaning breaks by scrum half Sam Ash and 120 kilogram number eight Finlay Coxon Smith came to little.

Newcastle’s leaky line out in part lead to the opening try of the match. After a pressure throw on the Royals’ five metre line failed to go to hand, Northumbria steadily built pressure and fly half Toby East, who missed the whole of last season injured, stepped back inside his man and slid over under the posts. East, under a cacophony of boos from the volatile Posh crowd, succumbed to the pressure and smashed his kick straight against the upright.

Northumbria upped the pressure and Alex Hind, who had been out for a while with a hand injury, dropped a catch. After a poor clearance was sliced into touch on the full, East made another break and Newcastle gave away the penalty. East had a chance to atone for his earlier error, however profuse booing, obscenities, and a strong gust of wind meant he pulled his kick to the left.

Newcastle’s line out woes continued and after Northumbria once again conceded a penalty, yet despite Cook’s massive touch finder the line out was once again lost and Northumbria were able to clear. At this point, halfway through the first half, hail began to rain down on the pitch in a post apocalyptic manner, which made flowing rugby fairly tricky.

Northumbria again built phases on the Newcastle line, regularly timing passes to perfection bringing momentum to their attacks. Poly full back Adam King, who was playing in his first start since November, nearly snuck in in the corner but just got forced into touch. Newcastle

once again lost the line out, and after the keeping the ball in the forwards, Northumbria centre Kevin McLean barged his way over the line. East’s nerves had calmed and he slotted the ball over the posts to take Northumbria to a 12-0 lead.

The Royals’ finally began to build some concerted pressure as the half came to a close, with Johnny Burn’s grubber kick nearly putting Jack Cook through. After this break, Tom Banks’ offload sparked an Ali Banton charge. Newcastle continually broke the gain line, before Matt Proctor charged under the posts, and Cook made no mistake with the conversion sparking scenes of jubilation and violence amongst the Posh supporters.

As both teams ran out for the second half, the snow was so heavy that it was almost impossible for supporters to see the far side of the pitch. The first score of the half was key, and the Royals gave themselves a mountain to climb, as after East slotted a penalty, Newcastle centre Ioan Davies was sent to the bin. Newcastle’s lack of numbers caught them out several minutes later, when after Northumbria effected a quick turnover, a kick into the Newcastle half led to a Northumbria score, with scrum half Ash being the first to touch down the ball over the line.

Northumbria continued to press the Newcastle line, and as with the first half, Newcastle left it too late before start-

ing to play. After almost ten minutes of 5-metre scrums, and an intense physical battle, Newcastle desperately flicked the ball out of the maul, and the referee awarded a penalty try.

Once again the Royals only started playing once the game was almost out of their reach, and after a kick was charged down, the impressive fresher Tom Banks, who has moved from 3rds to 1sts in the space of six months, kept up quick ball and fed replacement hooker Ibi Fashawe who charged over. Cook added the extras to leave it at 30-14 to Northumbria with ten minutes to play.

Within a minute of the try Harry Bate, Newcastle’s blindside, made a blistering 60 metre break down the middle of the pitch, bringing the members of the crowd not about to break out into a fight to their feet. Northumbria were caught offside, and after an excellent kick to the Northumbria 5 metre line, Newcastle’s line out worked perfectly, and Bate who started the move charged to the line only to undeservedly get held up just short.

Sadly Newcastle ran out of time to put themselves back in contention, and just before the full time whistle the customary fight broke out. Whilst the scuffle had nothing on the Men’s Rugby League’s 1sts thirty man brawl, it still saw Jo Beckett and Northumbria tight head Oli Longmore headed for the bin with seconds left on the clock.

King

Weightmen Martin

Grimes

McLean East

Ash

Coxon Smith

Scott-Paul Pette

Longmore

Schofield (c)

Newcastle and Northumbria rise for a line out Photography: Jack Gelsthorpe

Dannatt

Entressengle

Troke

WHAT THE STATS SAY Banton

Proctor

Wrem

Kitching

Camara Alston

Bate

Hind T Banks Burn Davis

Illingworth

Beckett (c) Harding

Despite repeated infringements around the ruck area by Northumbria, as shown by conceding almost double the number of penalties as Newcastle, the Royals were unable to capitalise as seen by only having a 50% success rate in their line out.

This was key to the outcome of the match, as in the second half when the Newcastle line out began functioning, Northumbria were already out of sight.

Cook

HOW IT UNFOLDED: Photography (L-R): Michael Oakes, Best Photo9raphy, NUBC

17th Feb Newcastle get the competition off to a great start with a comprehensive win in the American Football

Penalties conceded 6

11

Newcastle

Northumbria

The Courier

StanCalvert.3

Tuesday 12 March 2013

Poly shade NWR passion Stan Calvert Cup 2013

WOMEN’S RUGBY UNION Newcastle 1sts

5

Northumbria 1sts

17

By Jennifer Evans at Druid Park In wintery conditions on the 4G pitch at Druid Park, Northumbria women’s rugby union team beat Newcastle 17-5 in what was billed as ‘the game of the season’. After a great season for NWR finishing mid-table in their first season in the Premiership, and with Northumbria winning promotion to the Premiership this season, both teams’ expectations were high.

Northumbria were the first to score

with a somewhat underwhelming forwards try inside the first four minutes and the conversion quickly followed.

Northumbria dominated territory with Newcastle only advancing significantly into their 22 after 27 minutes of play.

With the referee penalising Newcastle multiple times for holding on to the ball, the pace was slow.

Thirty minutes saw another try from Northumbria, but this time they failed

looking up for the Royals, with Malins and flanker Katie ‘Magic’ McEvoy making some huge hits against Northumbria’s forwards . However, it was not Newcastle’s day, and Northumbria’s forwards hammered Newcastle’s defence, scoring another try seven minutes into the second half.

