GUISBOROUGH were crowned Durham and Northumberland division two champions on Saturday, after a convincing ten tries victory at near neighbours Whitby.

Kicking off with the advantage of the slope, the visitors looked to stamp their authority on the game immediately. The kick was not gathered cleanly by Whitby, giving Guisborough a scrum 40 metres out. Winning the set-piece, Jack Robinson took the ball forward before passing to Matt Rawlinson. The centre crashed through defenders in front of him to touch down under the posts. A period of sustained pressure by the home team saw play deep inside Guisborough territory, but there was no way through a well marshalled defence and play was eventually cleared into the Whitby half.

From a line-out close to the half way line, play reached the left wing before switching back to the right. Here Robinson linked up with Ben Wood, who powered forward into the opposition 22. Brought down ten metres short of the line, he managed to pop a pass back to Robinson who scored in the corner. The pace of the Guisborough team was causing problems for the hosts. Matthew Flint burst through tackles inside his own half before offloading to Ryan Mitchell. The scrum half sprinted through the centre area and then passed to Phil Shields. With a jink inside, the full back created space to score.

Looking to get some form of foothold in the game, Whitby went through phases to take play into the Guisborough 22, where a penalty was awarded to the home team. Electing to kick at goal, the hosts gained their first points of the afternoon. From the restart, the visitors took possession. Shields kicked over the Whitby defence and both Robinson and Wood gave chase. A Whitby player reached the ball first, but the ball was ripped from him at the breakdown. Mitchell was able to collect and shimmied his way over in the right-hand corner.

Rawlinson’s strong direct runs through midfield were paying dividends. One such attack took play into the Whitby 22. Flint headed close to the try-line, before the ball was shipped right to Alex Ruff. He drew defenders and then popped a pass to Wood, who crossed the whitewash to score.

Just before half time, Guisborough were reduced to 14 players as Connor McFarland was shown a yellow card. Whitby stormed forward looking to capitalise, but resolute defending kept the hosts from adding any further points. Half time score, Whitby 3, Guisborough 33.

Guisborough suffered a further blow within minutes of the second half, as Flint was shown a yellow card for a high tackle. Now playing with a two-man advantage, the hosts enjoyed their best spell of the game and were rewarded with a score when, following a scrum inside the Guisborough 22, the Whitby number eight crossed to score his team’s first try of the afternoon. No further points were scored before Guisborough returned to 15 players. Once equal in numbers, the visitors turned the screw.

Following a scrum in the Whitby 22, the home team attempted to kick clear. However, Rawlinson had read the chipped clearance, catching it and sprinting forward to score. Guisborough were totally dominating the game. Tony Conway charged forward into the opposition 22. Shields approached the line and passed to Ruff, but the centre could not ground the ball as he crossed over the try line. The subsequent drop out kick was caught by Robinson who made his way towards the right flank. Wood then got his hands on the ball before chipping a kick infield, where Shields collected and touched down near the posts.

The Whitby scrum was creaking under the pressure from the Guisborough pack. Pushed off their own put-in, Robinson’s flat pass was met by Rawlinson on the charge and he burst through tackles to cross for his third try. Visibly tiring, Whitby had no answer to Guisborough’s running game. From a line-out, a catch and drive moved forward. As the ball then moved along the backline, Wood released Shields who also scored his third try of the game.

With time running out hooker Oli Taggart powered over for a deserved try to make the final score Whitby 10, Guisborough 66. Ten tries were scored by Guisborough, with Robinson converting eight.

Guisborough's promotion had been gained at the first opportunity following the enforced cancellations of league competitions due to Covid, with three games of this season still to be played. A tough game awaits on Saturday however, when Bishop Auckland visit Guisborough’s Belmangate ground.