Sunday morning started with a crisp frost on the ground at Middlesbrough and some concerns that the match might not go ahead. However, the message was that the pitch was playable so all was well. On arriving, the pitch was firm in places, but both sides were clearly up for the game and by 1 pm, the pitch had softened and was fine.

Boro knew that this was an important match and that Moortown were potentially difficult opponents, but training had been good and the mental attitude was just right. Adam is a great asset in making sure that everyone approaches in the right frame of mind.

Moortown has struggled with front-row players this season, but this week they had a full front row the match was played with fully contested scrums all the way through, which was good. The first scrum showed the work that had been put in by Boro on the scrum machine had not been wasted. It was after only about 3 minutes that Boro ran a move from the back of a scrum and Connor went over under the posts. Charlie added the extras.

On around 20 minutes, Boro were on the attack again and after a couple of sets of quick ruck ball, the ball was spun left and Rory went over in the corner.

Boro had to defend from the restart, and fron a line-out, having taken the ball, had a rush of bllod to the head and lost the ball when it should have been hit over the roof of the clubhouse. Moortown picked up on the loose ball and scored.

Soon after, in the left corner, Elliot picked up from the back of a scrum, spun out of the first tackle and drove over to score and restore a 12 point differential.

On 33 minutes, Connor took the ball deep in his own half and saw the pitch open in front of him and off he went, side-stepping one player then rounding the full back. He still had some way to go but he outpaced the defence to score and wrap up the bonus point in the first half.

At the start of the second half, Boro continued as the had in the first half and after a line-out and a drive, won the ball and rumbled it on a bit then spun it out to the right wing for Shelley to score. This was the opportunity to make a number of substitutions, but that disrupted the rhythm of the team and the game got a bit scrappy and more even as Moortown came back into the game. After a period of pressure and a couple of penalties conceded by Boro, Moortown got their second try.

But Boro weren't finished and got their game back on track and continued to have the majority of possession allbeit less than before. The final two tries were forward dominated affairs with Elliot on 60 minutes then "Naughty Boy" Rob on 70 minutes scoring from behind rolling mauls. Charlie added the extras at the end.

A convincing win against opponents who kept going but struggled against Boro's power. Boro's discipline was excellent as was the referee's commonsense approach in keeping things calm and maintaining good control over the match.