Bishop Auckland U16 Girls welcomed competitive rugby back to home turf this weekend, hosting our first home fixture for a long while and it felt like a proper occasion!

With numbers boosted by a great cluster with Durham City, the Bishop/Durham side took on a “Baabaas” team formed by Darlington and Redcar. From the first whistle it was clear this was going to be a fast, physical and evenly-fought contest, played with real intensity but in exactly the right spirit throughout.

A huge thank you to John for refereeing. He was encouraging, clear and communicative, an excellent point of authority on the pitch and exactly what you want in a match like this.

On the scoreboard it finished Bishop/Durham 29 – 50 Darlington/Redcar, but the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story. Our girls were brave, inspirational, persistent and resilient, staying in the fight and showing real growth as a team.

Try scorers

Alana (2)

Neve Davidson (2)

Edie (Durham City) (1)

Recognition is always hard-earned in games like this, and it was great to see Neve Davidson deservedly receive multiple plaudits: Redcar chose her as Player of the Match, and Durham also named her Back of the Match, with Taylor awarded Forward of the Match.

Finally, special thanks to Mark and Cass for their continued support and to every parent on the sideline. Seeing that support around a group that’s gone from a standalone start-up team this year to something real and competitive is genuinely powerful.

Truly inspirational.