25.4 – U11s girls’ football tournament at Valley Gardens:

It was great to get our KS2 team a run out before the season draws to a close. After struggling to put a team together for most of the season we have at last got a group of girls very keen to play and throughout this mini-tournament they played in a very determined manner. They managed a mixed set of results but much more importantly we now have a good sized squad to take us into next season. Well done to the full squad:

5W	Madison Young
5W	Holly Brind
6F	Scarlet Havery
6F	Ruby Housman-Wilkinson
6M	Erin Johnstone
6P	Ella Jackson
6P	Tanneh Freeman
6P	Hope Hedley
6M	Izzie Forster

26.4 – Y7 National cup v Bury School for Boys

7B	Tom Wales
7B	Josh Armsworth
7B	Josh Grenfell
7J	Matthew Walton
7J	Lucy McConnell
7R	Ollie Bruce
7R	Roan Parker
7R	James McConnell
7R	Orla Callaghan
7W	Dan McConnell
7W	Giorgio La Rosa
7W	Louie Gourlay
7W	Finlay Coulson

U13s football: I put together a large experimental squad for this friendly involving Y7 and Y8 boys, led and organised magnificently by captains Ben Loknes and James Allan. The lads played well in the first half, creating several goal scoring chances and looking solid at the back. However it was Rothbury that struck first with a goal coming form pressurising our defense. Looking like we were heading to half time a goal down the team stepped up a gear and forced the equaliser courtesy of Roan’s quick thinking after we struck the crossbar. I made several changes at half-time but the lads adapted to the game very quickly and it didn’t take long for Joe Lennox to score a debut goal for the U13s. The game continued in a very exciting manner with the ball quickly moving from end to end. However due to some unbelievable saves from Chris in goal and hard work from both defenses neither side could score again, despite an extremely frantic last 5 minutes! Special mention goes to Ben Loknes and James for their hard work on and off the pitch and a very positive debut performance from Charlie.

Well done to this full squad:

7B	Evan Logan
7B	Joe Lennox
7B	Chris Johnstone
7B	Josh Morina
7B	Dan Walker
7R	Kieran Edwards
8B	Steve Speirs
8B	Ed Kirby
8B	Joe Berry
8C	Harry Bruce
8C	Sam Lowes
8C	Charlie Lane
8SW	Max Milburn
8SW	james allan
8SW	ben loknes
8U	Douglas Robson
8U	Roan Stark
8U	ben morrison

Over the course of the year, the Y7 girls have played in the Champion Schools Rugby League Regional competition. Having recently won the regional final at Kingston Park, this qualified the girls for the National Champion Schools finals in Warrington where the top 8 teams for the regional qualifiers from around the country would gather. Teams played each other, in two pools of 4, for the right to qualify for the National Final to be held at Wembley in August before the Challenge Cup final.

It was a fantastic achievement for the girls to have got this far; especially as some of them had never played rugby or, more importantly, contact rugby of any sort up to this point. So, on a sunny May day, they headed down to the heartland of rugby league to test themselves against the best in the country. In our pool on the day were Longdean from London, Castleford Academy from Yorkshire and Deanery from the North West.

In our first game we played Deanery who have been brought up on rugby league and who fancied themselves to win the tournament. The girls started a little slowly to begin with but soon grew into the match and surprised the opposition winning 12-8.

We then had a short break which allowed us to watch our other two opposition teams battle it out. Castleford looked the team to beat and you could clearly see that they knew how to play rugby league.

We faced them next and it was an incredibly tight affair, much to the surprise of the rugby league locals including the referee. The girls fought really hard and were in it right to the end, but in those short 11 minute games there is no time to come back. Castleford scored on the final whistle to win 12-8, much to their relief!

We backed up straight away in our next game knowing to qualify we needed to win. The girls proceeded to put on a fantastic display of running rugby; cutting our opposition to bits with pace, power and skill. The final score finished 24-12 to Newminster.