With ten minutes to go the Royals began to pick up the pace with some superb runs from fly-half Rosie Neal,

“With Malins back on things were looking up for the Royals, with Malins and flanker ‘Magic’ McEvoy making some huge hits” to kick the conversion. With the possibility of a victory quickly slipping away from Newcastle, captain number 8 Holly Malins was sin binned just before half time for holding on, an unpopular decision with the NWR crowd.

In the second half, Northumbria failed to take advantage of their extra player and with Malins back on things were

inside-centre Lucy Henson and McEvoy eventually resulting in Newcastle’s one and only try from prop Charlotte Flint.

Into the dying minutes, Northumbria were content to wind down the clock and the whistle sealed an historic victory for Northumbria, let’s hope in the rematches next season Newcastle are on better form!

Invincible Owls undone Stan Calvert Cup 2013

RUGBY LEAGUE 1sts Newcastle 1sts

16

Northumbria 1sts

32

By Chris Griffiths at Druid Park

Lineouts 6

5

Lost

Scrums 6

5

Lost

Lost

5

6

Won

Won

Northumbria

Newcastle

3rd Mar Newcastle continue to dominate by winning both the Waterpolo fixtures

NURL 1sts and 2nds suffered a rare double defeat at the hands of two spirited Northumbria sides. The unbeaten first team went into their varsity fixture brimming with confidence to play a Poly team who they knew would be extremely well drilled.

In a pulsating and hard hitting encounter, with players being continually smashed backwards, the Poly scored a shock upset under the faltering floodlights on a chilly Druid Park 4G surface.

An early try, surprisingly from top try scorer George Matthew saw the Owls take an early lead.

However, from the following kick off Northumbria began to take a hold on the game.

Uncharacteristic penalties given by the peanut headed referee led to North-

umbria crashing over for a converted try and from there they kicked on to victory.

Greek god Andreas Methenitis worked tirelessly in midfield alongside partner in crime Harry Rigby, but this wasn’t enough for NURL to gain control in the game.

Dan Capaross ran his hardest eventually knocking himself out joining hooker Matt Woods in seeing stars and forgetting everything about the game.

This report will now break both their hearts in seeing we got beat and neither of them scored hat tricks.

With numerous players bowing out in their final Stan Calvert, the game could not be finished with a straight forward narrow defeat: the Owls’ big mouthed prop Conor Ellison took it upon himself to initiate a 26 man brawl.

In an attempt to make a ‘bad day at the office’ somewhat enjoyable, all participated in a good old fashioned biff.

Cards of all colours were dished out in the aftermath by the referee meaning the AU’s most beloved finished with just eleven men, with captain Griffiths seeing red.

Once again league champions and once again established as one of the top four teams in the country soon takes the edge off a day to forget. A semi-final against Leeds Met on Wednesday will see the boys in blue attempt to further enhance what has already been a fantastic season.

Lost

5

6

Won

Won

Northumbria

Newcastle

4th Mar Northumbria get a foothold in the competition with a 5-1 victory in women’s football.

Newcastle and Northumbria contest a scrum under the lights at Druid Park Photography: Ralph Blackburn

6th Mar Honours are shared in the men’s cricket, however Newcastle clean sweeps the Rowing

Stan Calvert Cup 2013

RUGBY LEAGUE 2nds Newcastle 2nds

4

Northumbria 2nds 36

By Chris Griffiths at Bullocksteads The 2nds put in a valiant effort against a very strong Poly outfit with NURL bad boy Frank Bagley leading from the front with a bruising display earning him man of the match. Edgy fresher Matt Fry also performed well, clinically finishing everything that came his way, apart from dropping it over the line, a moment to forget. An impressive display from Matty O’Neil defensively with centres Dan Shortman and John Portsmouth taking no backwards steps in attack led to NURL having some promising phases, but Northumbria proved too much for the death machine to handle. A third place finish in the league, a good cup run and Tommy Schoefield putting a big shot on in their final game, the 2s can look back at their season with a smile as wide as Conor Ellison’s waist.

4.stancalvert

Tuesday 12 March 2013

Firsts secure famous victory over rivals Stan Calvert Cup 2013

MEN’S FOOTBALL

Newcastle 1sts

2

Northumbria 1sts

1

By Carlos Manrique at Longbenton Newcastle’s men’s 1sts football team achieved one of the finest victories of the Stan Calvert cup against their heavily favoured local rivals Northumbria, at Longbenton last Thursday evening.

Substitute Adam Ball scored a last minute winner sparking scenes of jubilation on the Royals bench.

Newcastle, entering the game a division below the Northumbria 1sts, anchored in the relegation zone with only one win in ten games, were seen as considerable underdogs. Newcastle however traditionally punch above their weight in this fixture, and on a packed 3G it was to be no different.

The game started as one would expect a derby to start, with high pressure

on the ball, and few clear-cut chances.

Newcastle the were the more offensive side, however Northumbria’s well drilled defense stood strong with the only chance for the Royals coming from a corner.

As the second half started the tempo increased. Newcastle suffered a majorsetback when captain Alex Auld spent five minutes on the ground nursing a head injury, before finally being replaced by Danny Knowles. Despite a bloodied nose, Auld shouted his team on from the sidelines and was instru-

The Courier

The football 1st XI pose for a team photo after their monumental result Photography: Fraser Kennedy

sion became palpable, however Newcastle still had the majority of the play.

After several missed chances, substitute Adam Ball, who had replaced Tom Stapleton up top, finished calmly to see the Newcastle bench erupt in joy. After extensive celebrations and a few cagey minutes at the end, the referee sounded the final whistle to the relief of the home support. Newcastle secured a valuable two points towards their Stan Calvert total, which in a year when the swing was a mere five events, ensured the trophy stayed in the blue half on Newcastle.

“Despite suffering a head injury, Auld shouted his team on from the sidelines and was instrumental in spurring his team to victory” mental in spurring them on to victory.

