Long-serving Spalding RFC skipper Harry Sharman has admitted that Saturday’s promotion play-off victory was among his proudest moments at the club.
Sharman scored one of the tries as his side defeated Newbold on Avon 24-14 at the Memorial Field (report above) to secure an immediate return to Midlands One East.
It was the fourth promotion play-off the captain has featured in over the years, having beaten Market Harborough back in 2010 and lost to both Leighton Buzzard (2008) and Nuneaton Old Edwardians (2009).
But this one meant more to Town, who were determined to avenge last year’s gutting relegation.
“Every single player that was involved on Saturday gave their all,” said Sharman. “Having been relegated last year it’s obviously nice to bounce straight back.
“It’s a really proud moment for me and it’s right up there with my best moments at the club.”
While this season has delivered plenty of points for an offensive-minded Spalding line-up, they faced a different challenge against Newbold at the weekend.
Famed for their sizeable squad, Town dealt with their physical opposition superbly – conceding just one try all afternoon.
Although he woke up battered and bruised on Sunday morning, Sharman felt that Town could be proud of their display.
He added: “It was a great team effort really, it was always going to be hard work as we didn’t know too much about them.
“It was clear from the first few minutes that they are a very physical team.
“We’d heard they were big up front, but on the field they were very strong.
“But our defensive play was exceptional from the off. I was really chuffed with how we defended, they only managed one try from a close driving maul.In the second half we actually got on top of them in the scrum, which is something they pride themselves on.”
Next up for Spalding is a Lincs Cup final with Scunthorpe on Monday.
That will be Niall Thomson’s final game as head coach.
