Dew: Pulling on the jersey was a very proud moment

For our National Two North review this week, we have spoken exclusively to Preston Grasshoppers Head Coach Garth Dew about his appearance for his home town club on Saturday plus his reaction to his sides victory.

One of the main stories from Round 10 in National Two North was the defeats which Sedgley Park and Caldy both suffered which allowed Macclesfield to stretch their lead at the top of National Two North.

However, it wasn’t the only story to come out of this division this weekend and Preston Grasshoppers Head Coach Garth Dew will be quick to tell you that.

His side beat the Luctonians 19-25 at Mortimer Park, but the result for his team wasn’t the only thing that left him with a smile on his face.

Preston is a club close to Garth’s heart and he has always aimed to play for his home town side.

But injuries had shattered that dream – until now.

Garth stopped playing rugby three years ago due to a knee injury and he then took the job as Head Coach at Lightfoot Green at the start of last season.

He has continued with his rehab since the injury and that culminated in him stepping out on Saturday wearing the Hoppers jersey for the first ever time.

“Pulling the jersey on was a very proud moment that I never imagined would happen,” said Garth.

“I only expected to play 20 or 30 minutes but an early injury meant a 65 minute run out which I thoroughly enjoyed and I came through unscathed, and with a victory.

“When I was younger I always had aspirations to play rugby at the best level I could, but I knew that one day I wanted to return to my home club and play for Hoppers 1st XV.

“Unfortunately when I sustained a number of knee injuries in 2011 it was looking like this might never happen. Despite returning to play in 2012 for Sedgley Park, a few complications with my knee and some cautious advice lead to my decision to stop playing.”

“This was when I got back involved at Hoppers and eventually ended up taking on the Head Coach role. I’ve always continued with my rehab and gym work and decided to have a scan a few months ago as my knee felt good.

“The results were very positive and after six weeks of getting back involved in training, I decided to dust the boots off and go on the bench at the weekend.”

Garth’s side were ahead 3-17 when he introduced himself to the field as tries from Christian Taylor and Peter Altham as well as seven points from the boot of Sean Taylor gave them that advantage.

Louis Silver landed three penalties for the Luctonians before Alexander Zavallis-Roebuck crossed on the stroke of half-time for Preston.

Preston had a healthy lead heading into the second period, but the Lucts responded well just four minutes after the restart as John Morris dived over to reduce the deficit to just six points.

Taylor then used the conditions to his advantage to stretch Preston’s lead once again and as time ticked by, the Luctonians had to settle with a losing bonus point as Silver nudged over for the fourth time.

And Garth added this was a well fought win for his side in difficult conditions in Herefordshire.

He said: “Luctonians are struggling this season though it is still a very difficult place to go and win. The long coach trip, coupled with the shocking weather and a partisan crowd, meant it was always going to be a difficult afternoon.

“Despite this, the lads started the game with great intensity and three first half tries gave us a comfortable lead at half time. The second half was a different story as Luctonians used the wind on their backs to continuously push us back into our half, but excellent commitment in defence meant we kept them out and picked up an invaluable 25-19 victory.

“Overall, I was pleased with the performance. In recent weeks we’ve been very poor in the second half but this time out we managed the game better and dug in well defensively. Hopefully the lads will take a lot of confidence from the win.”

Next up for Preston is a home game against Sandal who closed the gap on the teams above them with victory on Saturday. Here is a round-up of the rest of the action in Week 10 of National Two North.

Harrogate 17-22 Macclesfield

Macclesfield were made to work hard for their ninth straight win of the season as they now move six points clear at the top of this division after this win over Harrogate.

A tight first half saw the visitors open up a 7-12 advantage thanks to tries from Rhodri Mayor and Elliot Breirley, with Callum Irivne replying with a score of his own for Harrogate.

The Yorkshire club took the lead after the break as Charles Morgan crossed, but a Penalty Try on 49 minutes restored the lead for Macclesfield.