Shortly after this Northumbria took the lead, from a tight decision by the linesman.

The Royals however did not get fazed, and stayed calm to draw level minutes later. After Jake Salisbury had a peach of a goal bizarrely ruled out for a previous free kick, James Swainston did not let this deter him, and after his original effort hit the wall smashed the rebound into the net.

As the minutes ticked over the ten-

Particular credit must go to both goalkeepers, who performed minor miracles to keep the goal count at only three.

When brawls and stand offs were seen across the city, the game was played in the good spirit that football is all about.

Newcastle starting team: Irvine; Dhugga, Okokwo, Auld (c), Pilkington; Goodier, Sexton, Salisbury, Walkin, Swainston; Stapleton. Subs: Knowles; Wheeler; Ball

Seconds cruelly beaten in Stan Calvert Stan Calvert Cup 2013

MEN’S FOOTBALL

Newcastle 2nds

4

Northumbria 2nds 5

By Nick Gabriel at Longbenton A stoppage time penalty from Northumbria ultimately decided an enthralling encounter on the Longbenton 3G, as Newcastle’s 2nd XI slipped to a cruel 5-4 defeat in what was undoubtedly one of the sporting highlights of the Stan Calvert weekend.

In a captivating affair that had a real old-fashioned cup tie feel to it, it was Northumbria’s Jamie Quinn who stepped up to slot home the injury time spot-kick, after forward Ben Clark had been brought down when trying to round Uni. goalkeeper Scott Rawson.

In the wake of Newcastle 1st’s win over Northumbria on the Thursday night, the Royals undoubtedly would have been hopeful of following in the wake

7th Mar Despite Northumbria winning both the volleyball fixtures, Newcastle strike back in the men’s football 1sts

of their seniors’ success in springing a surprise result on their local rival.

Newcastle were slow out of the traps however, and were punished for their lack of attentiveness when they fell behind with less than 10 minutes played. It was undoubtedly an extremely soft goal to concede, as Northumbria’s left-winger Johnny Wright was left completely unmarked at the back post to a nod a floated cross home from 5 yards out.

The Royals did offer a response soon after, as powerful left-footed effort from Henry Scutt stung the palms of Poly goalkeeper Mike Hughes.

Northumbria however continued to threaten. Only a trademark last-ditch block from centre-half Eddy Holden prevented Clark from doubling his side’s advantage, after the striker had been played through on goal.

After a string of narrow escapes for the Royals, with Poly centre-half George Foster and Clarke once more both guilty of missing decent chances for the away side, against the run of play Newcastle levelled proceedings. On this occasion, a clipped ball into the box from Joe Watson was well controlled by Alex Ames, who then proceeded to swivel and smash the ball past the motionless Hughes to level the contest.

Visibly buoyed by the equaliser, Newcastle took the lead with five minutes of the half remaining. Ames was once

more at the heart of the move, picking the ball up wide on the left-hand side and beginning his descent on the away goal. The tricky winger skipped past the full-back before playing a neat one-two with the lively Robbie Sweet before opening up his body and steering the ball home in off the far post with minimal backlift – a true Thierry Henry trademark finish.

However with the interval looming, the Royals were unable to show the composure and ability to control the game that would enable them to see out the narrow advantage until the halftime break.

Northumbria’s left-hand side proved to be the proverbial thorn in Newcastle’s side once again, as a neat move down that side made space for swashbuckling full-back Dec Doherty to be played in and slide the ball home past the onrushing Rawson.

The second half began with the Royals once again starting slowly, as they found themselves 4-2 down within 10 minutes of the restart. First, the Poly regained the lead following an impressive piece of hold up play by Clark. Using his strength to wait for the runners, a neat through ball down Newcastle’s leftsided channel rolled beautifully into the path of Rich Lally.

The Northumbria skipper then showed great composure to hold off the

8th Mar Northumbria take the men’s 1sts basketball, however Newcastle clean sweep the hockey.

challenge of the retreating defender, before tucking the ball into the corner of the net.

Things got worse for the Royals soon after, as Northumbria’s left-side of Doherty and Wright combined well yet again to create a pocket of space for a low cross across the 6-yard box. Substitute Tito Davison was rewarded for being the only attacking player to gamble at making a move towards the back stick, and was consequently able to guide the ball home.

A string of heavy challenges from both sides followed, eventually culminating in a bout of handbags between Newcastle’s Holden and Northumbria’s Mike Byram. With the referee clearly eager to stamp his authority on the game and prevent things from boiling over, both players were subsequently given their marching orders.

The red card for Newcastle triggered some activity in the Newcastle dugout, as the Royals went to three at the back whilst, at the other end of the pitch, Chris Fraser came on to replace the tireless David Colpitts. The forward was beginning to look a bit leggy having ploughed a lone furrow for much of the second period.

The change paid immediate dividends, as Fraser got himself on the scoresheet mere minutes after entering the fray.

There was undoubtedly a huge amount

9th Mar

of fortune about the goal, as a deep cross from Scutt seemed to be safely floating into the hands of Hughes. However, inexplicably the keeper managed to spill the ball into the path of the lurking Fraser, who then had the simplest of tasks of rolling the ball into the unguarded net.

The unexpected goal appeared to revitalize the previously flagging Royals as they began to lay siege to the Northumbria goal. It came as little surprise therefore when the equaliser arrived soon after.

On this occasion, a set piece from the right-hand side was wonderfully whipped in from Sweet, bouncing once inside the six-yard box, before nestling in the far corner of the goal. Despite any number of Newcastle players claiming it was they who got the decisive touch, slow motion replays showed it to have gone straight in direct from the freekick, its path undisturbed.

The equaliser set the game up for a grandstand finish, with both sides desperate to grab the crucial Stan Calvert points.

