John Painter had come on for the last half hour and popped up on the right wing to take a pass from Gavin who had jinked his way passed three tackles. It looked like Painter senior might make the corner himself but, perhaps wisely, he chose to offload to non other than Young who raced in for his fourth and final try of an industrious afternoon .

The youngster showed why he's billed as one of the brightest young prospects at Newcastle Falcons who have given him permission to replay for his own club for the rest of the season.

His arrival gives coach Dave Stubbs as pleasant selection dilemma ahead of next Saturday's game at league leaders Middlesbrough. For the last twenty minutes of the game Stubbs brought on skipper and regular scrum half Davy Tighe at fly half but it was the starting half back pair of Young and Gavin Painter which brought this friendly to life.

Their combined age is less than that of just one of their half back opponents - Michael Siddle and Mixie Parker. But it was the older heads who started better and Tech took the game to West.

Twice Siddle caught Young at the base of the scrum, but West eventually broke out without conceding and Greg Edwards made 50 metres up the touchline to send Colin Cheslin away but Tech winger Carl Brown didn't give up and put in a superb tackle to save the try.

Centre Richard Foster thought he had done the same on 22 minutes when he chased down flying West winger Chris Lambert. However, West were there first and in support and when the ball was spun out to the right full back James Masshedar came in to the line to go over in the corner and open the scoring.

Second row Tom Dixon, another West teenager, missed the touchline conversion but went on to produce a superb goalkicking performance. He got his next chance and his first points on the half hour when Young collected from the base of a scrum 25 metres out and raced through the home defence.

The second half was only three minutes old when Young did it again. This time interchanging passes with fly half Painter after breaking through a gap in midfield.

Tech's response was to camp out on the West line forcing three successive penalties and a yellow card for West prop Anth Carr for killing the ball. The pressure finally told when back row Ian Pinchen dived over. Paul Dove missed the conversion and that was the end of Tech's scoring as the younger West legs put them on the backfoot for the rest of the game.

Gavin Painter raced through a gap to score West's fourth followed by a pushover try which saw No 8 Jordan Baggs emerging with the ball.

Young got his hat trick in 64 minutes when another gap opened up in the Tech defence followed by that classic West moment for his fourth try.

the West coaches will have been heartened by the talent of Painter at fly half and Neil Howe at inside centre while hooker Andrew Dixon slotted straight in to a mobile pack.

Tech : Knight, Brown, Foster, Corrigan, Bulmer, Parker, Siddle, Palmer, Hamilton, Dove, Wray, Thompson, Howard, Best, Pinchen.

West: Masshedar, C Cheslin [Tighe 60], Edwards, Howe, Lambert, G Painter, Young, Norris, A Dixon, Carr [J Painter 55], Henderson, T Dixon, C Miller, D Boatman, Baggs.