Billingham U17s v Redcar U17s Oct.31st.2004

Following two promising home performances, and the selection of Michael Tucker, David Brown and Andrew Wills to the North Yorkshire squad. It was a confident Redcar team who travelled to Billingham on a fine autumnal morning, only to find their hosts unable to field a full team. Sportingly Redcar loaned three players to Billingham to allow the game to go ahead.
Within two minutes Redcar were awarded a penalty on the Billingham 10m. line, and Liam Rogers took advantage of hesitancy in the Billingham defence to tap a short ball to Mark Ellis who used his strength to power over the line, and give Redcar the lead.
With the game apparently theirs for the taking, Redcar inexplicably took their foot off the gas, and Billingham slowly, but surely played themselves back in to the game, and it was no surprise after 15 minutes when they played the ball across the backs, following a scrum, to score a well worked try, which was converted to give them the lead.
The game continued in an end-to-end fashion, with the Redcar players “guesting” for Billingham causing no end of problems to the Redcar team.
With 5minutes to go to half time, Tucker crashed over the line following another quickly taken penalty, but was unable to ground the ball, so the half finished with Billingham leading 7-5.
Half Time brought several changes, with Anthony Wright, Richie Evans and Kevin Hartley returning to the Redcar team, and Ollie Bennet, Sean Robson and James Windross moving the opposite way.
Redcar started the second half in a more determined fashion, and were rewarded after 5minutes when Liam Rogers weighed up the options before picking the ball out of a scrum on the Billingham 10m line, and ran the ball over the line himself to put Redcar back in front.
Redcar seemed more determined to hang on to their lead this time, and 7minutes later scored the try of the match. Debutant Kevin Hartley caught a long clearance by Billingham 10m inside the Redcar half, and set off on a weaving run through the whole of the opposition, with no one able to get a tackle on him he kept his head and scored a try which would have graced any game, at any level. Unfortunately for Redcar the attempted conversion hit the post, and they had to settle for a 15-7 lead.
Billingham still refused to accept defeat and after 20minutes clawed their way back, once again working the ball well after gaining possession from a scrum, to score an unconverted try.
The game continued in an entertaining fashion with both teams going flat out for a decisive score, and in the last minute the referee awarded Billingham a Penalty 25m out, and in front of the posts, following an infringement in the scrum. Sensing this could be the last kick of the match, they opted to go for the 3 points and the ball was duly kicked over the bar to tie the match at 15 – 15.
Both teams were a credit to their clubs, and played their parts in an entertaining, if at times, nerve-wracking, game.
Special mention for Man of the Match Richie Evans, a regular Prop, who played magnificently at Full Back for Billingham in the first half, and equally as well in the Centre for Redcar in the second half.