First, Scutt saw his cross-come-shot fumbled nervously around the post by Hughes, before a Lampard-esque late run into the box from Sweet was picked out with a neat cutback, but the playmaker guided his effort too close to Hughes who was able to parry the ball

10th Mar

The points are shared in the As Sunday begins Newcascross country. tle are 27-19 to the good.

Photography (L-R): Lucy Williams, Jack Mackenzie

The Courier

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Tuesday 12 March 2013

Thirds outclassed by Poly Stan Calvert Cup 2013

MEN’S FOOTBALL

Newcastle 3rds

1

Northumbria 3rds

7

By Tom Nicholson at Longbenton In arctic conditions at Longbenton, Northumbria brushed aside the challenge of a rather inept Newcastle team who froze both metaphorically and literally under the intense pressure which only a Stan Calvert cup tie can bring.

For long periods the game was strongly reminiscent of the scene in The Simpsons in which Homer beats seven shades out of an actor playing the Hamburglar while a small boy in the crowd cries, “stop... stop, he’s already dead.”

The contest – and I use the word ‘contest’ in the loosest possible sense – began cagily for Newcastle, with Northumbria monopolising possession and the Royals looking to play on the break through Dhan Hussain on the right wing. However, poor passing in all areas of the pitch and vigorous pressing on the part of the Northumbria forwards and midfielders kept Newcastle on the back foot, and it was the former problem which put Newcastle behind after 22 minutes.

An attempted clearance from the right-

back position dropped straight at the feet of a Northumbria midfielder who slipped it through to Ben Jefferson, who in turn finished calmly from ten yards out. Barely three minutes later Northumbria had the ball in the net again, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

Newcastle failed to make the most of this reprieve, however, and Northumbria scored two goals in as many minutes just after the half hour mark: the first was a beautifully arced shot into the top-right corner from the left-hand corner of the box by Liam Robson, the second a tapped-in rebound after Newcastle goalkeeper Zhulian Genev had acrobatically tipped a long-range shot onto the bar.

Sunday, Newcastle, and substitute Max O’Collins in particular, started the second half with more purpose. However, outstanding work in the centre of the Northumbria defence left the Newcastle strikers little to feed on, particularly with little support from midfield to help them. Northumbria’s fourth goal, blasted in over Genev’s head from 15 yards, was therefore something of an inevitability.

Hopes of a Newcastle comeback were briefly stoked in the 75th minute when James Arden-Bowden nodded in from at close range from a corner, but before the Newcastle fans had time to complete a celebratory Mexican wave Northumbria forward Luke Wilson had broken

“The game was reminiscent of the scene in the Simpsons when Homer beats seven shades out of an actor playing the ‘Hamburglar’, while a small boy in the crowd cried “stop... stop, he’s already dead” At half-time there were rumblings from the Newcastle bench that there were “too many Quavers” making up the team, the snack-based comparison referring to the fact that the Northumbria team breezed through ineffectual challenges far too easily all game long rather than Newcastle’s high calorie content or delicious cheesy flavour. After a teamtalk which was equal parts hairdryer treatment and Al Pacino in Any Given

away and cracked a 20-yard drive into the bottom corner.

Five minutes later, Jefferson strode onto a through ball and stroked the ball into the bottom left-hand corner, causing his manager to dissolve into peals of maniacal laughter. Jefferson completed his hat-trick with a 20-yard free-kick, immediately after which the referee took pity on Newcastle and drew proceedings to a close.

classic Royals slip to crushing defeat to safety.

However with the spoils seemingly set to be shared, the Poly cruelly nicked the win deep into injury time through Gunn’s imperturbable spot-kick.

Man of the Match: Robbie Sweet

Stan Calvert Cup 2013

WOMEN”S FOOTBALL Newcastle 1sts

1

Northumbria 1sts

5

Rawson

Southgate

Holden

Norman

Spencer

Watson

Scutt

Wilson

Ames

Sweet Colpitts Clark

Foster

Thompson Doherty

Lally

Byram

Wright

Brown

Foster

Arms

Hughes

12.36 PM The netball 4ths start the day in fine style for Uni, winning 49-21.

By Helen Palfrey at Coach Lane After last year’s shock Stan Calvert win for the 1sts, the pressure was on for a repeat performance. Tensions were running high, with the Poly playing on their home turf. This was made apparent by the abundance of chanting Poly supporters. However the Royals were not perturbed with their loyal fan base also getting rowdy, eager for the start of the game. A testament to both sets of fans, an electric atmosphere hung in the air in anticipation of kick off.

With everything to prove and nothing to lose the Royals made a fantastic start to the game dominating the middle of the park, with Victoria Scott particularly strong. The Poly, stunned by the confidence and audacity of the Roy-

als, struggled to string together three passes.

Newcastle looked promising as they continued to settle nicely into the game, and were able to move forward finding the feet of outstanding attacking duo Esme Richards and Lizzy Campbell, both of whom linked up well throughout.

The first real chance of the game came from some beautiful link up play between Campbell and Richards who was then unlucky not to put the ball away.

Instead a weak clearance from the Poly back four meant that Lucy Crann was able to strike the ball sweetly, first time, sending it soaring into the top corner

Lauren Millar easily scooped any up of the Poly’s chances. Unfortunately the long balls kept coming and the Royals were crucified by a 40 yard strike into the top corner to bring the Poly level.

Northumbria then continued to pepper the box with long range shorts which were easily dealt with by Millar.

The Royals struggled to regain control of the game with the Poly attacking from the back all the way through the field.

Coming up to the half time break the Royals frustrations began to show and aggression levels began to rise. However this was not matched by Northumbria who seemed determined to win every free kick possible with some very dubi-

“A testament to both sets of fans, an electric atmosphere hung in the air in anticipation of kick-off ” from 35 yards out. The goal was met by a chorus of joyous cheers from the Royal’s fans spurring them on.

