Stockton RFC 9 – 6 Bishop Auckland RFC

Bishop Auckland U13’s travelled to Stockton on Sunday for another competitive encounter between the two sides.

Before kick-off, both teams observed a two-minute silence for Remembrance Sunday, a fitting moment of respect before the rugby got underway.

Stockton started the stronger and took an early lead, but Bishop gradually worked their way into the game. There was some excellent tackling, good work at the breakdown and a particularly encouraging performance in the scrums.

In attack, Leon continued his impressive try-scoring form with four tries, while Ewan produced a brilliant individual effort, breaking from halfway to cross the line. Harry added Bishop's sixth try.

There were also two new faces in the Bishop shirt, with Luke and Dennoir making their debuts. Both are new to the game and got stuck straight in, which was great to see. Welcome to the team, lads!

Despite plenty of positives, there are lessons to take from the defeat. At times, when things weren't going our way, we lost a little confidence and our defensive organisation suffered. Stockton took advantage of those gaps, and ultimately that made the difference.

The effort was certainly there, but we know there's more to come from this group. Learning to stay organised, communicate and trust each other when under pressure will be important as we continue to develop.

Credit to Stockton for a deserved win, and thanks for hosting us.

We return to Stockton next Sunday in the Waterfall Cup, with an opportunity to put some of those lessons into practice.

Plenty to work on, plenty to be proud of.

Up the Bish!