Under the Friday night lights, our Colts produced a phenomenal display of ferocious rugby, uncompromising defence and relentless passion against a strong Darlington Mowden Park side.

From the opening whistle, there was a real intensity about the game. The lads put their bodies on the line, battled for every metre and showed tremendous commitment in both attack and defence.

Our pressure was rewarded when Jake Blood, carrying strongly from number 8, powered his way over the line to give us a chance to take the lead. Harry Tellegen added the conversion to put us 7–5 ahead at the break.

The second half continued in much the same vein. Our defence stood firm and the lads refused to give DMP an easy route back into the game. A couple of defensive mistakes, however, allowed DMP to take advantage, with a quick try putting them 12–7 ahead.

Despite going behind, the response from the Colts was outstanding. There was no heads down attitude, just grunt, determination and a refusal to stop fighting.

DMP’s five Red Bulls Academy lads eventually showed their quality in the final ten minutes, finding the gaps and scoring three late tries to put some distance between the sides on the scoreboard.
But the final scoreline doesn’t tell the full story.
For long periods, our Colts matched a very talented DMP side blow for blow. The passion, physicality and flair on display were a credit to every player who pulled on the shirt.
There were mistakes, as there always are in a hard-fought game, but what stood out was the character shown by the lads. They battled until the final whistle and never stopped believing.

Under the lights, they gave us grunt. They gave us passion. They gave us flair. They gave us pride.
And most importantly, they showed what this Colts group is capable of.

Heads held high, lads. A phenomenal effort against a quality side.