Sunday 25th January

Durham U10’s vs Sunderland U10’s


Sun 23rd November

Tynedale 10 vs Durham City 15

Sun 16th November

Durham 10, Blaydon 25


Sun 2nd November

Durham City U10’s vs Guisborough U10’s

Despite the wet and muddy conditions 2 good games of rugby took place with Sunderland winning both.
Results: Durham 15, Sunderland 25
Durham 10, Sunderland 30

Sunderland were a strong outfit and dominated the tight exchanges and deservedly took the honours. They adapted to the conditions better, wanted the ball more and ran out worthy winners.

There were some positives for the Durham boys – some good alignment in the backs and trying to spread the ball wide but unfortunately the conditions were against any open and flowing rugby.

Some things to work on in training – tackling low, support play, rucking and scrumaging. With a bit of work in these areas we will continue to improve and good results will follow.

Man of the Match – In the first game was William Gray for some good driving play and defence. In the second game Niall O Connor took the honours for his never say die spirit.


Sun 23rd November

Tynedale U10’s vs Durham City U10’s –

Tynedale “Round –Up” is a 2 parter

Part 1

The weather in Durham was grim and we hit the road with heavy hearts, many fell by the wayside, but those that struggled on were rewarded for the sun shone on the Tyne Valley! In more ways than one.

This happy few, this band of brothers, Durham City U10 players asleep in their beds shall think themselves accursed that they were not there etc., etc.

One swallow does not make a spring, however we should focus on the many positives thrown up in these games. We made a long trip, we were missing perhaps 2 or 3 of our strongest players, they were on their own patch, they had enough spare capacity to let us have Dom, and yet, in terms of first up tackling, last ditch tackling, nicking the ball in the loose, straight ,strong attacking runs and competing in the rucks & mauls, it was the best I have ever seen them play, bar none. And they got their reward in the 2 wins, first game 20-5 second 15-10. I was standing right on our touchline so I only saw Dan score {kidding}. I think Dom, Ryan, Mathew and Sam went over as well.

Running through each of the team:

Daniel Cubello - A large and constant threat who focused for almost the entire 2 games. Seems to be developing an understanding with Ben and Ryan in the pack.

Ben D - Switched on and seemed to draw strength from his two big mates, burrowed and competed well in the rucks & mauls, never shirked a challenge or hid, good support.

Ryan - A diamond in the rough, shouts the odds in his pack and they seem to listen, went on some good runs, flattening everything in his path!

Mathew S - His usual tigerish tackling around the ruck/maul/scrum meant that the Tynedale scrum halves were never able to pick and go. Always looking to get his backs away.

Daniel C - I am going to sing his praises because he fully deserves it. The back line around him were willing but inexperienced and didn't know Dom at all so they took their lead from Dan, and he lead by example. Bashed his way through a good midfield on numerous occasions, setting up second phase. He enjoyed playing alongside Dom and scored 2 tries from deep, tackled himself into the ground again.

Dominic- Sadly missed but not forgotten, at the heart of everything, scored right at the death in the last game.

Joe- Grew in confidence as the games progressed and seemed to enjoy the cut and thrust of both games, tackled well, and went on some strong runs down the blind side. Hopefully see him at Middlesborough.

Sam - Saw what was going on around him and threw himself into every challenge, tackles way above his size anyway. Also made good strong runs through broken field, got a bit of a knock late on but carried on regardless.

Harvey - Saw some ball this game and is a fit lad. Tynedale got no change out of him in the contact and he showed what he can do with the ball in hand on a couple of runs.

Part 2

A “white-out” in Durham but on arriving at Corbridge the conditions were bright and sunny with no sign of any snow.

We arrived in plenty of time and got ourselves organised quickly, with a good warm up allowing the boys to get quickly focused on the tough games in hand – important message for the future about the benefits of being in good time and preparing properly.

Tynedale were excellent hosts – good facilities, good pitches, referees aplenty and also lots of players which meant we could run 2 games in parallel – each team played 2 games.

Myself, Martin, Mark and Andrew had the pleasure of looking after the following team:

Forwards: Adam A, Nick McG, Piers
Backs: Dan M, Will G, Josh O’B, James C, Matthew C, Nathan B

We knew Tynedale would be tough opposition and after a couple of minutes we were 2 tries down following some good running -but we know the tackles should have been made! Being 10 -0 down seemed to spark the Durham boys into life – tackles were made, rucks were won and then our runners started to make use of this quality possession soon pulling the scores back to level.

The rest of the game was very even – some excellent defence and some great running with just the final pass going astray but as the game drew to a close Durham eventually broke through to score what proved to be the winning try. Final Score: Durham 15 Tynedale 10.

A quick turn round and onto the next pitch to play another Tynedale side and the Durham boys continued as they finished the previous game – running out 20 – 5 winners.

