The juniors take centre stage

It was a quiet weekend at Brompton Lodge as the men’s first XV cup match was cancelled due to Halifax Vandal’s unable to field a team. Keep your eyes peeled for confirmation of the next round. The men’s second XV and the ladies have finished their seasons however the club’s under 15’s side stepped up to represent Northallerton RUFC for the weekend as they defended the Lodge in a tough fixture against Durham City RUFC.

With a sizable following, the boys took to the field in high hopes following some promising performances against a variety of opposition this season. From the kick off the game had a high level of intensity as both teams fought to establish a lead. It was the visitors who were able to get over the whitewash first, scoring a well worked try. They followed this up with another try shortly after, both unconverted to take a notable lead. North refused to drop their heads though and put into practice many of the skills from the training ground, moving the ball through the hands and running directly when required. Oliver Pattinson as the player from the home side who was able to break through and dive over the try line to put North on the score sheet. It was evident to the many spectators watching that Durham were a well organised and drilled side who went straight back to the half way and set about their patterns of play to score another brace of tries with a conversion as well to extend their lead.
Into the second half North went knowing that they would have to produce their best rugby to stay in the game. Another try from Pattinson gave belief to the visitors and this was held for a while until the hosts showed their skills to score a try out wide. Hayden Norton used his strength to break through several tackles and carry the ball over the try line in a quick repost for North. The game continued to ebb and flow for each team as ferocious defence and relentless attack met head on. The minutes ticked by quickly as the spectators were enthralled by the efforts of both sets of boys however with the last stages of the game, Durham were able to score two more tries and a conversion to further extend their score sheet for the day. The match ended with a final score of Northallerton 15 - Durham City 39. A great experience for the boys who conducted themselves well throughout the day and gave all their efforts making everyone proud to watch them. A big thank you to our volunteers and to Doug for stepping up as referee.