The biggest cliche in sports journalism is to write about a "game of two halves"

That being the case, it's enough to say the first 40 minutes of this match was significantly different from the second period.

After a comprehensive defeat away at Ashby followed by a near-miraculous turnaround at title-chasing Ashbourne, this had all the early indications of a giant step backwards.

With Newark down by 20 points at the break, this physical Lincolnshire side must have been licking their lips and expecting to run riot.

In fact the second half points tally was even (and that parity was only achieved thanks to a highly questionable interception try by Gainsborough) The huge improvement was due in large measure to a courageous performance by a very young group of players who stuck to their task admirably. To their credit, the Gainsborough coaching team paid tribute to our second half effort and admitted that at one point they were worried they were about to throw away a commanding lead.

The Seconds fielded no fewer than seven current Colts including two ( Spencer Syme-Nicholson and Dan Woodward) making their first senior appearances. Ten players were under 19 and a grand total of 17 have come through Newark's mini and youth system. That is an impressive stat and is a huge tribute to all those at Kelham Road who've been involved in their development. We can only hope that many of these youngsters go on to play 1st XV rugby.

But a young side is always going to face challenges from gnarly, 1st XV teams. The Gainsborough coach admitted several of his forwards tipped the scales at 20 stones and the laws of physics determine that they will inevitably gain at least a few contact metres when they charge into smaller opponents. It's not that Newark tackled badly - in fact they were brave all day and occasionally drove their bigger opponents backwards.

But all too often in the first half their bigger carriers were able to make it a few metres over the gain line to set up solid platforms for attack. And when they did they spin it they did so with pace and solid handling.

Newark conceded a try after just four minutes followed by a penalty for offside in front of the posts. Despite some dogged defence , with Ed Armstrong and Calum Holmes in typically determined mood, they added a converted try shortly afterwards. The home side struggled to get hands on the ball and the few scraps of possession we did win were wasted through basic errors and dropped passes.
Gainsborough stretched their half time lead to 20 points following a scrum in the Newark 22.

The second half started much more brightly with number 8 Nathan King giving the visitors a taste of their own medicine with a number of forthright charges. Our handling improved and most of the second period was played in the Gainsborough half.

Fullback Woodward made several strong incursions and young fly half Charlie North got his backline up and running. . A couple of his nicely judged kick passes were unfortunate not to result in tries.

A penalty in the Gainsborough 22 ended in a try for flanker Nate Churchill who took a well-timed short pass and forced his way over. It was just reward for Churchill's all-round physical effort. He seemed to relish the opportunity to take the fight into the heart of the Gainsborough forwards. North converted.

The Gainsborough lead was almost reduced further when scrum half Will Staniforth broke down the left and sprinted 50 metres for the line. He was tackled just inches short by the covering fullback. A rare second half break through the middle led to a third Gainsborough try. Then a Newark attack deep in the visitors' 22 ended in an interception with the Gainsborough flyhalf up in the Newark line suspiciously quickly.

Staniforth then made up for his missed try when he crossed after a quick tapped penalty. North again converted

It was a brave second half performance by a largely young team but a 20 point half time deficit ultimately proved insurmountable.

It was a disappointing result but with four games remaining we are still in the fight to avoid relegation. That is in itself quite an achievement when you remember that our first victory wasn't achieved until mid December.

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