Friday 7th November 2025 – Report by Richard Stringer
Redcar U16s 42 v Acklam U16s 10
Friday night saw Redcar U16s take on Acklam in a repeat of last seasons Yorkshire Vase final and the capacity crowd who gathered at Mackinlay Park for the 1st Friday Night Lights game of the season, were treated to a dominant performance from Redcar. An injury in the warm up to Redcar’s No.8 Will Parnaby meant a quick re-shuffle of the pack by the coaches, and with a matchday squad of 26 they had plenty to choose from. Redcar then started quickly and capitalised on a mistake from Acklam’s full back, with inside centre Jack Landels scooping up the loose ball and scoring under the posts leaving Daniel Bryce to knock over the conversion. Another strong run from Redcar’s back line led to Landels 2nd try of the night, again scoring under the posts, converted by Bryce. It was then the turn of the forwards to get on the score sheet with back row Jamie Courtney breaking through the Acklam defence down Redcar’s right before scoring a great individual try again converted by Bryce. Redcar were starting to look a level above their opposition and outside centre and captain Ethan Stringer then turned on the afterburners to beat Acklam’s defence for pace on the outside and score Redcar’s 4th try of the night, converted again by Bryce who was having a great night with the boot. Redcar then started to concede too many penalties and after being marched back 10 for kicking the ball away, Acklam worked their way to the try line and forced their way over leaving the score 28-5 at half time.
The 2nd half was a quieter affair but Redcar’s eagerness to get on the front foot in defence was leading to a string of penalties against them, putting themselves under pressure. However, Redcar managed to survive with the boot of Bryce proving a useful tool to relieve the pressure by clearing their lines on numerous occasions. Redcar then broke the deadlock with forward Matty Jeff powering his way over the line to score, converted by Bryce. Redcar then rang the changes and with his 1st touch of the ball, winger Fabio Bernard scored Redcar’s 6th try of the night following a lovely offload by captain Stringer, once again converted by Bryce. With the game coming toward a close Acklam managed to score a late consolation try leaving the full-time score Redcar 42 Acklam 10.
MOM: The coaches couldn’t pick out an individual and decided to award it to the whole team following their best performance of the season.
Top Tackler: Awarded to Jamie Courney for his constant work rate and tackle after tackle. Well played
Great team effort against an Acklam side who are now a mix of U16s and U17s, which makes the win even more impressive. Let’s keep up this momentum for the rest of the season.