Junior Rugby: East Midlands Cup final woe for Stags

THERE was East Midlands Cup final heartache for Stags U15s as an unconverted Zayd Makorie try could not prevent them from slipping to a 36-5 loss against Kettering at the weekend.

Huntingdon’s U16s were on the wrong end of a 29-24 scoreline at Biggleswade.

Barney West, Mark Street, Adam Burgess and Jack Skidmore all went over the whitewash, with the boot of Mitchel Newman also troubling the scorers.

Meanwhile there was a first ever victory against Saffron Walden for the U14s, winning 34-14.

George Furbank and Xavier Parker bagged two tries apiece, with James Harris and Bob Stocker also putting points on the board.

All other age groups were also in action against Saffron Walden.

The U11s drew 7-7 and lost 28-14 in their two matches against the Essex side.

George Murkett and Will Greatorex scored and there were notable performances from Luke Toates and Fraser Hutton.

Credit must go to committed StagsU10 player Josh Ryecroft, who played all three of his team’s games without a break, due to a lack of larger forwards.

His team battled but were ultimately outdone 3-0, 3-0 and 3-1 by Saffron.

The U9s, struggling with numbers, were also up against it but still managed to make a decent fist of it.

Oskar Tonkinson and Patrick Dorrell scored delightful tries in the opening 2-2 draw and the second game they won 2-1, with Lorcan Harbour and the impressively direct Lewis Rendall both touching down.

Harry Thorpe squeezed home for a score in the final game, which they lost 4-1.

For the U7s, Elliot Mortimer and Toby Stonestreet were among the scorers in their opening 5-4 win over Saffron.

Then a 5-3 victory soon followed as Mortimer and Stonestreet were on the scoresheet again, along with Henry Leigh-Smith

Saffron hit back to record a 5-3 success in match three. Stags player Ollie Ford scored a try whilst playing for Saffron Walden and Ashley Quince scored for Huntingdon.