This set up a tense final pool game with us needing Castleford to win, or draw, or lose by less that two tries to see us through to the semi finals. Deanery proceeded to jump into a two try lead! Suddenly Castleford had a very vocal support group dressed in our colours! This seems to spur them on and they recovered to win, putting us through to the semi finals as runners up. We would face the top seed from the other pool, Malet Lambert School.

The girls had done so well to get to this point and were excited to be 11 minutes from Wembley. The game started well with all the girls fired up, this led to a few uncharacteristic errors on their part on offence. On defence however they stopped Malet Lambert again and again. In rugby league it is almost impossible to stop sustained pressure forever and the opposition finally squeezed over. This seemed to spark the girls attack with a score right from the restart. Malet Lambert came right back at them to score too. This next passage required the girls to dig deep and believe, with time now against them. They worked their way up the field with Lucy M squeezing over right on the hooter, 2-2. The referee then had to go and check what the ruling was. He came back to say it goes to golden point….the first team to score! As we had received the kick off at the start of the game, we kicked possession to them. Pressure! They worked their way up the field and managed to find some space down the right hand side. All the girls worked back tirelessly but couldn’t quite stop the opposite scoring. Heart breaking – it could have gone either way.

The girls were so disappointed but they did so amazingly well to get as far as they did. Not many people can stay they are part of a team that is in the top 4 in the country at their age group. Mr Dick and myself are so proud of them. Long may their success continue and I hope they look back and reflect on this as a great experience. The girls will have learnt so much about themselves from this; I look forward to seeing them develop their talents further.

Finally, a note to the wider squad. They were such a big part of getting the team to this point and continue to be a big part of the team. The disappointment they showed in not playing showed just how much they cared about the team and the game. On the day they were a credit to themselves, supporting the team and living every moment of the tournament with them; as they rightly should. There will be many more opportunities to play and they will definitely be involved in these if the attitude they displayed over this tournament is anything to go by. A fantastic achievement by all – well done!

Full squad:

Eadie	Barakat
Hannah	Bishop
Ellisse	Borley
Orla	Callaghan
Ellie	Chirnside
Kacy	Conroy
Libby	Dyer
Emma	Gerrard
Ruby	Gerrard
Louise	Hardy
Alice	Heaton
Ruby	Holton
Lola	Jackson
Lucy	McConnell
Maisie	Nelson
Esme	Scott
Francesca	Takher

Another fantastic performance from our boys. I decided to change formation to use wing-backs and I was very impressed at how the entire team took to this system so quickly. The team stormed into a 4-0 lead before half-time with a brace from James Mc showing a superb turn of pace and awareness of getting into the right place at the right time. Will and Ben L also helped themselves to a goal each involving great team play. At half-time I made wholesale changes then continued to make further experimental changes throughout the half to see how the boys coped. After only two minutes in a new forward role for Olly he showed great composure to place the ball into to the top corner. Seaton Sluice rallied back to score two late goals but the game was never in doubt. Well done lads, final score 5-2.Squad:

7R	James McConnell
8B	james herron
8B	dominic marshall
8B	olly smith
8B	Joe Berry
8C	Ben Waterfield
8C	Tom Holden
8C	david jenkinson
8C	fergus barclay
8C	dan lloyd
8SW	james allan
8SW	ben loknes
8SW	aidan mcinally
8SW	will wood
8U	ben morrison

The girls played in the last 16 of the National Cup at home against a travelling Dykehouse Academy, Hartlepool. The Newminster girls went on to win 8-2 with Lucy McConnell banging in 6 goals! The other goal scorers were Orla Callaghan and Francesca Takher. This win meant the girls were now through to the quarter finals and face a long travel to Hull.

