On a perfect Saturday afternoon for rugby, Redcar travelled to DMP Elizabethans for their last of the first round fixtures. The game started in DMP’s favour when an early break and some solid Redcar scramble defence led to a penalty which DMP took to go 3-0 up. Redcar then kicked in to gear and after building some solid phases through strong runners and forward play the ball was worked to the outside and Luke Watson beat his man to score under the posts. 3 - 7. Redcar then struck again, through some more hard running and set play by the forwards Redcar were awarded a penalty 5m out where man of the match Brad Smith took a quick tap and go to score in the corner, 3 -12. DMP were next to claw some points back as they once again decided to take another 3 points before half time.
Half Time Darlington Mowden Park Elizabethans 6 Redcar 12
The second half was to become another nervy encounter. Redcar got on the board early when a solid defensive set saw the ball spill loose and Gabe Holmes run 80m up the pitch to score, 6 - 19. DMP were then next to get rolling with their big back row carrying hard through the Redcar defence. With 2 yellow cards for the Redcar team, the second half became a bit of a dog fight, but when opportunity came Redcar picked up their 4th try of the game when the ball worked wide again saw captain James Toward crash over in the corner. DMP were not to be knocked back and kept the pressure on until the end picking up some tries of their own. The last 10 minutes saw Redcar have to dig deep as they defended the lead, but the boys put everything on the line, dug deep and took the win.
Final Score Darlington Mowden Park Elizabethans 20 Redcar 24
(Thanks to Damian Buck for this report)