3TM away at Whitby 10's

With the 3TM being unable to pick up a league fixture due to the Easter weekend and the old problem of teams not wanting to play us the decision was made very late to travel and compete in the Whitby 10's . It was a real struggle to get a squad willing to travel even with the shortened numbers format of the game and after a bit of scrabbling round and new boy Paul Wood filling in 15 men made the journey to play.
On arrival it was evident that things were not going to go smoothly, JohnnyYoung was finishing work and travelled late on his own but by miraculously he wasn't the last to arrive. The question was , where were Andrew Thompson and Connor Shea. It soon became evident they were last seen heading north on the A19 raising concerns they were being kidnapped by the ladies driving, no such luck, it appears it was Connors love of food and McDonalds in particular which had caused the diversion. This meant however there were only 12 available for the kick off of the first match, not ideal as it was against the host club who had entered there 1st team in a bid to win their own tournament. With players out of position and old heads who travelled although not suited to playing 10's Whitby ran in 3 early tries through quick ball to their pacy backs before the 3tm even got going , the 2nd half was a different story though as the latecomers finally made an appearance and the changes were made. The 2nd half was a much tighter affair with the score coming out equal as Billingham started to find their feet although to late to take a win. The 2nd game was another tight one against York Springboks, 3tm took to the field determined to put things right and started quickly with Lee Simpson scoring 2 fine tries under the posts however a lapse in concentration allowed them to pull on back right on half time bringing the deficit to 7 points. The 2nd half and it was the springboks turn to put the pressure on and soon went 5 point after scoring another of their own , 1 of which was converted with only 2 minutes left to play, from the kick off a loose ball found it's way back to Nigel Guz who did just what Guz does and battered through 3 tacklers, he was eventually stopped 5 metres out but managed to offload to Richard Morrison who charged through the final challenge to touch down in the corner and bring the scores level. With just the kick to go and being a drop attempt from right on the touch line the odds were heavily in the favour of the tie however up stepped Phil Donaldson and will probably admit he has never struck a sweeter ball, sailing through the posts for the extra 2 points and the win. The final group game and up stepped Guisborough who had earned themselves a slightly bad name as rather than bring their 2nd/3rd team which is the ethos of the tournament turned up with their full 1st team, what they get out of it only they will know but it's the clubs choice, Billingham were not going to lie down though but for an early break through try the 1st half would of been level. During the first half though Andrew Thompson appeared to be thinking of returning to the previous eating establishment and rather than running into a gap decided to go into one of his own players, knocking himself clean out in the process and being ruled out for the rest of the tournament. Into the 2nd half and changes were forced as Guz was out on his feet and replaced in the front row by Richard Morrison and Paul Wood taking over scrum half duties allowing Donaldson to use the space at 10 but the fitness of a first team who train twice a week showed and scored 3 further tries, 3TM were not going to give up though and Simpson scored another 2 of his own, finishing the match beaten but not humiliated as there was only 2 tries difference.
This place 3Tm 3rd in the group and into the plate semi against Whitby 2nds. It soon became evident that the top 4 ranked teams in the competition had all been placed in our group as the standard of the other group was not even close, Billingham scored 4 tries before half time with Naz Renwick running wild and Paul Wood sniping and making breaks from the base of any breakdown, The Whitby number 9 made 1 attempted tackle which in hindsight was probably not a good idea as a straight palm from Guz charging at him lifted the young lad 3 feet in the air and sent him crashing back down. Every time Whitby attempted to get the ball in hand they were soon stopped by Anth Kelsey and his usual booming tackles, Whitby did manage to score just before half time but this was their 1 and only. 3TM continued in the 2nd half as Guz was rested for the final and replaced again by Morrison in the front row, Whitby thought they may have had an easier task with the smaller replacement but this wasn't the case as the lower angle allowed for the Whitby pack to be driven back time and time again, Dan Kirby scored 2 tries in the second half , the second of them collecting the bounce from a kick off skipper Mick Sudron, this added to 1 he scored in the 1st half and meant for a jug back in the club (cheers Dan, and the new IPA is very nice by the way).
The final of the plate again placed us against York Springboks who had easily over come Acklam in the other semi so we new what to expect. This turned out to be a very different game from the group encounter, Dan Kirby had targeted there big runner and from every restart he was given no time or space to move and almost totally cancelled attacking options. At the breakdown 3TM were battling like terriers to win the ball back and with fast hands from Wood, Donaldson, Shea etc. setting away the likes of Lee Simpson and Naz we were 3 up at the turnaround. Into the 2nd half and an outrageous step by Shea broke the line, only for him to throw an American football style pass wide to Sudron who normally from this position would give the dummy and go for the white line, however this time he chose to pass but was adjudged forward. Spring books got one back with virtually the last play and as the restart was switched to the opposite side it was only left for Morrison to kick the ball out of play and for 3TM to be crowned Whitby plate champions.
All in all this was a thoroughly enjoyable day and 2 free crates of beer and a curry for playing can't be sniffed at. Onto next week and it's the big one , Acklam away, 1st v 2nd, they tied with us at our place and it's time to put it right, a lot of people think the title is already won, I say let's just go there and show them how champions play, THEY THINK IT'S ALL OVER.......