The second game of the evening saw St Cuthbert’s take on St Benedict’s – the boys had made their way over to Featherstone from St Helens and Whitehaven respectively, after impressive Champion Schools campaigns.
St Benedict’s got off to a flyer after Kier Starkie found space out on the left-hand side to give the Cumbrian outfit the lead – Ben Pearce added the two with a well-taken conversion effort from way out wide.
The fast-paced start to the game continued, and St Cuthbert’s responded quickly with a smart try from Scott Honey after some quick reactions – Nathan Benson kept his composure to score the following conversion to level the scores.
St Cuthbert’s had found some momentum and kept it going, and a fine example of some brotherly connection helped the St Helen’s outfit take the lead – Dylan Kelly-Duffy provided a smart offload to his brother Trent who carried it over to make it 10-6, and Nathan Benson showcased some impressive kicking once again to add the two.
A great run by Dylan Kelly-Duffy extended their lead soon after, with Benson keeping his perfect conversion record intact to make it 18-6.
Benson soon showed he had more than a good kick in the locker, too. A cute dummy followed by some blistering pace saw him pull away to grab his first try of the game and make it 22-6 at the break.
Benson and St Cuthbert’s picked up where they left off, with Benson running through early on to extend the lead just a minute into the second half, and helping himself to another two points with the conversion.
A spirited St Benedict’s fought back though, and a well-worked try to make it 28-10 gave the Whitehaven side some life – within five minutes they were on the hunt again, when Logan Mavoy collected the ball in his own half before putting the burners on to score a fantastic breakaway try to make it two tries in quick succession for St Benedict’s.
A quick try from the ever-present Dylan Kelly-Duffy took the game away from St Benedict’s in the closing stages, with a successful conversion attempt from Benson making it 34-16.
The title was secured with another try from Dylan Kelly-Duffy with seconds to go – a dominant display was capped off as St Cuthbert’s ran out 42-16 winners.
Final Score: 42-16
Match Officials: Ben Brocklehurst, Molly Hutchinson, Tommy Gibbs