However, stunned by the early goal, the Poly soon upped their game. With long 50 yard balls over the top from the Poly centre back, the Royals began to look a little shaky, although unanimously voted player of the match goal keeper

13.43 PM Men’s hockey edge out Northumbria 1-0.

ous decision making from the referee and embarrassing diving. Northumbria’s second goal came from a free kick, again questionably awarded, on the edge of the 18 yard box which was impressively curled into the top corner by the Poly centre back.

Disheartened by a disappointing end to the first half, to Royals upped their

game and started the second with the same determination they’d started the first. Exhausted from a backlog of BUCS and Sunday league fixtures, the Royals’ tiredness began to show as the Poly were unrelenting in the middle.

Scott still managed to hold her own in the middle, occasionally finding the feet of Richards or Campbell, but Newcastle’s chances were few and far between.

The same can’t be said for Northumbria whose chances in the second half were close to reaching double figures. Luckily for the Royals, Millar was on top of her game, charging off her line to throw herself at the feet of the Poly attackers, making numerous fantastic saves to keep the Royals in the game.

Due to the unrelenting Northumbria attack, Newcastle started conceding corners and occasionally failed to clear their lines first time. The 3rd goal came from a corner, lofted over the penalty box and poorly dealt with by the now exhausted Royals. Frustration and tiredness began to show and the next two goals came in quick succession, from another long range shot and a dubiously awarded free kick.

As the game drew to a close, the disappointed Royals held their own, refusing to give anything other than 110% effort all the way to the final whistle.

Player of the Match: Lauren Millar

14.01 PM More good news from the men’s squash as they defeat Northumbria 3-0.

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Tuesday 12 March 2013

The Courier

Netballers denied clean sweep NETBALL

Stan Calvert Cup 2013

Newcastle 1sts

48

Northumbria 1sts

49

By Lucy Williams at Sports Centre Last Sunday afternoon, scenes of jubilation erupted onto the court as the Newcastle 2nds emulated the 3rd and 4th teams by clinging onto the lead in their match and won narrowly with a score of 49-48. The 1sts followed for the showpiece event of the day at Newcastle University Sports Centre, and as the teams warmed up, a real sense of tension was building. There was no clear favourite for the match, as although Northern Premier side Newcastle won this Stan Calvert fixture last year and were determined to repeat this feat again, Northumbria 1sts have improved drastically and are currently sitting second in the BUCS Northern 1A division with a game in hand having impressively only lost one match out of nine this season.

As the match got under way, both contingents of support were boisterous and vocal in cheering on their teams.

Newcastle opened the scoring straight away much to the appreciation of the blue half of the crowd. Newcastle scored 5 nets before the Poly managed to even

get on the score sheet, and with the scoring partner duo of Emily Whiteside and Hannah Swainson looking in fine form, all signs were pointing towards a Uni win. There was some slick link-up play between WA Katie Rimmer and shooter Whiteside, which culminated in a point for Newcastle and the score stood at 9-3, a comfortable margin for Newcastle to be leading by. However, Northumbria got back into contention despite the best efforts of the Blues’ GK Helen Jones, and the first quarter finished 13-10 to Newcastle.

Fresh from a team huddle, the second quarter witnessed a more aggressive Northumbria side with their GK pushing into Whiteside, which resulted in a chorus of jeering from the Newcastle support. Unaffected by the attempts at intimidation, GS Whiteside continued to score every shot she went for but the Northumbria attack were accurate too resulting in the second quarter finishing 24-24. Chants of ‘let’s go Poly let’s go’ filled the sports centre as the Poly comeback spurred on their support.

The third quarter was the lowest scoring one of the match with defences of both sides playing superbly. Halfway through the quarter, the towering presence of Newcastle GD Mia Archer prevented Northumbria from taking the lead for the first time and led to a quick paced counter-attack resulting in a net for the blues and so the score stood at a close 29-28. Throughout the whole quarter, the points margin never went over three and on-point shooting at both ends saw it finish 36-35 to Newcastle.

Having never been on the losing end for the first three quarters of the match, the game was Newcastle’s to be won,

yet Northumbria had other plans and the start of the fourth quarter saw the Poly go in front for the first time with the score at 37-36. There was great defensive play from Archer and Jones, and good pace from Newcastle WD Rachel Saville, but Newcastle failed to capitalise upon this play in the final third; Swainson and Whiteside were unusually failing to shoot on target, whereas Northumbria were taking their chances where they mattered, and soon the score was 48-44 to the Poly. With both benches on their feet, the noise in the hall was deafening. Centre passes were converted by both teams, but the momentum was with Northumbria and with a minute to go of the match, they were leading 49-47. The atmosphere could be cut with a knife as Swainson scored for Newcastle to bring it to within a point. It was Northumbria’s centre and with 30 seconds remaining it was to be the last one of the match. With the Poly’s excellent form in this final quarter, everyone was expecting them to convert it, however, with help from a fierce interception by Archer, Newcastle found themselves with the ball and the opportunity to complete a comeback with an equaliser. In the dying seconds of the match, Whiteside found herself with the ball and aiming for the net. In unbelievable scenes, the shooter made a rare miss under the intense pressure and the whistle blew for the end of the game. The Poly gathering stormed onto the court and the Newcastle players looked on in shock. Newcastle Centre, Alice Hagyard, who had worked tirelessly round the court, looked inconsolable; Northumbria had been chasing them the whole game, yet they had somehow managed to steal victory from

their hands.

A sing-off between the two rival camps ensued with chants of ‘3-1,3-1!’ from the Newcastle players since overall it had been a successful afternoon for the NUNC, nevertheless it was bittersweet to not attain the clean sweep and allow the Poly bragging rights.

