Newmarket v Bury St Edmunds

Newmarket U12, 7 – Bury St Edmunds U12 A, 26

Although going down by 4 tries to one Newmarket put a magnificent performance and could have made the scoreline much closer but for a couple of try saving tackles by Bury on their own tryline. Newmarket started well with some good passing down the line after gaining the ball from an excellent tackle by Lewis Heap. Gwilym Davies made an excellent break but after the ball came loose an unfortunate high tackle by Newmarket gave Bury a penalty which ended in their first try of the match. Newmarket kicked off and the forwards chased the ball well. After some solid work by the forwards, Winger Ian Moffatt crossed the line for an equaliser for Newmarket, which was converted by Oliver Green. Some good runs by Daniel Dowling and Joe Stafford and fearless tackling by Aiden Cooper gained Newmarket some possession but the ball was lost and Bury went in for their second try.

Thomas Locke managed to stop Bury half way up the field with a strong tackle and Newmarket were awarded a penalty which gave back some much needed territory. The forwards continued to work tirelessly and good tackling by Jack Watson and newcomer Joe Metz hindered Bury but Newmarket were unable to stop two further late tries by the visitors that closed out the game

Newmarket U12, 21 – Bury St Edmunds U12 B, 7

Newmarket stepped up a gear in the second game, knowing they had been unlucky in the first. Some more good running by Metz with support from Chris Le almost took the ball to the try line early on. Some solid tackling by Joe Stafford and a great run up the touchline by touchjudge Simon Jeacock boosted spirits. A long kick by Bury was caught by Joe Stafford who ran the ball back deep into Bury territory but the first half ended with no score.

The second half saw an early try for Newmarket scored by scrum half Heap, which he also converted. Excellent driving by the pack retained the ball for Newmarket and Daniel Bristow crossed the line to score. This was converted by Joe Stafford. Some excellent running by Bristow, and Cooper resulted in Newmarket crossing the line once more but the ball was held up by Bury. Bury came back with one try as the packs began to tire but a cracking try by Thomas Locke towards the end of the match gave Newmarket their much deserved third try, sealing their win.