Tough victory

From the way the Tynedale squad went through their pre-match drills, their numbers and size it was obvious before the kick off that this was to be a much sterner test for DMP than they had had so far as U13s. And so it proved!

The first 5 minutes of the game featured play restricted to an area 20 metres either side of the half way line as each side countered each other out. As the game spent on DMP started to show some good running with both Jacob Mehegan and Sol Kench on the wings seeing the ball and making ground. Next up it was Dylan Sharp's turn to stretch his legs and it's from his break down the right that DMP were able to recycle the ball along the line to Joe Berry who's pass was expertly picked up on the half volley by Jacob Mehegan who scored out on the left, from where John Grey added the conversion on 9 minutes.

The opening try seemed to add to Tynedale's determination, with some excellent tackling from the visitors as well as some strong running at the DMP defence too. Sam and Joe Berry were prominent in the DMP defence, hunting out the ball as a pair. However the Tynedale pressure started to tell and on 25 minutes they were thwarted by good DMP last ditch defence as they were held up over the try line. But Tynedale weren't to be stopped and soon had the ball down after further forward pressure.

Rather than galvanise DMP into action the loss of a try seemed to make the boys loose concentration - that short lapse was very costly as the Tynedale no4 caught the ball from the kick-off and ran 60 metres to score under the posts. With the conversion added as the last action of the half DMP were five points down.

Half-time score 7 - 12

The second half started much the same as the first with the teams almost cancelling each other out - the DMP forwards just having the edge but the backs being unable to take advantage due to excellent Tynedale defence and some uncharacteristic handling errors. It was after one such error that the ball found its way to the Tynedale no4 in midfield - yet again he set off towards the line and DMP were unable to stop him

Being in this unfamiliar position seemed to galvanise the DMP pack who started to make ground down the middle of the pitch and force Tynedale into errors and infringements. It was from a penalty on the Tynedale 10 metre line that Tom Dixon took a tap penalty himself, much to the annoyance of DMP coaching staff. However Tom made significant metres, the rest of the DMP pack supported well and were stopped just short. After a drive from the ensuing scrum stopped again, DMP won a maul close to the try line and when the ball came back Joe Berry was on hand to dance over the line for a try which Sol Kench converted.

The DMP pack now had their tails up and continued to drive down the centre of the pitch. They were soon repeating the previous try with Joe Berry getting his second out on the left after further good mauling. With the conversion missed the scores were level at 19 all with 10 minutes remaining.

Both sides continued to press for the winning score but it was the DMP forward superiority that was telling. After concerted pressure the Tynedale defence was sucked in and DMP were able to use the space for Sam Berry to unleash Sol Kench from about 25 metres. Showing great pace Sol's diagonal run got him over the try line to put DMP 5 points ahead, much to the jubilation of the DMP coaches, supporters and players. Tynedale made great efforts to try to get back level but were unable to breach the DMP defence.

Final score 24 - 19

Tries: Jacob Mehegan, Joe Berry (2), Sol Kench
Conversions: John Grey, Sol Kench

Man of the Match: The Pack