NURFC BUCS vase champions
On the 26th of March Newcastle University's 1st XV lined up against Bristol University's 1st XV to play in the BUCS vase final. Newcastle kicked off to what would be a victorious, although incredibly close, championship final.

Inevitably the opening exchanges were very nervous; however Bristol seemed to gain the upper hand in the driving maul, which led to them scoring the first try early on in the half. This was then converted off the post to give Bristol a 7-0 lead. Bristol went on to apply huge pressure to our defensive line, stringing some strong phases together. The boys held out often getting the turnovers when it mattered most. Undeniably the contacts in this game were some of the most ferocious of the whole season, but what mattered most was the boy's composure and resilience. We were soon able to reply to Bristol's driving maul with one of our own which forced the penalty. Finally Newcastle were able to attack in a half which had mostly been about defence. The resulting kick put us exactly where we needed to be, a solid line out and a few well strung phases lead to Hamish Atkinson going over in the corner, the conversion being missed by a matter of millimeters. The rest of this half was a concoction of strong scrummaging, big defence, penalties and questionable decisions. Bristol punished our indiscipline by kicking a penalty, which left the score at 10-5 to Bristol going into the second half.

At the start of the second half there still seemed to be a few nerves left in the players’ minds, as Bristol piled on the pressure, kicks from George Cullen and Adams got us into better areas of the pitch, but ill-discipline meant that any momentum built was soon lost. A huge defensive effort leading to an even bigger turnover was the switching point in the game, Bristol couldn't score against a better behaved defence and Newcastle were full of confidence as finally we were able to keep the ball and play our brand of rugby. Big carries and drives forced the situation and we found ourselves playing rugby in the right half of the pitch, with no let up. The subs came on to add to the performance already laid down, with our pressure forcing the penalty. Rhodri Adamson came on for George Cullen and with his first touch of the ball he slotted the kick making the score 10-8. It was clear which team were on top at this point, in every way apart from the score board. Yet another Bristol penalty enabled Newcastle to set up a line out in Bristol's 22. After a solid line out and a few phases, inevitably Newcastle won another penalty. With not long left of the game, Rhodri Adamson stepped up to take his kick. With many of the bench and coaches turned around, on their haunches or just burying their heads into their hands, he slotted it over with coolness and composure. The score was 10-11, and as they had done all game, Newcastle collected the kick off and looked after the ball. Bristol knew it was over as the Newcastle forwards drove on.

The ball was kicked into touch, the whistle blew, and Surrey sports ground erupted. Newcastle University were to be crowned vase champions.

Josiah Herbert