Newark Colts travelled to the heart of Sheffield for their National Cup round 2 fixture against the strong and well organised Sheffield Colts.

Newark kicked off and quickly went on the offensive, forcing a fumble that led to the first scrum of the match, which Newark's forwards appeared poised to dominate. This was soon confirmed as Newark controlled no fewer than seven scrums within the opening 10 minutes, keeping the pressure on Sheffield in their own half.
Despite Newark’s strong start, Sheffield gradually found their footing, largely thanks to Newark's errors and some impressive kicking from the Sheffield No. 10. Missed tackles allowed Sheffield to break through, scoring the first try on the left wing, with a successful conversion extending their lead to 7-0.
Newark fought hard to level the score, relentlessly attacking the Sheffield line, only to be met with fierce resistance from a spirited Sheffield defence. A clearance kick by Sheffield created trouble for Newark on our own 22, and after a poor clearance kick they quick recovered and sliced through Newark’s defence, aided by a retreating pack, to score another try. With the successful conversion, the score climbed to 14-0.
As Newark tried to regroup, a further clearance kick by Sheffield’s No. 10 led to a fumble, giving him the chance to pounce over the line for a third try, pushing the score to 19-0 at the close of the half.

Newark knew they had a mountain to climb, which would test the young teams determination and resolve, especially with the wind against them in the second half. Sheffield started strongly, pressing to close out the match, while Newark found themselves defending resolutely in the opening 10 minutes, as Sheffield made them work hard for every yard.
Newark's determination paid off as our forwards started to gain momentum and working our way up the pitch with a series of excellent phases and strong ball carrying lead by our MOM Louie Coen, with Sheffield’s defence starting to tire and two consecutive yellow cards for repeated offenses, the breakthrough eventually came from excellent handling by Newark’s young backline, as Griff Morgan Jones came close in the corner, quickly recycling the ball to the supporting flanker James Jenner, who darted blindside for Newark's first try. Charlie North then added a well-taken conversion from the wing, bringing the score to 19-7.
Newark's belief started to grow and they continued to push and build successful series of bruising phases, refusing to give up despite Sheffield’s resilient and well organised defence. After dragging in their defence, Charlie North sliced through a rare gap in the Sheffield defence to get Newark up to the Sheffield 22m line, and after a successful scrum earned us another penalty on Sheffield's 5m line. Mateusz Dogiel took a quick tap, driving forward with the pack in support, before Archie Wilson surged over the line for our second try, reducing the deficit to 19-12 and sparking hope of a comeback now a possibility, even as time ticked away.
From the restart, Dogiel caught the ball and charged forward, evading tired tackles and chasing defenders to score a thrilling try. North, under pressure, added the points from the conversion, levelling the score at 19-19.
In a fiercely contested and dramatic match, Newark now advance thanks to the Away opponents competition rule to the final 32, where once again we travel to Yorkshire and will face Roundhegians on Sunday 17th November to battle for a place in the final 16.

Our attentions switch to the NLD Cup next weekend with a first round Home fixture against Melton on Sat 12th Oct 3pm kick off.