The girls County Cup run came down to this final against a much stronger Valley Gardens team than they had played earlier in the season. The opposition were overall a much bigger and stronger team than ours as they were mainly Y8s and ours were mainly Y7s. The girls new they had to play particularly well to match this team. However with the exceptional talent we have in our squad, the game remained very tight throughout. Both teams created good chances but with two very good defenses it didn’t look like it was going to be a high scoring game. It didn’t look like anything was going to get past Alysia in goal but late in the half Valley scored a deflected goal. With the score 1-0 at half-time we knew we had to dig deep in the second half to get back in the game. It didn’t take long as good work from Lucy and Orlaled to a shot which bounced off the post and Ellie was first to react, slotting in the equaliser. The rest of the game saw us battle for our lives as their superior size started to show. With unbelievable effort, determination and ability we kept Valley out as they pressed for a winner but the score remained 1-1 right through the rest of the game and extra-time.

The girls looked like they couldn’t give any more and those willing to take a penalty were few in number! However I knew we were in with a good chance with Alysia in goal (and willing to take a penalty!). Fran was first to step up and very neatly placed the ball into the net. Valley replied immediately. Eadie then smashed the ball down the middle hoping the keeper would dive to one side but unfortunately she stayed firm and saved it. However, the disappointment was short lived as Alysia returned the favour and saved well. Fresh from that moment, Alysia then smashed the ball into the goal for her penalty, but couldn’t deny Valley’s third. Now that we were at the business end of the shootout, Lucy stepped up and again finished well, as did Valley. Orla took our fifth penalty despite being extremely nervous before but put it away very well. Alyisa was then back in the lime-light knowing if she saved their penalty it would be game over. And so it was as she saved well, sending the team and all our support into delirium as the girls became County Champions. A deserved accolade for this fantastic group of girls.

Full squad:

8C	Ellie Dandie
8U	Alysia Donnison
7J	Louise Hardy
7J	Izzy Bird
7J	Lucy McConnell
7J	Ellie Chirnside
7J	Fran Takher
7R	Eadie Barakat
7R	Esme Scott
7R	Orla Callaghan
7R	Lola Jackson
7R	Ruby Gerrard
7R	Emma Gerrard

For the 3rd year this very prestigious event was held at St James’ Park and I had great pleasure in taking all our Y7s who have been part of the Sky Try Rugby League programme this year. Despite the pouring rain the 2 girls teams enjoyed a very successful morning with the only defeat being when our teams played each other. The girls continued to show how talented (and strong!) they are with superb team play, tackling and quick attacks. Not to mention the perfect conditions for sliding try scores!

The 2 boys teams took to the pitch after lunch (and after the rain stopped) and demonstrated they too could play with fantastic determination and commitment. Team A recorded a 100% win record, and Team B definitely made good progress throughout the afternoon including a very convincing win against a very physical team from Redhouse School.

The day was made even better when the pupils were joined by some superstars from the top Rugby League teams in the country. Well done Eadie for putting a big tackle into one of them!

Full teams:

7B	Fraser	Adamson	7B	Ellen	Davison
7B	Joshua	Armsworth	7B	Ruby	Holton
7B	Mackenzie	Bannister	7B	Maisie	Nelson
7B	Josh	Grenfell	7J	Hannah	Bishop
7B	Christopher	Johnstone	7J	Ellisse	Borley
7B	Joe	Lennox	7J	Ellie	Chirnside
7B	Evan	Logan	7J	Ami-Jane	Green
7B	Matteo	Peddis	7J	Louise	Hardy
7B	Tom	Wales	7J	Alice	Heaton
7J	Joe	Cromar	7J	Charlotte	Kennedy
7J	Jacob	Metcalfe	7J	Lucy	McConnell
7R	Ollie	Bruce	7J	Francesca	Takher
7R	Alfie	Clark	7R	Eadie	Barakat
7R	Harvey	Gillie	7R	Orla	Callaghan
7R	James	McConnell	7R	Emma	Gerrard
7R	Roan	Parker	7R	Ruby	Gerrard
7W	Ollie	Crooks	7R	Lola	Jackson
7W	Tom	Druce	7R	Esme	Scott
7W	Karun	Kahlon	7W	Leah	Clark
7W	Dan	McConnell	7W	Kacy	Conroy

The girls were fresh from their County Cup win (and rugby the day before!) and traveled the long journey to Hull. We arrived at the fantastic sports college and at first some of the girls were a little over-awed with the very impressive facilities. We also discovered before the game the team had a good history in this competition so we knew it was going to be a big step up from previous rounds. I also got the impression they were very much expecting a win. However, Lucy kept us calm with her now famous observation ‘All the gear…no idea’.

