Gruff justice for the Goats

Durham University Rugby League Goats got taught a lesson in a violent 24-0 loss to  Newcastle University Rugby League 2^nd XIII.

The DURL Goats set off for Newcastle invigorated from a promising pre-season. With a modest sized (not in every sense, ladies) but enthusiastic bunch of newcomers joining the ranks, there was a positive atmosphere in training. With the help of the newly crowned North Eastern coach of the year, the sense of optimism was palpable.

Some questionable chat on the bus about, amongst other things, rare-breed chickens and the assertion (a year on) from one Stockton-ite that “Paris is a sh**hole” did not help get the team focused in time for kick-off. Durham conceded some soft tries early on, a familiar problem to older members of the herd. This knocked the confidence of the team. Heads began to drop and mistakes started to creep into the game. Newcastle scored once more before half time making the score line 0-14.

However, it will not be the rugby that this half of rugby is remembered for. Cal “I’m-a-big-man” Brogan decided to live up to his moniker and choose a fight with almost every single player on the field. This tenacity definitely needs to be channelled into his rugby playing with one teammate saying; “I’ll run onto the pitch and knock him out myself if he doesn’t stop”.

The aggression reached its peak with ten minutes of the half remaining. After a particularly nasty exchange before a scrum, a full team brawl ensued with Newcastle’s oversized number eighteen moving faster than he did for the rest of the game, to get involved from the other side of the pitch. He landed several blows but embarrassingly failed to leave any marks on his opponents and only succeeded in scratching his own face. He was also humiliatingly sin-binned. What a prick.

Durham failed to capitalise and Newcastle’s seemingly endless supply of subs combined with injuries to several key Durham players resulted in a difficult second half. Whilst there were many positives, more sloppy defending led to two more Newcastle tries.

In the end, it was gruff justice for the Goats, as they were milked for 24 unanswered points. We deserved something from the game, but ended up with nothing. A big lesson has been learnt. The goats will not be rammed again.

Durham Tab Awards:

Man of the Match: Cal ‘big man’ Brogan. The only man to score for Durham on the pitch. Pity he can’t on Wednesday nights.

Dick of the Day: Newcastle Number 18. The most pathetic person I’ve ever seen.

Several key members of DURL left over the summer