Catterick Crusaders U14s Travel To Yarm

We travelled to Yarm to take on their U14s and were treated to a fantastic contest from the first whistle to the last. The sides were evenly matched throughout, but we came flying out of the blocks, scoring four unanswered tries in the opening 10 minutes.

Leighton's try has to be a contender for Try of the Season so far. It was a brilliant example of teamwork and sticking to our game plan. The ball was carried strongly by the forwards, with Mason and Misa making hard yards before Reuben took it on and gained significant ground before being brought down. The ball was then quickly moved by Oscar to Odin. It looked as though Odin was going to go all the way himself, but he produced a superb late offload to Margus. Margus drew in the Wolves full-back before delivering a perfectly timed short pass to Leighton, who crossed for our fourth try. Even better, we still had two players in support all the way to the try line. Our attacking game plan has focused heavily on support play and ball movement, and once again it paid off with some excellent tries.

Yarm fought their way back into the game and eventually closed the gap to within two points. At times our defensive line was a little slow off the mark and we conceded a few penalties for offside. Yarm took advantage of it and came away with some well-worked tries.

However, there were some incredibly brave performances across the team, with players putting their bodies on the line to make tackles and slow down the opposition's momentum. Tom, Odin, Henry P, Oscar, Al, Jenson, both Masons and Brandon were right in the thick of the action throughout. Reuben's move into his new position has allowed him to become more involved in both attack and defence, and it was great to see him making such a positive impact.

Players of the Match

There were several standout performances. Charlie scored a number of tries and was heavily involved throughout the game. Oscar's presence caused all sorts of problems for the Wolves in both attack and defence. Misa scored a superb individual try and continued to beat defenders with his footwork. Al from Cramlington, who played his first match for Crusaders today, came on and seemed determined to tackle anything that moved.

However, today's Player of the Match award goes jointly to Reuben and Margus. Their work rate both on and off the ball was immense, and they gave everything right up until the final whistle. Margus' leadership was outstanding, helping to keep the team together when we needed it most. Reuben consistently carried the ball out of our own danger area and organised the forwards superbly in defence. A huge well done to both of them.

As always, thank you to everyone for your support and for allowing the boys to play today.

Whether you've noticed it or not, the progress this group has made so far has been absolutely brilliant. This season was intended to be a building year, particularly as we have a large number of U13 players in the squad. I challenged them by asking why they couldn't compete this year rather than waiting for next season. Not only have they risen to that challenge, but their attitude, commitment and mindset have been outstanding. From a coach's perspective, what they have achieved so far has been incredibly rewarding to watch.

Final Score

Yarm Wolves 44 - Catterick Crusaders 44