Upper Eden 10 – Middlesbrough 1st XV 53
Alnwick 47 – Middlesbrough Wasps 47
Barnard Castle 46 – 40 Middlesbrough A
Another Saturday, another trip along the A66 to the picturesque ground of Upper Eden Rugby Club in Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria.
As so often in Regional 2 North the game starts at a ferocious pace with both teams wrestling for control. UE kick a glorious 50-20 giving them a line out in the Boro 22. Boro steal the ball and great interplay between forwards Finlay Magowan, Myles Colvin and Adam Marron gets the ball into scrum half Conner Foley’s hands. After a good run the ball is set up and spun along the backs to Brendan Hill who scores under the posts. He then converts 0-7.
UE then have 2 penalties in quick succession but both attempts at goal miss the mark. A scrum on Boro’s 5 yard line has No 8 Ollie Hodgson deliver a fine pass out to fly half Shay Barritt who ships the ball along to winger Hill who puts on the afterburners and sprints 90m for a try leaving at least 4 defenders in his wake…the step round the full back was sublime. 0-12
Third time luck for the home team who convert a penalty 3-12.
A strong run from Boro wing Aedan Moloney sets up the ball, Pete Homan takes it on out to Colvin who straightens up, drawing defenders in, which allows room for Hill to score his third try in just over half an hour 3-17. Hill’s finishing has been superb, but I cannot stress enough that these have been proper “Team” tries with all the players doing their bit.
HT 3-17
After the break UE come out all guns blazing and score a converted try after some missed tackles by Boro 10-17. Hodgson then makes a break and the ball is passed out to sub Matthew Marsay who picks up a low pass to score, Hill’s con is good 10-24. Hill then kicks a penalty to move Boro 3 scores ahead 10-27.
A try for skipper Jack McPhillips after superb recycling across the team. Conversion good by Hill 10-34. Then comes a second try in as many weeks for replacement Rio who runs in from 30 yards under the sticks con good 10-41. The ball ends up in Hill’s hands again and he crosses the whitewash and converts his own try 10-48
Boro are working the ball well through the hands stretching the home defence, a pass inside to Ollie Hodgson sees him score the final points of the game on what has been a blustery afternoon on top of the Pennines.
Full Time Upper Eden 10 Middlesbrough 53
This win and other results going our way sees the Mighty Boro return to the top of the table for now….
A plea to some of the players from myself, please stop this cheering when the opposition make a mistake, it sounds awful and not in the spirit of the game. I know the opposition do it but it just shows a lack of Class on their part.
Reporter: Jason Littleton
The game at Alnwick kicked off at 3 with Boro Wasps on the attack from the start. Alnwick defend well before then breaking to come close to scoring themselves. Great competitive first 5 mins.
On 11 minutes, Boro score through 9, Macca, after an awesome amount of pressure and double figures of phases. The conversion by Will Deeks was good to put 7 on the board for Boro.
Alnwick took the challenge and the pressure put on Boro led to a hard tough game of rugby. Alnwick attacked well and constantly but great Boro defence in their own 22 kept them at Bay. However, the pressure eventually won over the dogged defence. Alnwick scored from a good line out catch and drive. The conversion was missed so Boro held the slender lead. Alnwick 5 – 7 Boro.
The catch and drive appeared to be the key to unlocking the Boro defence, as soon Alnwick scored another line out catch and drive score. This time the conversion was good and Alnwick led 12 to 7. 28 minutes played.
The pressure on Boro continued but the defence is good under lots of pressure. Eventually, Boro steal the ball, but a poor clearance into the wind causes an easy Alnwick walk in try. The conversion missed: Alnwick 17 – 7 Boro. 36 minutes played.
Boro lose another line out to Alnwick. They make good phases and score on 39 minutes. Conversion good.
Half time: Alnwick 24 – 7 Boro.
The Alnwick pressure continued in the second half. Their strength in depth telling. They went on to score three more tries: on 47 minutes, 66 minutes and 77 minutes. The latter two converted tries the former missed from out wide.
Although Boro failed to register a score in the second half it wasn’t always one way traffic. A beautiful kick over the top by Charlie Borne was chased down by Luke in what looked like a brilliant score. Great skill by both, but the referee says it wasn’t touched down, so no score.
Full time. Alnwick 43 – 7 Boro.
Boro played hard for 80 minutes against a very good Alnwick 2nd team. With the bare 15 and nobody halve up. Macca played on with 1 arm for 25 minutes. Big Abe had a great game moving up to the front row. Jake Pemberton from the colts played his 1sr Wasps game and was as solid as you could ask. Jack Wade returned to rugby and was great. Lots of positives after a very hard contest away at Alnwick. A good return fixture up in Boro should make for a competitive game.
Report: Phil Tilson
In what looked a very competitive game Boro A lost a thriller 46 – 40 to Barnard Castle.
Sunday
On Sunday, Boro U14s hosted Darlington in ideal conditions for rugby and delivered a commanding 55-5 win. Boro got off to a quick start with an early try from Seth Naughton, though their momentum slowed somewhat through the first half. Despite this, they managed to extend their lead with further tries from captain Lewis Boyes, a swift run from Frankie Peacock, and a well-timed charge by Jack Smith, who intercepted a clearance kick from Darlington. By halftime, Boro held a commanding 27-0 lead.
The second half saw Darlington briefly respond with a try from a tap-and-go play, but Boro quickly regained control. Their superior energy and game knowledge led to additional tries from Jack Smith, Seth Naughton, and a final score from Harry Fysh, rounding out a dominant performance.
Following the match, Player of the Match honors, presented by Acklam Heating Services, went to Harry Fysh, while Archie Eastwood was named the Unsung Hero. Boro now looks ahead to a trip to Cleckheaton for the second round of the Yorkshire
