U16s - A Great Performance, Snow doubt about it

A picturesque setting for rugby in sight of the lakeland fells, and a refreshing breeze to blow away the cobwebs....the boys might have defrosted come March, we all knew we were at Penrith! Bouyed by bacon butties and the hot drink of choice served from the relatively warm surroundings of the clubhouse, the faithful were able to take a double glazed view of the boys going through their pre-match routines ready for the commencement of hostilities.

The referees whistle brought a visiting team kick off that was well placed from the boot of Ross and allowed his team-mates to get on their bikes and charge after it.The game was played out in a dissimilar fashion to games from last season, with the opening exchanges played deep in Penrith territory, the boys playing well right across the park and also managing the game throughout the first quarter. When Penrith did gain possession the boys were defending well and there was some superb forward play on show, the work done in training was definitely paying dividends. The visitors were good at splitting their line and were certainly adept at changing the point of their attack with some fluidity, which meant that our boys had to be focused on the runners in the opposing back line. Unfortunately the boys could not withstand the pressure and the extra guile shown by their opponents and with twenty minutes on the clock the home team were awarded a penalty, which was kicked for the first score. However, straight from the restart the boys were back on the attack and there were some good running from the backs to close down their opposing numbers and force the errors. This meant that DMP were getting over the gain line and closing in to their opponents red zone. With the pressure building it was no surprise to see Josh B peel off the back of a scrum and cross the line from five metres.The remainder of the half was played out in a similar vein with the hosts adding a converted try of their own to leave it a tight affair at oranges, the boys in green and white hoops 10-5 to the good.

The pack was shuffled throughout the second half, mainly it appeared through injury, but all the same a good opportunity of game time and the chance to stake a claim for a starting berth to the boys who had completed the 22. Fresh legs were also very much needed given the weather conditions. The boys were still putting a shift in, against opponents who were edging the territorial side of the game and an awareness of opportunities which demonstrated that they were used to playing in horizontal rain. After putting up a great defensive effort, as well as making their own attacking surges through tremendous rolling mauls for the whole of the third quarter, the boys could not hold out and the final quarter saw the Penrith boys run in five trys, with a smattering of conversions. The final score was definitely harsh on the boys from DMP and they can take a number of positives away from the game.

Thanks to our hosts for a good game of rugby and congratulations to their boys, coaches and supporters.