For their final game of the season the Penrith Under 13 team welcomed a touring Durham City team to Winters Park on Saturday 28 April. With Durham City recently winning their County Cup and having been through a season in which they had suffered only two defeats the home team knew that this would be a tough test for them. However, with Penrith having only experienced two defeats all season themselves the scene was set for an exciting match.

The Penrith team got off to a great start and immediately set their stall out to battle for every ball. Great strength from the forwards allowed a good supply of ball for the backs to show their speed and passing skills as Freddie Pritchard was put through to score for the home team very early into the game. The conversion was scored by David Whittle to increase the lead. It was obvious the home team had the early advantage as very soon after David Whittle raced clear to score the second try for Penrith. The Durham City team showed great determination not to buckle at this stage and they battled to get back into the game but tremendous defence and excellent rucking by the Penrith forwards kept the hosts on the front foot. It was not long before Penrith were able to add more points to their tally as Alex Pantechis showed strength and a good turn of pace to break through to score a try which was converted by David Whittle. With their tails up Penrith began to dominate the game and they stretched the lead further through a second David Whittle try and then a score from Kyle Ryder. David Whittle added the conversions in both cases. Showing great strength of character Durham City finished the half with a try of their own to make the score at the interval 33-7.

Coming out in the second half the away team showed a great deal of physicality to their game and fought to get themselves back into contention. Through determined rugby throughout the second half Durham City got back to within 5 points of the home team by scoring 3 converted tries. However, with the final whistle approaching Penrith stepped up a gear and reasserted themselves on the game, showing great character by seeing out the match the stronger. There was still time for the home team to battle over the try line through Freddie Pritchard and then David Whittle rounded off a great personal performance by scoring the final try and conversion which gave Penrith a hard fought victory of 45-28.

Both teams played their part in a very entertaining game of rugby with the Durham City team presenting a strong physical challenge and displaying excellent rugby skills and determination. However, the home team matched this determination and showed good strength of character of their own as they held off the fight-back from their opponents to finish off an impressive season with another good result. In this game, and in the whole season, the Penrith squad have all worked hard for each other with the strong and tenacious forwards providing a great platform for the backs to show their pace and attack the opposition. Throughout the season the excellent rugby skills displayed and the cohesion amongst the team has been a source of enjoyment for all of the spectators.

The Penrith squad consisted of: Lewis Birkbeck, Jake Borgogno, Thomas Broadhead, Ben Dixon, Jake Edmondson, Syd Ellwood, Alex Fawcett, Euan Gillespie, Thomas Graham, Thomas Graves, Nathan Hamilton, Myles Harrop, Adam Howe, Jack Huddart, Owen Jones, Alex Pantechis, Freddie Pritchard, Kyle Ryder, Joseph Tidmarsh, Liam Trevaskis, Fergus Vecqueray, Lewis Watt, David Whittle.