Penrith Under 13’s put Upper Eden to the Sword in County Cup

Some magnificent support play and strong running produced a win to be proud of against a side that had previously managed to scrape a win in the league last time out.

Penrith started well with Joe Connelly finishing a move from a set-piece scrum that captain Dalton Frith and centre David King had worked well together to create the space. Penrith went further ahead with Joe getting his second after some great recycling saw Warren Porter scamper down his wing well for Joe to finish on the opposite side after some good quick handling by the Penrith backs.

A quick tap penalty then saw David King score in the corner by simply outpacing the defence. The forwards then got into the act and rumbled up-field to then pop the ball to Harry Thompson who finished the move off taking Penrith 20-0 as half time approached. Two more tries went begging due to unforced errors but Penrith were clearly dominant and playing as a team that supported each other and clearly wanted the win.

The second half saw Penrith fly half Jake Fabi take the game by the scruff of the neck and along with man of the match Callum Scobie-Youngs, who was a one-man rucking machine, these two set the scene for a great second half. With Isaac Butterworth and Luke Jones making powerful runs, John Jenkinson and Ewan Iveson tackling everything that moved and Matthew Rush supporting the rest of the pack well the Penrith forwards were dominant. Joe Connelly stretched the Penrith lead by scoring again and very soon afterwards nearly had a fourth but was brought down by a great covering tackle. Instead the forwards showed that they could score tries too with Michael Dunne finishing a long passage of forward recycling by the pack by crashing over from short range.

Upper Eden then showed that they had real heart and their impressive number 8 picking up from the base of the scrum and accelerated well to score a converted try under the posts.

Joe Connelly finished off an impressive team display by going over one more time for Penrith after a typically darting run from Dalton Frith saw him set-up Joe well who once again put on the after-burners to leave the cover defence in tatters. The final score was 37-7 and a good game of rugby was enjoyed by the large crowd watching despite the bitter cold.
Penrith Man of the Match: Callum Scobie-Youngs