Although St Mary’s definitely proved to have some idea it was Newminster who dominated early play and it didn’t take long for Orla to power home a fine goal after great pressure from our midfield. Lucy, who looked very sharp and dangerous all game then quickly made it two after a great through ball allowed her to race in on goal. Orla added another goal before half-time and the game was looking very one sided. However, St Mary’s scored a good goal to keep their interest alive just before half-time. Going into the second half the girls knew the next goal was going to be vital and Lucy obliged with not one but two well taken goals. St Mary’s hit back with two of their own to keep the game interesting. In a very open game the result was made complete after further superb midfield play from our girls led to a strong shot which was only kept out by a defenders hand and the referee had no choice but to award a penalty. Orla’s penalty nerves from the Cup Final were obviously now vanquished and she stepped up to complete her hat-trick and end the game 6-3.

At the start of this competition there was 174 teams entered and the girls from Newminster Middle School are now in the final four. We would like to wish the girls all the luck in the world and want them to know that we are extremely proud of each and every one of them. Good luck girls, let’s do this!!

Squad:

7J	Louise Hardy
7J	Izzy Bird
7J	Lucy McConnell
7J	Ellie Chirnside
7J	Fran Takher
7R	Eadie Barakat
7R	Esme Scott
7R	Orla Callaghan
7R	Lola Jackson
7R	Ruby Gerrard
7R	Emma Gerrard

The girls travelled to Ponteland RFC for the final tournament of the season.

Well done to our 2 boys’ teams and 1 girls’ team who took part in this U13s event. Despite having a full squad of y7s playing against Y8s our pupils performed superbly well, showing great determination and ability.

The girls had a tough first game (in their first grass tournament) and certainly took the loss as a vital learning experience. The second game was much closer, and with a bit more experience of this style tournament they would definitely have won the game, loosing out by 2 only runs! The 3rd game was when it all came together and having learned quickly how to play, they put Chantry into bat first and quickly surpassed their score with overs to spare.

Our boys A team stormed into the Semi-Finals with a 100% win record in the group stages. The B-team had a difficult opening game but then picked themselves up quickly to record two victories from two games, inspired in the knowledge that these results meant they would play our A team in the Semi. The game was great to watch with both teams showing fantastic commitment to gain runs and wickets. The victors were our A team who went on to play Chantry A in the Final. We batted first and gained a very healthy score including several well hit boundary shots from Chris and Harvey. Chantry therefore knew the score they needed to beat and set about chipping away at it throughout their innings. Although we took a few wickets and kept the score sensible we couldn’t quite make it to the end and lost in the penultimate over. A fantastic achievement considering we were Y7s playing against Y8s. Well done to all!

7J	Izzy	Bird
7J	Ellie	Chirnside
7J	Fran	Takher
7R	Eadie	Barakat
7R	Orla	Callaghan
7R	Emma	Gerrard
7R	Ruby	Gerrard
7R	Lola	Jackson
7R	Esme	Scott
7B	Josh	Armsworth
7B	Mackenzie	Bannister
7B	Josh	Grenfell
7B	Chris	Johnstone
7B	Joe	Lennox
7B	Evan	Logan
7B	Joseph	Nicholson
7B	Tom	Wales
7J	Joe	Cromar
7R	Ollie	Bruce
7R	Alfie	Clark
7R	Kieran	Edwards
7R	Harvey	Gillie
7R	Finlay	Keith
7R	Roan	Parker
7W	Finlay	Coulson
7W	Louie	Gourlay