With a score that reads Redcar 1 - 12 Yarm you would expect the worse but in all honesty the old saying "the score didn't reflect the game" could certainly be heard at the full time whistle.

Redcar had yet to play a fixture as U9's this season and although 3 of the players have had a little taste of contact rugby with a few cameo's for the U10's, as a team they were yet to see anything, so Redcar welcomed Yarm with open arms to RRUFC.

I would like to thank Yarm for venturing over to the fixture which was originally scheduled for Stockton and for the 4 players they kindly lent us throughout the game to ensure we could play 7-a-side, another mention to Yarm's coach who refereed the full game due to my injury.

The team was made up of 6 (Michael "Mud Bath" Boyes, Finn Norrie, Owen Reed, Paul Taylor, Joe Cooper and Jonathan Leng)

As a stand in for the 9's coach Rob Leng and I had no idea what to expect I had seen some of the boys for brief moments but not enough to know how they played or their strengths and weaknesses, I was quick to realise that one of their strengths was talking and a weakness was concentration as the warm up didn't resemble anything I was expecting, oh well onwards and upwards is the RRUFC Moto so Game On !

Redcar started well and some good running from Michael Boyes and a fantastic full length charge by Joe Cooper who only took up rugby at Wednesday's training put us on the front foot, Yarm defended the ball very well and prevented Redcar from finding the space which led to Redcar knocking on several opportunities but more strangely running out of the pitch, which was to become a very regular occurrence.

When Yarm did get the ball they had some fast boys who, once found space there was no stopping them, and they went into an early lead, they supported each other very well and moved the ball away from contact into space at every opportunity which caught Redcar by surprise a number of times running in 3 full length tries.

To give everyone as much game time as possible we rotated players every 5mins, this enabled everyone equal time on the pitch and the players loaned to us by Yarm played a huge part and were fully committed to every part of the game they played in a Redcar shirt.

The game carried on and Redcar's only try came from Michael Boyes after a fantastic break from Joe Cooper who offloaded to Paul Taylor who again passed to Michael Mud-Bath Boyes who finished off a well worked move, at this point of reading your probably wondering why the constant mud reference........every time Michael caught a ball, ran with the ball or tackled he checked himself for mud splats and was disgusted at the fact he had mud on his hands, now knowing the Boyes family really well it would be easy to blame Mrs Boyes but in this case airing on the side of caution and retreating from backlash I blame Mr Boyes for this vanity whilst playing the beloved game, sort it out Peter please !

The game swayed from end to end and any chances Redcar did have ended up being knocked on or ran out of the sideline, taking nothing away from a well drilled defensive display from Yarm but one can only look on and think if the U9's had played more rugby then the mistakes would have certainly not being as high and the try shy boys would have had more confidence as they neared the opposition try line, with that being said the Redcar boys were excellent in defence in open play none more so than Paul Taylor who put hit after hit after hit in today and for that reason won my vote as Man of the Match. Redcar struggled with the pace of the Yarm Boys who counter attacked very well and supported each other into every contact situation something again that can only be learned through playing games.

All of the boys thoroughly enjoyed the game and hopefully took some valuable lessons from todays performance and to make sure no one is left out I have put a mini report for each player below.

Michael Mud-Bath Boyes - Always wants to be on the ball which can't be coached and is a real positive, made some very good breaks today but needs to link up with other players and if that is not an option keep hold of the ball until released.

Finn Norrie - Smallest of the team but what Finn lacks in size makes up for in communication and game knowledge, Finn like Michael wants to be on the ball but is always having to catch a pass above his head or watch it float over him, if his teammates could hit his hands with the ball he is one to watch, and Im personally keeping an eye on him as he has cemented a place on my coaching team when old enough with his knowledge of the game.

Owen Reed - Let the first half pass him by but in the second half came into his own with some strong runs but more importantly grew in confidence in the tackle area, with Owen's height and build he will be one to watch once he grows in confidence and plays more games.

Paul Taylor - Great going forward and a monster in defence, never missed a tackle and made sure Yarm knew they were in a a game every time he got near them, an all-round great game Man of the Match performance.

Joe Cooper - To say this was only the second time he had picked up a rugby ball was a shock the kid is a natural, runs hard and straight makes a lot of yards, looks to pass to space and doesn't mind a tackle too, only issue I have with Joe is those Man City shorts "Come on Dad splash the cash on some RRUFC ones ;)"

Jonathan Leng - Works hard throughout "the silent assassin" confident on the ball and always looks to go forward, made some excellent runs today and put some tackles in when in the tight, need to work on putting your shoulder into tackles and will be the complete package.

Really enjoyed today boys, keep turning up to training and I will work hard to get you more fixtures.

Well Done !