Two very good performances against a strong Tynedale outfit – the boys can be proud of themselves ….we know we can’t rest on our laurels….but we can allow 1 or 2 small bits of praise….

The pack were excellent and worked as a unit – Piers was first to every breakdown and driving the opposition off the ball; Nick was brave, belligerent and very effective in the tight; Adam played his part in the scrums and lineouts and showed good all round improvement.

Whilst the backs more than played their part in both attack and defence – Dan M made some slashing breaks and caused real havoc when he ran with the ball; Will G was a pillar of strength in defence and ran strongly with the ball; James C was everywhere – with his pace and running skills to the fore he also put in a fine defensive display. Josh O’B more than played his part with his direct running and good support play. Matthew C made some important tackles and is improving with every game. Last but certainly not least was Nathan who had his best ever game for Durham City – he looked a player in both attack and defence.

More of the same at Middlesbrough this Sunday please boys!

Sun 16th November

Durham City U10’s vs Blaydon U10’s

Following initial concerns that we didn’t have a pitch – our usual pitch being used by the University Frisbee Team (??), we were eventually accommodated on Hollow Drift 2 which proved to be a much better “venue” in terms of a) the playing surface and b) you get a bit of sun on this pitch!

Again, we managed to play 3 games which meant each of the Durham boys got some competitive rugby.

The first game started well – we did some contact play in the warm ups and we continued this into the game…..hitting the contact, driving over, clearing the ball, passing the ball along the line and the backs running some good, straight attacking lines. Another feature of this game was the improved tackling – much more aggressive and often turning over the Blaydon ball which we then won in the loose. The support play was good with some excellent offloads out of the tackle.

Most encouraging was the teamwork shown – everyone on the pitch played a key part. Special mentions to James Calkin for his 3(or was it 4?) tries, Dan Marsh and Dan Coates for marshalling things at half back, whilst the final try for prop Ryan Coldwell was fitting reward for a good display by the pack, particularly in the 2nd half.
Final score – Durham 30, Blaydon 5

A complete change of personnel seemed to lead to a much slower start by Durham in the second game. It wasn’t until Blaydon took the lead with a fine long range try (helped by a couple of Durham players tackling too high!) that Durham woke up and started to play.
A much improved 2nd half showing led by some hard, direct running by Will Gray at fly half took the game to Blaydon. This was ably supported by Josh O’Brien in the centre who capped a good 2nd half performance with 2 tries.

With the improved teamwork, better tackling and more aggressive approach to rucking, Durham eventually ran out winners 20 – 5 but a few lessons to be learnt as the game was closer than the scoreline suggests.
Final Score – Durham 20, Blaydon 5

The final match allowed some of the less experienced players some game time and although Durham were defeated there were some very encouraging performances. Charlie Fagg showed some good touches and always looked a threat with ball in hand whilst Nathan Bushnell showed some real grit and determination at scrum half scoring a well earned try.

Blaydon showed a little more experience and dominated the forward battle but the Durham side did not give up and battled to the end. A valiant display and certainly some encouraging things to work on in the coming weeks.
Final Score – Durham 10, Blaydon 25

Again whilst the games were in progress separate training sessions were being conducted – many thanks to the boys for their efforts in both the games and these sessions.

An enjoyable morning – roll on Tynedale & Middlesbrough

Sun 2nd November

Durham City U10’s vs Guisborough U10’s

Many thanks to Guisborogh hho only travelled with small numbers but agreed to play 3 matches so all of the Durham boys could get a game. Each of the games were played in an excellent spirit with some good rugby from both sides.

The first game ended in a 30 – 5 victory to Guisborough – Durham were slow to start, didn’t make their tackles count and Guisborough ran out worthy winners.

A much improved showing in the second game by Durham ended in a 25 -5 win. Leading from the front with some excellent tackling and driving play were Will Gray and Matthew Howe, well supported in the tight by Nick McGoay. Whilst on the wing Sam Thompson showed some nimble footwork and support play and rounded off a good performance by scoring one of the Durham tries. Also in the backs, Charlie Fagg showed some nice touches and Dan Marsh posed a constant threat with his running and determination.

The final game allowed some of the Durham players from the first game to avenge their earlier defeat and whilst Guisborough shaded a 20 – 15 win this was a keenly contested game with much improved performances. Dan Coates and Niall O Connor both tackled themselves into the ground and there were also telling contributions from both Piers Davison and Matthew Simpson.

All in all a fair mornings’ work with training sessions running in parallel to the matches to help improve the boys skills further.

One thing we need to work on is the “first up” tackling – there will be a strong focus on this in training over the coming weeks.

Results:

Game 1: Lost 5 - 30
Game 2: Won 25 – 5
Game 3: Lost 15 - 20