Redcar U17s v Darlington U 17s Oct.17th.2004

Sunday saw the visit of Darlington U 17s to McKinlay Park with the hosts looking to gauge their recent improvement against a team who inflicted a 67-0 defeat on them, three weeks previously.

Darlington attacked from the start, but found the Redcar defence in a resolute mood. Unfortunately after 7 minutes a wayward clearance was picked up by the Darlington backs and they played the ball well to score the opening try under the posts.

This setback did not phase Redcar, and with the home team winning a high percentage of Line outs, and virtually all the scrums, it was surprising to see Darlington score two more tries in the first 30 minutes, courtesy of Redcar mistakes.
The home team then began a period of intense pressure and spent the final ten minutes of the half camped inside the Darlington ten, crossing the line after 35 mins. Only to have the “score” wiped off by the referee, because the defence held up the ball. With the last play of the half Michael Tucker powered over to touch down only to find his effort also falling foul of the ref. With Darlington now definitely on the back foot, Redcar could have done without the break.

Darlington made changes to their pack at half time, a tribute to the effectiveness of the Redcar pack in the first half. The replacement prop soon made his presence felt in the scrums, and played a big part in the move leading to the fourth try of the game.

Both teams continued to play the game with 100% commitment, but midway through the second half things became heated, and following a melee in the centre of the pitch, each team lost a player to the Bin, and with Andrew Wills hurting his back the match had to continue with uncontested scrums, as once again Redcar had no replacements.

Darlington went on to score two more tries, and record a flattering 38-0 victory.
Redcar showed they can compete with the best in this game, and with the backs finally getting plenty of ball from the forwards, and using it wisely, it can only be a matter of time before they start scoring the points their play deserves. This was undoubtedly the best performance this team has produced in its short history, and any spectators watching would find it hard to believe that they have been playing together less than a year.

Man of the Match Chris Williams, his consistency, strength and work rate were exemplary, and he gets the vote on a day when each member of the team could justifiably have received the award.