Lewis Barker slotted over a penalty just before the hour, but ‘Gate could only respond with a Lewis Minkin penalty seven minutes from the end to secure a losing bonus point.

Sedgley Park 19-24 Stourbridge

Despite Stephen Collins kicking 14 points for Sedgley Park, they were beaten for the third time in five games by a Stourbridge side who continue to look stronger as each week goes by.

Collins nudged over a penalty and a conversion off a Penalty Try in the first-half for Sedge, but tries from Joseph Heatley and Connor Nicholls for the visitors opened up a 10-17 half-time lead.

The Sedgley fly-half knocked over two more penalties after Nicholls was sin-binned for Stour, but Heatley crossed for his second try of the afternoon to put the Midlands side in control of this fixture.

And despite, Stour gaining that lead on 56 minutes, Sedgley just couldn’t find a way through and had to settle with another three points from Collins.

Sandal 6-3 Caldy

Like Sedgley Park, Caldy dropped points on Saturday as they are now winless in three after this defeat away to Sandal.

Greg Wood kicked a penalty and a drop goal to give the hosts a 6-0 half-time lead with Jack Lavin responding from the tee after the interval for Caldy.

Simon Frewin was yellow carded for Sandal for the second time in two weeks on 71 minutes, but Caldy couldn’t take advantage to score what might well have been the winning try of the game.

Caldy were also reduced to 14 men when John Parker was sent to the sin-bin just three minutes from time, but neither side were able to find a way to cross the whitewash as Sandal picked up their first victory in three matches.

Leicester Lions 38-6 Sale FC

Leicester Lions maintained their unbeaten home record for this season with a comfortable win over Sale FC who have now lost their last two games.

The Lions were in complete control at the break as tries from Devon Constant and Jonathan Williams gave them a 17-0 half-time lead.

Liam McGovern hit back for Sale after the restart with two quick-fire penalties despite having Jamie Frost in the sin-bin.

But a Penalty Try and a brace from Marco Dallavalle saw Leicester take the game away from Sale and clinch the bonus point win.

Otley 15-10 Broadstreet

Otley made it five wins in their last six matches with this victory over Broadstreet who are now seven points form safety after suffering their eighth defeat of the season.

Declan Dunn got the only points of the first half when he dotted down for Otley and a Penalty Try on 53 minutes doubled their advantage.

Any hopes Broadstreet had about finding a way back into the game were dented when Joseph Foreman and Richard Stout were both yellow-carded inside three minutes of each other.

Stephen Depledge took advantage from the tee to make it 15-0, but two tries in the final two minutes of the game from Aaron Martin and Todd Freemantle saved a bonus point for ‘Street.

Huddersfield 23-14 Chester

Huddersfield picked up a much needed bonus point win against an inconsistent Chester side at Lockwood Park.

The game was level at half-time as Chris Bell and Callum Bennett exchanged penalties and Chester may have felt they should have led at the break when ‘Field were reduced to 14 as Laurence Sanderson was shown a yellow card midway through the half.

However, Chester were in front after the restart as David Ford went over three minutes into the second-half, before Bennett added a penalty for his side.

That was as good as it got for the visitors as Bell narrowed the gap to five points with his third penalty of the afternoon before tries from Benjamin Hoyle and Elliot Hodgson completed the fightback for the home side.

Tynedale 34-24 South Leicester

South Leicester’s two game winning run ended on Saturday as they were defeated by Tynedale who secured just their third win of the season since relegation from National One.

The hosts were behind 13-17 at half-time as Chris Gibbs and Calum Gunn touched down for South while Benjamin Haigh dotted down for Tyne with Ashley Smith landing the other eight points.

South stretched their lead further after the break when Fredrick Tuilagi crossed, but a yellow card to David Peck opened the door for Tyne to mount a comeback.

James Clark’s try was scored when Peck was off the field but that seemed to be the catalyst for the hosts who went on to score 14 unanswered points as Alistair Murray and Nicholas Cairns dived over to seal the win for the hosts.