Halfway through the regular season before it splits into the Super 5s play offs, it is the orange and black of the Rockets that sit at the top of the pile with 8 points with only two points separating first and fourth.

The trip to Jarrow on Saturday had the intriguing sub-plot of both club’s U16s having met the night before in the U16s Cup Final, with the Rockets lifting the trophy on that occasion.

Last year’s Grand Finalists, Jarrow are a notoriously tough side to play against, full of strength and experience and the Rockets had their work cut out for them.

With the backs of Cramlington providing most of the points for the visitors, it was Jarrow that went into the half time break in the lead.

As the Rockets fought to reduce the deficit, it was a tempestuous affair that threatened to spill over at times and a fight on the sidelines saw one Rocket shown red.

However, with the clock ticking down, the Rockets managed to edge in front and with only a few minutes left, scored the crucial try to take the score to 26-18, the eight point gap meaning Jarrow would have to score twice.

Despite pressure from Jarrow, that was to be the final score, cueing wild celebrations on the away touchline.

“We are so proud of these lads” said coach, Evan Simons. “Me and Vincent [Rennie, co-head coach] are the proudest people in Newcastle right now. Every lad on the field played out of their skin.”

“Considering there were only fourteen in the squad and the average age is twenty years old, it is a big moment for this team’s development.”

“What makes it even better is that twelve of the squad actually came through the Rockets’ junior system, so it’s a big endorsement of that too.”

“The reaction of all the players and coaches just showed how much it meant to them” added Rennie.

“We are not getting carried away though. It is only one win and there’s still a lot of rugby to play this year and the way the league is, everyone is one good or bad day from moving top.”

“Our aim for the rest of the regular season is to stay at the right end of the table and when the league splits into the Super 5s, we want to be at the business end to make sure we are in contention for the Grand Final in August.”

“For now though, it is important we get some good training in mid-week and focus on each game as it comes.”

The 1st team’s next match is Saturday 18th June 14:30 kick off away to second placed Peterlee Pumas.

Try scorers: Liam Hawthorn, Chris Ure, Jack Tait, Joe Morris, Michael Mitchell
Conversions: Jack Redfern (3)