Newcastle 2nds Northumbria 2nds

49 48

Arguably the highlight of the afternoon, the 2nd teams put on a high octane display of netball. The final quarter left the support with their nerves shattered as Newcastle, possibly intimidated by the screams from the Poly bench, threw away a decent lead to bring it to within a point, but they managed to hold onto the win and undo the disappointment of a loss in last year’s Stan Calvert.

Newcastle 3rds Northumbria 3rds

1sts’ Mia Archer leaping to defend Photography: Freya Cromarty

49 46

A tense match with the shooting on both sides shining throughout. However, it was to be the Newcastle 3rds who were able to hold off a Poly comeback in the final quarter and beat them for the second year running.

Newcastle 4ths Northumbria 4ths

49 21

The first match of the day was to be the only match where the winner was never in doubt. With nearly as much as a thrity point margin, it was a comprehensive win for the Newcastle 4ths who dominated from the outset.

Lucy Tyson in action for the 2nds Photography: Freya Cromarty

Newcastle spiked by Poly volley Stan Calvert Cup 2013

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL Newcastle

0

Northumbria

3

By Lucy Williams at UNN Sport Central With the Northumbria men’s volleyball team currently sitting first in their BUCS division and the women’s team sitting pretty in second place, the Stan Calvert Volleyball fixture was always going to be considered a certainty for a Northumbria victory. Last Thursday evening at Sport Central, the Northumbria volleyball teams did not disappoint and showed why they were considered one of the best in the country, however Team Newcastle put up a good fight and did not allow for a complete walk-over from their varsity rivals.

It was the turn of the women’s team

first, and from the outset they looked like they meant business. A volleyball match is the best out of five sets with the first four being played up to 25 points as long as there is a 2 point margin, and in the event of going to a fifth set it is played to 15 points. However, with Northumbria’s impressive form in the first set, it was clear this match was not going to require more than three sets. Northumbria’s service was just too powerful for Newcastle with many points being conceded from aces where either the ball hit the floor untouched or the returning digs caused the ball to go out of play.

Newcastle’s Kjorsvik and Hardenberg managed to match up to Northumbria’s fierce attackers on a few occasions helping to earn their side some points. Yet, the first set was over in only 10 minutes with the score of 25-6 to Northumbria.

The second set was a different story and the crowd witnessed a more confident Newcastle; Northumbria conceded the opening two points, and for the majority of the set the points margin was never more than four points. Newcastle did not resemble a team that was ten places below their Northumbria rivals in the Northern Women’s Volleyball BUCS league.

With longer rallies and much more self- belief than the first set, Newcastle made Northumbria work harder for the

14.05 PM Northumbria are well on top in the table tennis leading 6-1, 5-0 in the men’s table tennis Photography: Ralph Blackburn

set, which they eventually won with a narrower margin of 25-16. This was to be Newcastle’s only glory of the match though with the third set more akin to the first; Newcastle’s only points were to be from Northumbria errors of serving or spiking the ball too long. Newcastle’s Adamova earned her side a rare point with an aggressive spike, but the set finished 25-8 to give Northumbria a wellearned victory of 3 sets to nil.

Stan Calvert Cup 2013

the rest of the field in their division. It was a close opening to the first set with Northumbria conceding points first, but this promising start was not to be consistent, and the first set was over quickly with a score of 25-8 to Northumbria.

The second set was a closer affair with the score at one point being just 1610 to Northumbria; formidable serves from Newcastle’s Solidus and Filipe earned Newcastle points but Northumbria were just too strong and the eventual result of the set was 25-11. The

third set started off very much like the second with Newcastle going 2 points up, however they failed to keep momentum going their way and the much taller team of Northumbria outclassed them on blocks at the net and spikes over the net. The final result was 25-9 to Northumbria and so that completed the Poly clean sweep of the volleyball. Newcastle did not embarrass themselves though and never gave up against a side that, on paper, should have eased to victory far quicker than they did.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL Newcastle

0

Northumbria

3

By Lucy Williams at UNN Sport Central Following on from the Newcastle Women’s resilience against a much superior Poly, it was the turn of the men to try and match up against a strong Northumbria side who are well above

14.47 PM Northumbria edge what is arguably the tie of the cup in a 5-4 thriller in the men’s 2nds football at Longbenton

Newcastle Women’s No. 8 setting the ball up for the spiker Photography: Lucy Williams

18.20 PM The Poly mount a fightback, taking a surprise victory in the men’s rugby league 1sts which ends in a brawl

The Courier

stancalvert.7

Tuesday 12 March 2013

Rowers milk their victory ROWING

Stan Calvert Cup 2013

Newcastle

8

Northumbria

0

By Emily Keen at Newburn With a stash of medals from the recent BUCS Head weighing down the rowers of Newcastle University, they graced the banks of Newburn last Wednesday for the much anticipated Stan Calvert races.

Oars were wielded on the Tyne at 2.00pm for Newcastle and Northumbria to battle it out over a grueling one kilometer stretch of the Newburn straight.

Last year Newcastle won every single race. This year the crews were stronger, fitter and more experienced and with a clean sweep of golds across the board, they certainly didn’t disappoint.

The categories chosen by Northumbria to race included a men’s single and quad, and women’s lightweight single and lightweight quad.

Gemma Hall boated first, to race in the women’s lightweight single. Gemma recently posted the fastest U23 women’s lightweight time at the Spring GB Trials, coming 4th overall out of all the lightweight women in the country.

She wasted no time putting Northumbria in their place with an inevitable and well-deserved victory.

She told The Courier that “it was really fun to race head to head” adding that “the support from the crowds was great”.

James Rudkin followed in the Men’s single, easily piping Northumbria to the line. James began at Newcastle in September fresh from representing Great Britain at international level.

In the recent GB trials, James came 24th overall and 9th in U23, no mean feat.

Northumbria’s lightweight women’s quad pulled a gold medal at the BUCS Head last weekend, so looked to be the competition of the day. Newcastle’s elite crew, however, proved to be too much for the one hit wonder medalists.

