Penrith Under 13’s 68 – 29 Carlisle Under 13’s

The sun shone as the Penrith Under 13 team welcomed their opposition from Carlisle on Sunday 11th March and although the Carlisle team were slightly depleted by absences they were still keen to get revenge for the defeat against the hosts earlier in the season. Penrith for their part were keen to get back to winning ways after disappointing results over the previous two weeks.

The early exchanges were fairly even with the Penrith team applying strong pressure which the visitors withstood very well. With the ball in hand the Carlisle team also looked dangerous and were only stopped from scoring breakaway tries by good tackling from the Penrith players. Eventually, however, the pressure from the home team resulted in a try from David Whittle which gave the whole team a boost in confidence and two more tries followed in quick succession, firstly from Freddie Pritchard and then from Alex Pantechis, the latter of which was converted by David Whittle to establish a good lead for the hosts.

However, when it looked as though Penrith would continue to build their score the Carlisle team dug deep and began to fight their way back into the game. An entertaining period of play saw the two teams exchange scores. Alex Pantechis, with his second try, Patrick Noutch and then Joseph Tidmarsh added to the score for the hosts but this was matched by Carlisle with three tries and a conversion of their own to stay in touch.

During the last period of the game the tiring Carlisle team stuck to their task well and scored two further tries and a conversion but the Penrith team, having been able to take advantage of their large squad and rotate players, finished the fresher team. As throughout the game, the Penrith forwards battled well to gain good territory and the excellent handling at speed amongst the backs enabled the home team to produce some flowing moves which resulted in a flurry of tries as the match drew to a close. David Whittle and Patrick Noutch were able to demonstrate their pace to score three further tries each and with David Whittle scoring two conversions and Patrick Noutch adding another, Penrith recorded a 68 – 29 victory.

This match was played in good spirit by two teams eager to display attacking rugby and the larger squad was a big factor in this victory for the home team. The Penrith players were strong in attack and defence and with the forwards winning and retaining good possession the backs had the opportunity to show their passing and running skills but the Carlisle players never gave up and played their part in an entertaining match.

The Penrith squad consisted of: Patrick Bennett, Lewis Birkbeck, Jake Borgogno, Thomas Broadhead, Greg Cameron, Ben Dixon, Jake Edmondson, Syd Ellwood, Euan Gillespie, Thomas Graves, Nathan Hamilton, Myles Harrop, John Hartley, Ellis Hook, Jack Huddart, Adam Howe, Owen Jones, Will Melling, Patrick Noutch, Alex Pantechis, Freddie Pritchard, Liam Trevaskis, Joseph Tidmarsh, Fergus Vecqueray, Lewis Watt, David Whittle.