Bishop Auckland U17s 0 Darlington Mowden Park U17s 66

The weather cleared nicely over Bishop's picturesque grounds by the banks of the Wear to allow a pleasant run-out for Mowden against a newly-reformed and rapidly improving Bishop Auckland U17 team. It also gave the opportunity to include a number of newer recruits in the starting line-up, all of whom acquitted themselves well. Simon Cooke, indeed, scored the opening try, breaking from the back of a maul. John Lewis also touched down in a pushover scrum try, and Carl Outhewaite on the wing used his speed to score. Dave Barker gave a good performance in the centre. Of the 'old faithfuls', Chris Millington showed some confidence with a couple of good runs; Chris Davies, Chris Dodd and Jason Elliott each added two tries, and standoff half Jason Todd added a try to his tally of conversions.

The score line did not do justice to Bishop's efforts. The first twenty minutes were hard fought, and they never gave up. They will be a force to be reckoned with after further match practice and when they get to know each other better as a team.