The crew consisted of Rosie Rust and Natalie Hardy fresh from their silver medal in the lightweight IV at BUCS Head, joining them were Henley winners Harriet Broad and Lexi Dobson.

They cruised past the finish line with Northumbria in their wake attempting to keep up.

The closest race was the final one of the day; the Men’s Intermediate LW 4 x winning their race by half a length.

It looked to be a close run race but Newcastle pulled away for the win.

Northumbria’s crew stood up for the crowd at the end of the race with 4 pints of milk and preceded to “milk it”.

A phenomenon that has recently swept Newcastle involving the entire cartoon being emptied over the “milker’s” head in random locations around Newcastle.

The Tyne at Newburn certainly pro-

Rory the lion celebrates as Newcastle’s rowers notch up further successes Photography: NUBC

vided a unique setting, although, as one spectator observed, “perhaps they might have actually had a victory to milk, had they not had 4 pints of Tesco’s finest weighing them down!” Yet another successful day for Newcastle Rowers.

Fresh from their Poly bashing warm

up, NUBC will be flexing their muscles at the women race at Women’s Eights Head of the River race in London this weekend, to be followed by the men on the 23rd March.

Head of the River is one of the biggest races of the year. Last year the women’s

first eight came an impressive 12th overall and the Men’s first eight pulled a remarkable 7th place. The bar has been set high, best of luck to all those competing and take heed from Northumbria’s unfortunate gamble: leave the milking till after the race!

Spoils shared at South North Stan Calvert Cup 2013

MEN’S CRICKET

Newcastle

2

Northumbria

2

By Joey Barton at South Gosforth Newcastle and Northumbria men’s cricket teams shared the spoils in the Stan Calvert indoor cricket matches on Wednesday. For anyone who doubts that cricket can be a thrilling fast paced game they should have headed down to South Northumberland CC to witness the rough and tumble nature of two hard fought Stan Calvert encounters.

The format was 6 a side with 10 overs per side and the 2nd VI game kicked off proceedings with Poly batting first.

In a match where it is perhaps tricky to identify a par score Race anchored the innings for Northumbria hitting 34 not out having opened the batting.

Some tidy bowling from the Royals resulted in wickets for Tom Clarke, Matt Douse and Sunter as Newcastle will have been happy at the halfway stage to have restricted Northumbria to a manageable 85/4 from their 10 overs.

In reply Sunter took his lead from Race and having opened the batting, he saw his team home with 2 balls to spare and by 2 wickets to give Newcastle the first points of the 2013 Stan Calvert cricket competition. Supported by a cameo from Clarke, Sunter was accompanied at the end by Caleb Jones to see the Royals over the line despite 2 wick-

“Northumbria appeared to be cruising to victory until Essex, now seemingly on a one man mission, returned to the bowling attack in the final over” ets apiece for Marchant and Wright.

Immediately following this tense clash the two first choice 6 a side teams faced off with Newcastle this time batting first.

Wicketkeeper Gareth Pursehouse and Schofield opened the batting but Purse-

18.30 PM Newcastle see off the men’s squash 1sts in what appears to guarentee Newcastle victory

house struggled to give the innings the impetus he wanted to and having previously swung and missed at a pair of Scott Campbell deliveries, Pursehouse perished looking for the big shot again, as he was stumped off Campbell for 4.

Left-armer Campbell continued his ultimately match winning spell, by astonishingly bowling a wicket maiden in the 10 over format, as he had Schofield caught at mid off looking for a maximum to reduce the Royals to a below par 37-2 after 6 overs.

Things got worse for Newcastle in the next over when captain Tom Ullyot was

Photography: Joey Barton

run out for 6 after an incredibly athletic piece of fielding from cover by George Clarke sparking scenes of jubilation from the Northumbrians. The arrival of Hugo Snape at the crease sparked a slight shift in the momentum as he

launched a huge 6 on his way to a quickfire 20, before going for one huge hit too many as he was well held on the boundary in the penultimate over bowled by Adam Berry.

The 10th and final over of the innings proved to be a fruitful one for Newcastle despite an amusing mix up between James Essex and Will Street which left both batsmen looking hopeless at the non striker’s end. Despite attempts from the Northumbria fielders to make a mess of the situation Essex was run out for 14 leaving Street as the last man to play well throughout the final over to finish as the Royals’ top scorer on 22 not out. Newcastle’s total of 92-5 seemed to be about par in the sports hall considering the scores seen in the earlier innings’.

Having earlier impressed with the bat Snape got the second innings off to a perfect start for the Royals bowling a miserly over in which he conceded just two runs.

Unfortunately for Newcastle this early pressure quickly evaporated with George Clarke, sporting a West Indian coloured helmet, leading a counter attack as Northumbria reached 41-0 after 4 overs.

As the Poly moved easily above the required run rate frustration began to

grow into Newcastle’s game, highlighted by an over of short pitched bowling from Essex which included 3 no balls and leaked 19 runs. A piece of inspired captaincy brought the Royals back into the game as skipper Ullyot introduced himself into the attack and almost immediately accounted for the wicket of Berry, who was cleverly stumped by Pursehouse. Street then reacted rapidly at point to hold on to a sharp chance to remove Clarke off the bowling of Essex, but the game looked dead and buried with Northumbria needing just 18 off the last 3 overs at 75-2.

However Newcastle kept fighting hard and their alertness in the field handed them a lifeline in the 8th over when Essex was able to capitalise on mix up between new Northumbria batsmen Brown and Thompson to run out the latter at the wicketkeeper’s end.

Nevertheless Northumbria appeared to be cruising to victory until Essex, now seemingly on a one man mission, returned to the bowling attack in the final over with Poly needing just 2 to win.

Admittedly Northumbria snuck home with 2 balls to spare thanks largely to Brown’s 17 not out, yet Essex’s accurate last over bowling had made them sweat much more than they thought they would have had to.

