U14s – MOWDEN SHOW CHARACTER IN NARROW VICTORY

Early play was scrappy with neither side being able to string together a passage of play without errors. Mowden were first to get their act together and the pack won a number of penalties in the Penrith 22. Gordon Thompson tried to open up Penrith with a number of back moves and forward moves but their defence remained unbreached. Unfortunately, during one of the attacks Callum Oakes injured his knee as he powered for the line and had to come off. Max Harrison replaced him at flanker.

Eventually the Penrith defence was forced to give way as Mark Wilson sent the ball down the line to John Payne to score a well-worked try. Tamer Fuat converted the try to put Mowden 7 points ahead.

No-one from Mowden claimed the ball from the restart and the ball rolled into touch well inside the Mowden 22. Penrith took advantage of the position and their forwards won the lineout and started a series of attacks on the Mowden line. Despite a dozen forward surges Mowden kept them out. Strong tackling from the front row of Connor Noble, James Maclintock and Simon Shepherd kept knocking Penrith back and the strength of Tom Lawson, Sam Lorimer and Michael Hall, ripped the ball away from Penrith time and. time again.

However, Mowden made life difficult for themselves as they were unable to retain possession in the rucks and Penrith either stole the ball or rucked over the Mowden players. As Penrith moved the ball a bit wider before trying for a try, big hits from Joe Craggs and Max along with centres Jonny Teague and Tamer kept them out.

Mowden tried a number of times to escape from their own 22 but Penrith tackling was solid and kept Mowden penned back. Eventually Matty Warr found himself with a bit of space on the right and sprinted downfield with Jonny in support. Only a fine tackle from the Penrith full back prevented Mowden increasing their lead.

The last 10 minutes of the first half were spent back on Mowden’s goal line with Penrith looking for an equalising try. Only superb tackling by Tom, Joe and Mark Harsley amongst other kept the score-sheet clean

Half time Penrith 0 Mowden 7

At half time Mowden made a number of changes to the team and the line up. Tamer had suffered from a bruised foot and came off. Ollie Cooper came on as outside centre for his first game back from injury since mid-September. The Penrith scrum was well drilled and had had the upper hand in the first half so to add some weight to the front row Alfie Wilson replaced James as hooker.

Mowden got back into their rhythm quicker at the start of the second half and soon put together a fine back move that nearly resulted in a try. Pressure and good running from Simon and Michael began to tell and Mowden were awarded a penalty 25m out in front of the posts. Gordon took a quick tap and Mark W played a miss move, spinning out a fast pass, creating pace for the backs and giving Ollie a try scoring opportunity in the left corner which he did not spurn. A fitting return for Ollie!

This acted as a spur for Penrith who soon mounted an attack of their own. With more than a suspicion of foot up they won good ball against the head and launched a back row move. Max had the number 8 down but he managed to offload the ball, the receiver ducking under Mowden tackles to break through for Penrith’s opening score. The conversion was missed to bring the score to 5-12.

From the restart, Mowden were caught napping, possibly thinking about Penrith’s try. A simple catch and pass into the middle of the field and Penrith ran through a virtually non-existent defence to score under the posts. An easy conversion levelled the scores at 12 all.

Incredibly, Penrith almost scored again from the kick of with the same move! It was only Mark H’s speed, as he chased down a chip forward from the Penrith player that prevented further embarrassment.

Aidan Smith replaced Mattie on the wing and was immediately in the action as he first took a knock then delivered a crunching tackle of his own. However, Penrith were beginning to get on top and it wasn’t long before they won a scrum under Mowden’s posts. A back row move saw their number 8 go over from 5m to put Penrith into the lead 17-12.

It was beginning to look bleak for Mowden as Penrith spirits soared and they began to dominate the game. However, Mowden U14s are made of stern stuff and were not going down without a fight. Good play by Dom Gibson on as a replacement and Ryan Hall (replacing Michael Hall) with ball in hand saw Mowden move up to the Penrith 10m line, winning a scrum. From the scrum Jonny made some ground and the pack secured ball as it was laid back. Gordon moved the ball right, Mark W passing to Joe in the centre position. Mark H sprinted into the line creating some room for John who showed his strength and speed handing off the Penrith winger to go round and score close to the posts.

With the pressure on him, Joe kept his nerve and slotted the kick to put Mowden back in front 17-19.

In the final 10 minutes Penrith came on with all their might and the game was played deep in the Mowden half causing palpitations amongst the visiting supporters. In a strange passage of play Penrith decided to play with only 6 forwards in the scrum. Mowden had to match the arrangement, thereby reducing the number of loose forwards available for tackling Penrith’s back row moves.

Despite some tense moments the Mowden defence stood firm, tackled hard and hung on to win a tough game.

Final score Penrith 17 Mowden 19.

A hard-won victory against a tough team! Apart from one or two lapses it was an outstanding defensive performance. But we need to keep hold of possession in the rucks and make sure that we are coming onto the ball at speed in the back line. A solid performance on which to build for the rest of the season and just what we needed ahead of next week’s game.

Next week the derby game at home to Darlington!