Luck, it appears, has not on the side of our opponents of late. The combination of break-ins and floods meant that, what was scheduled to be an away game, was transferred to Fortress Blackwell. It is not great to see one of the local clubs suffer such persistent misfortune so I am sure we all hope – on behalf of the rugby community – that things improve for Yarm RFC. Rugby in Teesside can only benefit from all clubs prospering (Yes, even Mowden!!!).
We have played Yarm a few times over the past 2 or 3 years with Darlington always coming out on top, though the games were always hard fought encounters. So it was that a squad of 20 U-13s turned up on Sunday to play a rather depleted Yarm team that included some U-14s in their number. For the U-13s, it was good to see Archie back after his concussion though Jake (back in physio thankfully) and Caedmon (still hoping to make the school skiing trip – fingers crossed) remain long term absentees. Missing for the team today were Oliver W (thankfully not injured just otherwise engaged), Matthew (scout camp – in January??) and Isaac (flu). Hopefully we will back to full numbers soon. It is evident that squad depth is increasingly key to competing in the junior levels of Rugby.
There is a tendency to assume that rugby in Yarm is synonymous with the eponymous school. However given their different catchment areas, the rugby club has a rather narrower pool to draw upon and struggles to get a team for U-13s; hence the U-14 players. Nonetheless, those that were watching will agree that they played with heart and style. They were a good test for the U-13s and offered a hard tackling game and often played with pace and organisation. This is all the more admirable given how few games they seemed to have played this season. Praise must also go to the coaches and parents of the opposition who were nothing less than a credit to the club.
As is the norm, the match consisted of three 20 minute sections with our coach Tom refereeing two sections and the Yarm coach, the Middle section. Both referees were fair and consistent and contributed to what was often a good flowing game played in difficult conditions with a significant wind chill and a very heavy playing surface.

First section: U-13s 5 – 1 Yarm

As mentioned with the ground and weather, these were not the easiest conditions for the players. However the U-13s made a rather slow start and allowed Yarm to open the scoring with a long run in to the corner. The U-13s were – I am sure – frustrated with the number of missed tackles in the run up to the try. However fair play to the U-13s, they organised themselves and Yarm were rarely allowed such space again throughout the match. As the game progressed, it became apparent that Yarm were struggling to cope with our running and passing game especially when quick ball caught them out of shape. So it was that Max equalised for the U-13s largely as a result of quick passing stretching Yarm to create the space for the line to be crossed. This proved to be the pattern for the rest of the first third of the game, where quick passing and running allowed space to be generated. This allowed the team to add further tries with Xander (excellent blind-side break), Jamie, George and Dan all adding tries to establish a healthy cushion before the break. A lot of this was facilitated through some great work at the set pieces (notably for Jamie’s try with was on the back of a turnover at the scrum) and with our rucking and mauling working better than it had for a number of games. Credit to both coaches and players for the work put in on this aspect of the game. A mention must also be made to Jack who made an excellent try saving tackle towards the end of this part of the game.

Second Period: U-13s 9 – 2 Yarm

The change of ends allowed the coaches to ring the changes. As mentioned last week, this tends to be less of problem than it used to be in the early stages of the season with many of the new players having become embedded in to the team and having a clear sense of their role. In these circumstances, the depth we now have works to our advantage allowing fresher legs without weakening the team’s cohesion. This depth and cohesion allowed the team to continue with the trend of the first period where the U-13s continued to dominate possession and territory. Thus it was not too long before the scoring resumed with Marley (who was on fire) crossing over the line in the corner on the back of sustained pressure and some excellent passing and running by the team that offered no let up for the opposition. This was quickly added to by the ever-excellent George and a brace by Adam (of whom more later). In between Adam’s tries, Yarm added a second which was – again – the result of a break away.

Third Period: U-13s 11 – 2 Yarm

At the turnaround Ollie H, Freddie and Stephen donned the Yarm shirt which – in truth – tended to even out the game as both teams tired and began to suffer injuries. It also allowed more of the U-13s to have a sustained run out which can only be beneficial. With the game over as a contest, there did seem to be a drop in intensity in this final third. However the U-13s did manage to add a further two unanswered tries with Joseph T and Callum H both crossing over the line before the final whistle allowed all concerned to retreat to the club house to restore feeling to our extremities.
Whilst it is a truism that you can only beat what is in front of you, the U-13s can – nonetheless – be very pleased with their morning’s work. They played a team with some excellent players and, whilst, they did not enjoy squad depth, were on the whole a test for the U-13s team. It was good to see the `newer’ players continue to integrate into the team. Special mention here must go to Ollie G who – in his only his second game – has gelled well into the forward line. Our forward work continues to be excellent (how many scrums won against the head Stephen??) and – for the first game in a while – we got our backline passing game going which really posed the opposition problems. The scrum work was excellent and the team’s rucking and mauling was as good as it has been in a long while. The forward line of Callum R, Stephen, Callum H, Freddie, Ollie G, Archie, Adam, Jack, Ben and Joe W continue to impress as a unit with the squad depth working to their advantage, enabling them to sustain their freshness throughout the game into which they grew in dominance. The back line of Marley, Max, Dan, Xander, Owen, Joe T, George, Ollie H, Theo (whose birthday it was – so belated greetings!!) and Jamie were very fluid throughout the game always stretching the opposition defence with good running and quick hands.

Man of the Match: Adam
Aside from his brace of tries today, this award is long overdue for one of the team’s most reliable players. The team can always rely on Adam to put in a shift throughout a game and never offers the team anything less everything. You can almost forgive him his preference for League….almost!!! Well done Adam – a just reward for your efforts.