19.18 PM

21.30 PM

The athletics eventually finishes, and Northumbria take it with a rather messy scoreline of 6.75-3.75

Despite losing the showpiece event 30-14, Laura Mason lifts the cup with a scoreline of 78.75-64.25

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED FROM STAN CALVERT 2013 1. Decimal point scoring is rather unsatisfactory.

Thanks to the complicated way in which athletics is scored (Northumbria 6.25 Newcastle 3.75), the competition ended with a slightly strange looking scoreline of 78.75-64.25. This sounds more like the name of a room in the Business School than a sporting result.

2. Netball games are ludicrously close.

After every netball game was won with a points total of 49, and two of the games were only won by one score, there can be little doubt which sport induced the most nail-biting results of the competition. A true rollercoaster ride at the Sports Centre.

3. Never tackle an opposing mascot until you know their gender.

There were many cheers from the Newcastle fans when Roary the lion lined-up, charged, and rugby tackled Polly the parrot during the cheerleading performance. It was a hit that Brian Lima himself would have been proud of, but everyone was left feeling slightly uncomfortable when it was revealed that mascot was in fact a woman in parrot’s clothing.

4. March is actually the coldest month of the year.

This year is the 20th anniversary of the Stan Calvert competition, and it has surely never been contested in a blizzard before. At least the snow shielded the views of the Newcastle fans as their team was demolished in the frozen wasteland that was Kingston Park.

5. Rugby league has the biggest fights.

Fights threatened to break out in several sports; we saw two red cards for violent conduct in the men’s 2nds football, two sin-binnings after a punch-up in the rugby union men’s 1sts, and there were even players squaring up on the first tee at the golf. However, these incidents pale into insignificance when compared to the 26-man brawl that took place in the rugby league 1sts. It was a fracas that put Gerard Butler and co.’s attempts in 300 to shame.

Freddie Caldwell

RESULTS

Sport

American Football

Athletics (Track and Field) Badminton M 1 Badminton M 2 Badminton W Basketball M 1 Basketball M 2 Basketball M 3 Basketball W 1 Basketball W 2 Cricket M 1

Cricket M 2

Cricket W 1 Cross Country M Cross Country W Fencing M Fencing W Football M 1 Football M 2 Football M 3 Football W 1 Football W 2 Futsal W Gaelic Football Golf 1 Golf 2 Hockey M 1 Hockey M 2 Hockey M 3 Hockey W 1 Hockey W 2 Hockey W 3 Lacrosse W Lacrosse M Netball 1 Netball 2 Netball 3 Netball 4 Rugby League 1 Rugby League 2 Rugby Union M 1 Rugby Union M 2 Rugby Union M 3 Rugby Union W Rowing IM W (Single) Rowing IM M (Single) Rowing W (Quad) Rowing W (Quad) Skiing 1 Squash M 1 Squash M 2 Squash M 3 Squash W 1 Squash W 2 Swimming M Swimming W Table Tennis M 1 Table Tennis M 2 Table Tennis W 1 Tennis M 1 Tennis M 2 Tennis W 1 Waterpolo M Waterpolo W Volleyball M Volleyball W

Venue

Gateshead Stadium

Gateshead Stadium Gateshead Stadium Gateshead Stadium Gateshead Stadium Sport Central Sport Central Sport Central Gateshead Stadium Gateshead Stadium South North CC South North CC South North CC Town Moor Town Moor Sports Centre Sports Centre Longbenton Longbenton 3G Longbenton 3G Coach Lane Coach Lane Sport Central Killlingworth Matfen Hall Close House Longbenton Longbenton Longbenton Coach Lane Coach Lane Coach Lane Cochrane Park Redhall Sports Centre Sports Centre Sports Centre Sports Centre Kingston Park Bullocksteads Kingston Park Heaton Heaton Cochrane Park Newburn Newburn Newburn Newburn Silksworth Ski Slope Sports Centre Sports Centre Sports Centre Sport Central Sport Central Sport Central Sport Central Sport Central Sport Central Sport Central Churchill Churchill Virgin Active Sport Central Sport Central Sport Central Sport Central

Date 17/2/13

10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 8/03/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 6/3/13 6/3/13 7/3/13 9/3/13 9/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 7/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 28/2/13 10/3/13 7/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 8/3/13 8/3/13 8/3/13 8/3/13 8/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 6/3/13 6/3/13 6/3/13 6/3/13 5/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 10/3/13 3/3/13 3/3/13 7/3/13 7/3/13

Winner Newcastle

Northumbria Newcastle Newcastle Northumbria Northumbria Northumbria Northumbria Northumbria Newcastle Northumbria Newcastle Northumbria Northumbria Newcastle Newcastle Newcastle Newcastle Newcastle Northumbria Northumbria Northumbria Draw Newcastle Northumbria Northumbria Newcastle Newcastle Newcastle Northumbria Newcastle Newcastle Newcastle Newcastle Northumbria Newcastle Newcastle Newcastle Northumbria Northumbria Northumbria Newcastle Newcastle Northumbria Newcastle Newcastle Newcastle Newcastle Northumbria Newcastle Newcastle Newcastle Northumbria Newcastle Draw Draw Northumbria Northumbria Northumbria Draw Newcastle Newcastle Newcastle Newcastle Northumbria Northumbria

Stan Calvert Tweets of the Week - Kerry Davis - @Kezzah16

- Alex Halls - @AlexDHalls

“Love a streaker on the rugby pitch ...

Shame it wasn’t the same guy as first year!! #windmill #sexonlegs #stancalvert #varsity”

“@dale_barras writes itself mate!! #stanclavert? #StanCalvert #Unaaaaaay pic. twitter.com/WmzCgj9AcF ”

- NUMHC - @NUHMC “The city is ours #stancalvert”