On Friday the Legends traveled to Bilingham in the second round of the Veterans Plate. Houghton were travelling very light with a lot of players not of available. They met a very strong, fit and well drilled side and unfortunately took a heavy defeat. 55-0 to the home team.
Man of the Match: Darren Schofield, proudly sponsored by S&S Utilities.

The club was an Ocean of Yorkshire accents on Saturday afternoon as TWO buses arrived from Leeds Corinthians RUFC for their National Cup fixture against the 1st XV. Leeds had already met and defeated Knottingly RUFC (who are the other team in Houghton’s group stage) so a win would secure their place in the next round.
A great match and a great afternoon in the very busy clubhouse. Sadly a defeat for the Dairy Lane boys. The game ended 17-29.

Tries by:
The Ref and
Kieran Smith

Penalty and Conversion by Stephen Waddle.

Man of the Match: Newton Turton, proudly sponsored by Interlink Scoffolding Ltd

Houghton would like to thank Leeds Corinthians for making the day fantastic. A great crowd, great supporters and great drinkers! Hopefully we see you again soon.

Onto Sunday. A long quiet morning on home ground with all teams away from home for the early kick offs.

Minis and Midis V Horden and Peterlee RUFC

Tags: Our game experience showed today with some clever foot work and passing skills on display. Coach Wayne is thrilled that the training is sinking in and that defensive line is starting to show. Great work boys and girls.

U9s: A tough match at Horden with the teams equally matched in skills. A great improvement from the last fixture which Coach Damian was overwhelmed by. He is ecstatic that each player in showing improvement. Keep it up Houghton!

U10s: A little bit of a frustrating game for the youngn’s today however Coach Dan is only taking positives from the match. Good work rate and no ones head dropped. Sportsmanship shown today, well done.

U11s: With never before meeting Horden in the fixtures James’ team travelled not knowing what to expect. The boys’ attitude was positive from the start and this showed throughout the minutes played. Well played today. You make Dairy Lane proud with your rugby fundamentals.

U12s: As always ‘Press secretary’ Birch has provided a thrilling, in depth and very long match report which was shared with the team. In a nutshell Houghton showed amazing character throughout their games today and even got a very glowing report from the away coach who was well impressed with the work at the breakdown. Excellent feedback.

U15s V Whitley Bay Rockcliff:
Houghton were short on lads with many away with school or on County trials however they managed to get a 15 man squad over to the bay! A tight game with ended in the favour of the home team 10-5. Great effort boys.

Colts V Sunderland:
The Under 16s stepped up this week to join the Colts in their league fixture. Not one of them looked out of place and they were an integral part of securing a 24-22 win away from home. The team played well as a unit of mixed age and are looking forward to their next venture out.

Into the afternoon for girls rugby.

The U13G had a last minute arranged game against developing Gateshead. Another win under the belt for the youngest of the girls team. Each week they are developing both attacking and defensive skills this shown by the increase in tries scored and conceded. Coaches Ryan and Gary are lost for words at how this team have improved over the last few fixtures. Final score 20-5.

Last but certainly not least!
The U15G travelled to DMP to what was going to be a very difficult County Cup semi-final. A fantastic and close 22-19 win for the Houghton lasses takes them through to the final of the County Cup! Whoop!
Coaches are always proud and they were especially today, the team showed what they could do against a very good DMP side.

Youth Chairman Rob is thrilled with yet another cracking performance from the female teams that Houghton have. The future of women’s rugby is looking good for Houghton and the rest of the North East!

That’s about all for this week. Another memorable weekend of rugby, another weekend where we are proud to wear those black and white hoops.

Watch out during the week for our ‘This week at HRUFC’ article. Big weekend next weekend with another cup fixture to play and the start of the SIX NATIONS.

Excited? We are!