Rampant Sunderland hand out beating scoring ten tries to Gosforth’s one

Sunderland scored ten tries to Gosforth’s one in a comprehensive 62-10 victory at Ashbrooke to regain third place in Durham Northumberland Two.
Sunderland RFC (red/yellow/black) v Gosforth RFC (green/white) at Ashbrooke Sports Ground in Saturday.Sunderland RFC (red/yellow/black) v Gosforth RFC (green/white) at Ashbrooke Sports Ground in Saturday.
Sunderland RFC (red/yellow/black) v Gosforth RFC (green/white) at Ashbrooke Sports Ground in Saturday.

The home side’s yellow streak continued with three players spending ten minutes in the bin - effectively reducing the team to 14 players for 30 minutes of the game.

A good spread of scores saw the back line run in six tries, with a brace from Marc Edmundson, and four from the back row as Joe Arrowsmith and Grant Edmundson bagged two apiece.

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Within a minute of the kick-off, Leon Ryan worked the ball wide to link with winger Fletcher Jackson who took the ball on at pace to score out.

Marc Edmundson took the ball on after a Sunderland lineout and with a show-and-go created the half chance which was all he needed to get behind the defence, then sprint in to score near posts for Ryan to convert.

Arrowsmith and Edmundson completed Sunderland’s first half scoring, Arrowsmith touching down from a well-worked lineout on 14 minutes, then Edmundson’s first from a pushover scrum and second from driving maul from lineout.

With three minutes of the half remaining, Andrew Stewart was harshly binned for a ruck offence.

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Sunderland’s tenacity in defence saw Gosforth’s main ball-carrying threats well subdued, with a solitary Gosforth penalty seeing the half end 31-3.

Marc Edmundson ran in his second within two minutes of the restart, and Harry Price showed what he can do with ball in hand to power through and around Gosforth to score three minutes later.

Gosforth capitalised from a penalty, taking the tap quickly to run through retreating defence then beat the onside tacklers to score under posts, the conversion bringing scores to 45-10.

With 57 minutes on the clock, Marc and Grant Edmundson made a superb two-man hit, driving a Gosforth ball carrier back, then having released the floored player the younger of the cousins Marc was bizarrely shown a yellow card for attempting to strip the ball from the tackled player, who had held onto it on the edge of his own 22.

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Leon Ryan took a high ball deep in his own 22, and launched a powerful counter attack that saw him run the length of the pitch, break tackles and show a decent change in direction to score in the left corner.

As Sunderland played their phases, Hutchinson found Sunderland skipper Arrowsmith, who picked a path through to score.

The final score came as powerful running and several hand-offs from Aarron Stevenson saw him take the ball 20 meters to score under the posts, for Ryan to convert.

Sunderland played the final minutes without Luke Victory, who incurred the referee’s displeasure.

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At full time, a breathless Watt praised his side’s application and performance - and now looks forward to what should be the toughest game of the season this Saturday against Yorkshire Division Two side Northallerton in the National Cup.

The game is at Ashbrooke, and the club is seeking an early kick-off so both sides can take in England’s Six Nations game later in the day.

Supporters are urged to support the team and pack out the clubhouse afterwards for a great day of rugby.