Yarm Wolves v Gateshead Storm u12s

Gateshead Storm u12s went down to an opening day defeat in wet conditions at Yarm Wolves this weekend.

After 12 months without a game the u12s took to the field with lots of anticipation.
It was the first time they were playing on a full size pitch and the first time playing 13 a side.

Storm welcomed debutants Thomas Kennedy and Ben Forster into the fold, playing on the wing and second row respectively.

It was the Wolves from Yarm who started stronger scoring with their first two sets of possession through James Drydon and Jackson Palmer. When Storm did get hold of the ball they started to look good with some strong running from Harry Harlow-Stephenson and Dawson Hutchinson. Yarm Managed to increase the lead with another try from Oscar Pattinson.
Sonny Hopper produced some crunching tackles, but a knee injury sustained making an excellent tackle saw him leave the field not to return. Titus Oshinowo was Hopper's replacement and made an immediate impact scoring straight away.
George Shirley and Owen Thompson added two more tries for the Wolves using their size to give them every advantage and the half time score a one sided look.

The second half was a much more competitive affair. The introduction of Will Hanson and Reed Bewick bolstered the Storm defence and once they started to introduce some line speed then the pressure they placed on the Wolves started to cause some turn over ball.
Storm made the most of this and it was strong defence that first denied WIll Gibb and later Ben Forster.
Oshinowo was causing havoc in the middle of the field and when he popped up on the left edge there was no stopping him getting his second try that was impressively converted by Jacob Schofield.
Storm had the much better field position and a little more composure might have seen them score some more tries if they'd taken a little time to identify some space in the defensive line.

Yarm were not finished though and made some clean breaks of their own that had to be stopped by impressive cover tackling from the Sowerby twins Joshua and Jacob. It was the Wolves though that had the last word with Charlie Polson scoring a try converted by Palmer to take the final score to Yarm Wolves 26 - 10 Gateshead Storm.

A special mention should also be given to referee Harry Lowry who took charge of his first ever game and did an outstanding job!