Yarnbury 61 North Shields 5

Yarnbury moved a step closer to their dream of a Twickenham appearance by cruising into the quarter-finals of the RFU Senior Vase at Brownberrie Lane on Saturday.

They now face Ormskirk away on March 15 looking to continue their run in the national competition which was launched with victory over Hartlepool BBOB.

Having had their last two league games cancelled, Yarnbury were desperate to get Saturday’s game played.

Club officials used using tar-paulins and spiking machine managed to drain the water from the pitch.

With the sun appearing for the first time in days, the players were presented with a good playing surface.

Yarnbury were at full strength and they opened the scoring when Carl Paterson slotted a penalty from in front of the posts when North Shields forwards were penalised for holding onto the ball on the ground.

Their joy was almost cut short when the restart was knocked on. It led to a period of sustained pressure from the big North Shields pack in which the visitors were awarded a penalty which Gavin Duffy narrowly failed to convert.

For the next ten minutes Yarn-bury did not see much of the ball until Jimmy Cryan forced a crucial turnover in midfield.

The ball was moved quickly out to the wing where Ellis Gomersall scored a try in the corner.

Yarnbury were steadily taking control and they extended their lead after 25 minutes following a break by right winger Rob Rigby.

Hooker Tom Gilcrist carried the move on before providing the inside pass that enabled Cryan to score under the posts. Paterson added the conversion.

The Yarnbury backs were flowing and planned moves were coming off, much to the delight of the coaching team.

A great miss move found Gomersall in space before linking with Rigby. Yarnbury were quick to the breakdown when the winger was tackled and skipper Oliver Cashman dummied his way over from the resulting ruck.

There was no relief for North Shields as Yarnbury ran in three tries in quick succession to extend their lead.

Full back Stuart Wilson took a short pass in midfield to score under the posts and then joined the line and kicked through for Gomersall to claim his second try.

Wilson wasn’t finished. He took a quick pass from outstanding back row forward Joe Bennett to score close in and Paterson converted.

Yarnbury took advantage of their big lead to introduce all five of their substitutes at half time.

The visitors started the second half strongly and were rewarded with a close-range try from their replacement scum half Warren Anderson.

North Shields were putting up game resistance for the third quarter and Yarnbury did not score again until the 60th minute when veteran centre Stephen Riley was on hand to scoop up a kick ahead from winger Alex Clark which bounced kindly for him.

Yarnbury then scored a magnificent forwards try from a catch and drive with second row Adam Batson claiming his reward in his final game for the Yarnbury club after taking a two year contract to work in New Zealand.

This was followed by a superb try from substitute centre Lee Mortimer who carved his way from the halfway line through the defence and carried tacklers over the line with him as he scored his side’s ninth try.

The final touchdown came from substitute hooker Chris Doyle who powered under the sticks from close in. Paterson completed the scoring with the conversion.

Although soundly beaten, North Shields kept battling until the end.