Hull FC Scholarship conceded a late try as they suffered a narrow 22-20 defeat to local rivals Hull KR Under 16s at Sewell Group Craven Park.
Hull shot into an early 10-0 lead after tries from Tyler Eccles, but a late try in the half saw KR cut the deficit to four points at the interval.
The lead changed hands several times during a nerve-wracking second-half, with Leon Hayward and Jackson Smith keeping the FC spark alive, but it was a try in the 75th minute from Henry Tully that handed the Robins’ Under 16s the victory.
The Match
The hosts were asking all of the questions in the early exchanges, but FC had all of the answers on the defensive front, repelling several waves of attack. The pressure was relieved when Eccles’ drop-out was spilled.
Hull were awarded the first penalty of the match with little more than ten minutes played, but that gave the Black & Whites field position they needed to open the scoring. As the ball was worked left, Hull picked their way through the line as the lively Eccles sprung off his left foot to step inside and score.
Eccles was involved in another attacking move with just under a quarter of the game played – the visitors once again looking to exploit the Robins’ right-edge defence. This time, quick hands from Alex Batty, Eccles and Hayward put Prigorkins away in the left corner as Hull soared into a 10-0 lead, a sound reward for their early defensive toil.
With just over half-an-hour played, Hull thought they were in for a third. Josh Horne made a fleet-footed break from halfway, but he was cut down from just behind. There was still a chance for powerful back-rower Rio Kassim to try and burrow his way in from dummy-half, but referee Milo McKelvey determined that the Robins had held the ball up.
Back to their attritional approach, Hull KR got a foothold of the game again and once more applied some pressure. But having won the territory battle for large parts of the first-half, the hosts were rewarded with their first points of the evening as Luca Irwin rose highest to claim Josh Guynan’s kick just before the break.
HALF-TIME: Robins Scholars 6-10 Hull Scholars
There was little to separate the two sides in the early knockings of the second-half, but a seven-tackle set for Hull KR enabled them to march up field and hit the front for the first time with Henry Hope coming onto Preston Pettman’s smart ball back on the inside, catching the FC defence cold.
Having lost the lead after holding it for so long, Hull had the bit between their teeth to retake it, and it only took them seven minutes to do so. Caleb Paleaaesina fired a pass out to his centre, Hayward, who stepped inside and past the fullback to dot down.
But there were to be more twists and turns in what transpired to be a topsy-turvy Derby clash. Hull KR were back in front again with just over an hour played – prop forward Drew Docherty bumping off two tacklers and showing a quick turn of pace to race in from a fair 30 metres out.
Still, the Black & Whites’ spirit and resilience shone through as Jackson Smith bulldozed his way in underneath the sticks with just over ten minutes on the clock.
However, there was to be one more cruel twist in the tale for the visitors, who had battled so valiantly throughout the night. The Robins were awarded a scrum after Hull failed to deal with an awkward kick, and Tully’s arching run on the first play saw him fend off a couple of defenders on his way to scoring in the left corner with five to play.
FULL-TIME: Robins Scholars 22-20 Hull Scholars
Squads & Scorers
Hull: Eccles, Prigorkins, Hayward, Cheshire, Yorke, Horne, Batty, Donnachie, Davies, Smith, Paleaaesina, Kassim, Edwards
Hull Interchanges: Bone, Cass, Chapman, George, McCracken, Nelson-Hewitt, Wilson
Hull Tries: Eccles, Prigorkins, Hayward, Smith
Hull Goals: Davies (2/4)
Robins: Wilson, Hope, Moore, Myers, Dunn, Guynan, Adamson, Docherty, Forrester, Woods, Tully, Irwin, Pettman
Robins Interchanges: Barrett, Ebot, Horne, Obasi, Redshaw, Todd, Williams
Robins Tries: Irwin, Hope, Docherty, Tully
Robins Goals: Hope (3/4)
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