Penrith U18 Panthers Clinch Hard-Fought Victory Over Whitley Bay Rockcliffe (WBR) in National Cup.
Final Score 22-19
The Penrith Panthers secured a thrilling 22-19 victory against Whitley Bay Rockcliffe (WBR) in their second National Cup match, with tries from Centre Amy Wilson, Lock forward Aisla Merryweather, No. 8 Penny Robinson, and Fullback Izzy Green. One conversion by Izzy Green.

This must-win match was a crucial step for Penrith’s season to advance further in the National Cup competition.
From the outset, Penrith faced a tough challenge against a well-drilled WBR side known for their physical play in the forwards and pace in the backs. With their impressive recent form in the league including a dominant 54-0 victory in their last match the Panthers knew they would have to play their best rugby to overcome such a high-quality opponent.
Penrith made an early statement, launching their attack from the kick-off. A knock-on by WBR gave Penrith the chance to test the scrum right from the first minute. Penny playing with power and determination, made a strong 20-meter gain from the base of a scrum, but the ball was unfortunately turned over as the supporting forwards were slow to the ruck. WBR quickly regained possession and cleared their lines.
Izzy showing excellent ball-handling skills gathered a bouncing ball and embarked on a mazy run before passing to wing Matilda McTear who made a superb break only to be bundled into touch just 5 meters from WBR’s try line. The Panthers kept the pressure on, but some "white line fever" kicked in and the ball was lost and WBR cleared the ball again to relieve the early onslaught.
WBR then began to build their own attacking phases, using quick rucking and powerful runners to test the Penrith defence. However, the Panthers' defence held firm, with key tackles coming from Hannah , Ailsa and prop Bethan Roberts.
The first try of the match came from WBR. After a scrum move, their elusive No. 10 darted through the Penrith defence, with Izzy making a crucial tackle to stop her 10 meters from the line. WBR quickly recycled the ball to their powerful No. 12, who charged through the Penrith defence scrum half Charlotte Harnwell made a tremendous last ditch tackle on the line to deny a try, but the defence was too stretched, with WBR crossing on the next phase to take a 5-0 lead after 15 minutes. The conversion was missed.
Penrith responded immediately from the restart, the scrum was strong with Beth and Chloe Brown back from injury, they began building phases with some quick ball movement and forward carries. Fly half Amber Beaty put in a clever kick through to the scoreboard corner with an excellent chase from wing Becca Newby and centre Caitlin Padgett catching the defender near the WBR line, Charlotte pressured the clearance kick and Hannah Carruthers pounced on the loose ball to dot down for Penrith’s first try. Izzy’s conversion attempt narrowly missed, leaving the score at 5-5.
The Panthers continued their attacking play, building momentum with well-executed forward carries , Abi Lyons was clean through on one attack but called back for a forward pass, and quick ball that allowed the backs to move the ball, centre Amy Wilson making a good break to take play upto the opposition 22m but WBR’s defence was strong, but Penrith pressed on, finding themselves just 5 meters from the line. The forwards made several strong carries, with Abi, Penny, 2nd row Ellen Sherwen and prop Sophie Maguinness nearly crossing. When the space opened up on the left, Charlotte switched the attack with a long pass to Amber she sent a 20m pass wide to Izzy whose arcing run put her through the gap to score a well-worked team try. The conversion was missed, leaving the score at 10-5.
WBR started with their own attack in the remaining 5 minutes and started to put Penrith defence under pressure with their No. 12 starting to break through Penrith’s defensive line. Izzy now at 9 and Caitlin now at 15 put in crucial try-saving tackles to keep Penrith ahead. The first half ended 10-5 after a fast-paced and hard-fought 35 minutes of rugby. The game was certainly in the balance.

WBR continued the momentum minutes into the second half with a ‘short’ drop kick which their 12 gathered & set off on a dangerous run through several tackles to be eventually stopped by a great Izzy ‘cover tackle’ on the 5m line, they recycled & moved to the middle with good phases of play then a strong carry from their Hooker, burst a Penrith tackle then with tremendous pace & determination ran to score under the sticks. The try was converted for WBR to take the lead (10-12)…Game on!

Penrith soon wrestled the momentum back after the kick off and started their own carries/ pod game which was making ground and took Penrith into WBR territory. The forwards were working well with good carries from back row Katie Smith and Evie Holme and started to gain break down penalties which moved the Panthers into the ‘Red Zone’. Penny took a quick tap penalty 5 m from the line & powered over the line to take the lead to (15-12). Conversion was missed.

WBR tried another ‘short drop kick’ but it did not go the required 10m’s and a scrum was opted on half way a great attacking opportunity, Penny carried strongly off the scrum to feed Izzy at scum half made good ground down the touch line to be tackled 5m short. The ball was passed to Amber who linked with Centre Amy Wilson to make ground up the middle then Ailsa took the next carry off the ruck and forced over the line with strength & a twist to score. Izzy struck a great conversion to make the score 22-12. This gave Penrith the ‘2 score gap’ & the bonus point for four tries.

The final 15 minutes were to play for with both teams rotating players thorough injury or the half game rule. The game then became a little scrappy, with knock ons from both sides mainly due to both defences being high quality & not giving an inch with Panthers backs working well in defence especially the centres and wings Matilda and Sofia Hellevik. Break down penalties were being given away by the Panthers which started to hand the momentum back to WBR.

Penrith survived the next 10 minute onslaught by a very dangerous set off attacks by WBR. The whole team effort should be commended as the girls communicated, supported & under the ‘cosh’ absorbed an immense amount of pressure. Notable efforts on scrambling defence, dominant tackles, turn overs, clearing kicks were from Abi, Ailsa, Penny, Charlotte, Caitlin, Evie, Amber, Katie & Izzy that kept Penrith in the game. The dangerous 12 was stopped by Izzy twice more. The match was exciting & nerve wracking for both set of coaches & supporters.
WBR’s efforts caused the Panther’s heroic defence to eventually crack, and the dangerous No. 12 ran a good line to break through for a try, bringing the score to 22-17. A successful conversion by WBR made it 22-19, setting up a tense final phase.
The ref declared the kick off was to be the final play of the game, but it felt to the Penrith Crowd the longest part of the game. Penrith kicked off once more, and WBR launched a last-ditch attack. However, Penrith’s defence was unyielding, forcing a knock-on and the final whistle. The Panthers had won a thrilling and hard-fought game, securing a place in either the National Cup last 16 or the Regional Final, depending on their performance against the other unbeaten team in the group Houghton away on December 8th.
Both teams can be proud of their efforts in what was an exciting and fiercely contested match. Penrith played their best rugby of the season, with every player contributing superbly in both attack and defence. The victory, marked by excellent team work and resolute defence, will be remembered as one of the standout performances in the Panthers’ season.

Squad
Forwards - Beth Roberts, Hannah Carruthers, Sophie Maguinness, Aisla Merryweather, Ellen Sherwen, Evie Holme, Abi Lyons, Penny Robinson (Capt)
Backs – Charlotte Harnwell, Amber Beaty, Becca Newby, Caitlin Padgett (V/Capt) Amy Wilson, Matilda McTear, Izzy Green ,
Interchanges Chloe Brown, Katie Smith, Sofia Hellevik
WBR awarded player of the match to Izzy. Forward of the match Beth, back of the match Matilda.

Thanks to volunteers - Steve Harnwell & Mark Cox for assistance and all parents for support.