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Writer's pictureJason Grant

Masters Close The Season For Crusaders

Yesterday (27 Oct) Crusaders Masters closed rugby at the club for 2024.

The Masters team took on North East Thunder Masters on the college pitch at Gateshead International Stadium.

Crusaders were boosted by Geoff and Kev from

Carlisle Masters, which afforded the team a sub.

North East Thunder boosted their numbers with players from Arlecdon, Maryport and Scottish based players who wished to give Masters a go. The purpose for the fixture was to introduce Masters to the Scottish based players with the aim of raising teams north of the border.

The game was very enjoyable and played in excellent spirit. The Scottish players soon picked up the game and a great contest ensued.

For the second game in a row, gold shorter, Paul “Snake Hips” Goad, proved more than a speedy handful for the defence. Paul “could get injured yawning” Clarke made his only appearance of the year, but put in a great stint at fullback, shutting down a number line breaks.

Mark Throw was another player returning to the fold after a long absence, and definitely made his presence felt.

We won’t talk about the occasional forward pass that thwarted a few tries, but we might mention Ben “Forest Gump” Smith who got a little excited and ran the ball clear off the pitch when trying to evade the opposition! When asked what he was doing, he simply replied, “just felt like running!”

Despite those minor indiscretions Crusaders played some really good Rugby League. For a team that doesn’t train there are some great combinations coming together, and those combinations led to some great tries.

The game was brilliantly controlled by referee Luke Naylor throughout. It was also great to have Tony and Peter from the Masters steering group in attendance also.

Post match was taken inside the stadium, thank you to Richie Metcalfe for sorting us a room for refreshment and the free tickets to the Ireland v Scotland match, it was very much appreciated.

Crusaders Masters will be upping their game in 2025 with regular training and some new off field gear. We also have a little jaunt planned for late February so keep watching our channels for more details in the New Year!

As ever, Crusaders Masters would like to thank our kit sponsors Marstons. We would also like to thank our polo sponsors eCreative Designs, Burties Hair Design, Top Third, iSecure Group and Light Risk Management.


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