Under 16s Team News
Sunday 16th January 
STOCKTON RFC
. 11.30am Kick Off
held at Consett RFC
Congratulations to our U16s team who won the County Cup Final at a blustery Billingham RFC on Sunday 15th March 2020, beating West Hartlepool RFC 43 – 12. Well done to all the players, coaches and parents, your boys are a credit to you all and BRFC! A thoroughly professional performance was witnessed by a decent crowd. This squad along with the U14s and U15s at Blaydon have all made the County Cup Final, which shows there is strength coming through the Youth ranks at the club, onwards and upwards!!
Let’s hope this is not the last live rugby game for Blaydon RFC this season, although the way things are going, you never now!! #pumpthecrow #blaydonyouth #rugbyfamily
There is plenty of rugby taking place at Blaydon RFC this weekend, pop along and watch some potential stars!!
Blaydon 43-21 Hartlepool Old Boys
This was always going to be a nervous affair between two of the strongest sides in the county.
After 15 mins, the game was still 0-0, with both sides knocking on and giving away needless penalties. That was until after a good break from Nathan in the middle of the park saw him tackled around 5m out from the try line. Blaydon did well to keep the ball alive with some ‘unconventional’ passing out wide, ending in Louis going over in the left corner; 5-0.
Just when it looked Blaydon were settling down; the next 5mins put nerves on edge again with Hartlepool scoring 2 tries in quick succession. The first coming from an interception and the other straight from the kick off from the first try. Blaydon were trialling 5-14 with Hartlepool looking the stronger side.
With the next score being crucial just before the break, credit to Blaydon, they started to look settled and started to put some good, safe phases of rugby together. This was rewarded just before half-time with 2 quick tries from Blaydon one from a fine mazing run from Chris and another ‘pick and go’ from Nathan saw us leading 19-14 going into the break.
The second half saw a much more improved display from Blaydon, with the reduction of fouls and knock ons and they used their cross field kicking to good effect, with the ‘kick and chase’ keeping the ball deep into Hartlepool’s half.
Blaydon used this to their advantage with the first try coming from good forward play with a turn over from the Hartlepool fullback and with quick forward support play seeing Michael Rew going over the line. The second try was similar; with a cross field kick chased down by the Blaydon backs forcing a 5m scrum in the centre of the posts.
A quick move from the backs, saw Louis crossing the line a 2nd time. 33-14 to Blaydon. Credit to Hartlepool; they weren’t finished as they piled the pressure on the Blaydon defence. This rattled Blaydon a bit with a game of ‘hot potato’ on the Blaydon try line saw Hartlepool score; 33-21.
Blaydon again, picked themselves up and again, used a kick to good effect, which saw a try from Mark Kelly in the far left corner. With 5mins to go we saw probably Blaydon’s best try.
With Hartlepool giving away a penalty for a high tackle; Will H kicked into touch into the far left hand corner. A line out, 5 metres out saw Blaydon retain the ball well and then kept the ball alive by using a rolling maul. There was little the Hartlepool defence could do as they saw Matty break from the maul and score into the far left corner, ending the game 43-21.
This was a hard fought win which went ‘to and fro’ in large parts of the game. Well done boys and it is fantastic to see so much promising talent coming through the Youth Section, well done to all involved.
A date for your diary the U16s County Cup Final between BRFC and West Hartlepool is scheduled for February 9th (Venue and Kick Off Time TBC).
Thanks to Gary Barnes for the excellent summary once again.
Blaydon U16’s are in County Cup Semi Final action this Sunday (12th January) against Hartlepool Old Boys!
Kick off is 11am on the AGP, it would be fantastic to see a few new faces on the sidelines supporting the lads!!! #pumpthecrow
County Cup U16 Quarter Final – Blaydon 45-17 Sunderland
Nerves were tense from both sides prior to this cup match. Sunderland kicked off the game with the catch being cleanly caught by a Blaydon forward; the ball was quickly passed inside to Jack Harvey who powerfully ran through the Sunderland defence to score under the posts. With 2 minutes gone Blaydon RFC were 7-0. Over the next 10mins both sides looked nervous, with possession changing over through penalties or knock ins. Blaydon turned the ball over in a Sunderland line out and was passed to Jack Harvey who again ran through the Sunderland defence making it 14-0.
Sunderland started to enjoy plenty of possession in the middle of the pitch without causing Blaydon too much problems due to a strong defence. During a passage of play from Blaydon a wayward pass was intercepted by a Sunderland 2nd row who ran under the posts to make it 14-7. This gave Blaydon the focus they needed, with the forwards now dominating the breakdown and retaining possession and keeping to the structure we know. This paid dividends on the stroke of half time with after 4-5 phases and finding ourselves 5-6 yards from the Sunderland try line, the ball was passed inside to Ryan O’Neal who powered over the line. Half time BRFC 21-7 SRFC.
Half time saw Blaydon increase the intensity and with 3 minutes into the 2nd half saw Mark Kelly finding a gap and running in a try to the left making it 28-7. To give Sunderland credit, they were not done yet. 2 turnovers from a Blaydon scrum and line out saw Sunderland driving over the try line in the right corner giving the score 28-12. Again Blaydon kept up with the intensity (especially line speed in defence) and with the ball being passed out to the left after a breakdown in the middle; Will Hindle ran in a try from the opposition 22.
Blaydon now had a foothold in the game and started to relax a little, a Sunderland line out deep inside the Sunderland half saw a Sunderland player spill possession as a result from a solid tackle by Thomas Jones, Blaydon quickly capsulised on this, with the ball being quickly passed from left to right which saw Jack Barnes score right in the far corner. The score was now 40-12. This saw the intensity of the game ease off; after a Sunderland try in the right hand corner the resultant kick off from Blaydon saw a Sunderland player knock on. The scrum was taken on the Sunderland 22, after Blaydon retaining possession, a simple pass inside to Jack Harvey saw him round off a good team display and his hat trick of tries to finish off the scoring at 45-17.
The next round will be the semi final held on 12/01/20 at Blaydon RFC against the winners of the Hartlepool OB v Bishop Auckland game and it would be great to see the rest of the youth sections and the club get behind the U16’s. Well done boys/coaches.
