Junior Rugby Union round-up (From Gazette & Herald)

Junior Rugby Union round-up

4:05pm Wednesday 4th April 2012 in Junior Sport

Malton & Norton Under-17s were worked hard at North Ribblesdale but beat the Dalesmen 19-10.

Malton’s back division combined to put Rob Dempsey away in the left corner early on, James Bulmer converting, before Ribb exposed Malt’s defensive frailties with a converted try.

Will Witty was driven over by his pack to extend Malton’s lead before the hosts again broke free to score.

Witty put the matter beyond doubt when he powered over from a tap penalty, Bulmer adding the extras.

Miles Duncan and Paul Sykes proved to be a useful centre partnership and Michael Smith put in a sound debut at full-back.

Last week, the U17s beat Beverley 43-10. The Malton try-scorers were Neil Adams, Mike Whitton, Charlie Darmody, Danny Boddy, Tom Lowry, Joe Brown and Dempsey. Bulmer landed four conversions.

Results hide the great efforts that Malton & Norton U12s put in at the York Festival. In their first game, they came back to earn a 5-5 draw against Goole with a try from a quick tap and go from out-half Charlie Buchanan. Malt nearly pinched the game when Charlie Tannahill just missed out on a chase to the line.

Even though they lost 25-0 to York in the second match, they showed character and never gave up. In their final game, a 10-0 defeat against Bowden, they were penalised for a slow start with two tries but were the better team in the second half.

Malton & Norton U10s were unlucky not to get to the final in the York Festival.

In the group stage they did not lose a game, beating Harrogate 1-0 in the first match when Billy Johnson scored after Malton won the ball in a scrum, and seeing off Alnwick by the same score through a great forward drive from Thomas Robinson.

Malton deserved a fine 3-1 win against York in the third game. They scored first after a good run from Thomas Barker allowed Oliver Kelsey to put the ball over the whitewash. York responded before the interval.

In the second half, Malton stepped up a gear and, from a ruck, Charlie Blackburn picked up to score a try from a few metres out. Malt kept up the pressure and Alex Chalton eluded the defence to score a superb try.

Malton needed to win their final game against Goole to reach the final, as the East Yorkshire side had scored more tries, but a 0-0 draw denied them, and they met Otley in the runners-up match.

Again, they played some great rugby and, from the off, Kelsey scored a great individual try. But, in the second half, Malton’s legs were tiring and Otley scored. Otley scored again on a final attack to win the match.

Excellent tackling got Malton & Norton U9s’ York Festival campaign off to a great start against Wilmslow. A Connor Saxby hat-trick secured a 3-1 victory.

In their second match, Malton recovered from conceding a try against Goole to win 3-1 with tries from George Welch (2) and Saxby.

The Ryedale team looked set to triumph against York Vikings when Danny Mullaney scored but two tries were disallowed and York crossed twice in quick succession despite Malton’s dominance. In the final game, Malt were outplayed by pool winners Lymm, who won 2-0.