London tour goes brilliantly for Keighley Albion boys

As the sun shone in South London, the boys from Keighley Albion’s U10s took to field to face the infamous Brixton Bulls team.

If the boys from the north were nervous, any butterflies in their stomachs quickly went away as Oscar Napoli steamed in from distance for the first score of the match.

Brixton answered back smartly with a try of their own before Riley Bogle finished off a fine set of drives with a powerful finish.

Again Brixton were defiant and broke down the wing for a fine score, which spurred Zach Coppen on to demonstrate his pace and leave his opposition winger for dead to take Albion into the lead again.

The powerful Kyam Miah scored twice, either side of another Brixton effort, once from distance and once with pure determination close to the line, leaving Zach to secure his second speedy effort to wrap up the first half.

Albion released some of their big hitters after the break, with man of the match Henry Dibbin trampling his opposite number before offloading to the impressive Thomas Jebb to finish in the corner.

The powerful Henry Dibbin caused problems for a young Brixton side.

Then Eli Condren scooted in for a quick thinking score after a Brixton knock on close to their own line was caused by the ferocious Albion defence.

Brixton tried to get some momentum going but constantly found themselves driven back in the tackle and forced into errors, preventing any kind of progress, and George Simpson finished off a rampaging run and offload from Charlie Rollason to add to their misery.

Minutes later, Sidney Richardson showed his raw power and pace down the right hand side, after an Eli show and go, to add to the Albion total.

Brixton’s demolition was complete a few minutes from the final whistle when Otis Waite collected a pass deep in his own half and sailed past the despairing Bulls defence for the final try of the game.

Brixton showed great courage and never took a backwards step but the Albion boys were ruthless and proudly held the North/South Challenge Trophy aloft to the delight of their many cheering, travelling fans with a 44-12 win.

Albion's U11s/U12s were also in action, and on a beautiful sunny morning in Streatham, they took on the Brixton U12s.

Both teams were up for the clash as the excitement built towards kick off.

The game started with hard running and tackling from both sides, Brixton fielding two very tall boys who the Albion pack worked hard to contain.

The scoring was opened by Brixton though.

Keighley hit back moments later however with superb footwork and speed from full-back Joel Hutchinson, who tore upfield.

A swift offload saw scrum-half Charlie Stokes skilfully sidestep through the Brixton defensive line to score a beautiful try.

Hard running and tackling by both teams saw possession traded back and forth, with neither team giving an inch.

Albion forwards Ellis Southwell and Matthew Rollason were a constant threat to the Brixton defence, while strong and aggressive running and excellent tackling came from Harry Marples at stand-off.

But Brixton broke through again for a second try just before half-time.

The second half opened much like the first half with neither team giving an inch.

Keighley captain Dan Hood ran his defensive line superbly at loose forward and centre James O'Neill, prop Noah Woodward, winger Harley Anderson and second row Sonnie Atkins kept the Brixton team busy with hard running and gutsy defence.

But Brixton stretched their lead with another two tries from their impressive loose forward.

To their credit, none of the Albion players allowed their heads to go down.

Hooker Ben Artis was unlucky to have a try denied after one of his signature scoots from dummy half and he was awarded man of the match for his tackling and ball delivery.

Ben Artis (ball in hand) was at the heart of some of Keighley Albion's best work in their defeat to the Brixton U12s.

Brixton saw out the match with a final score just before full-time. Both sides were motivated throughout, but age and size ultimately made the difference as Brixton won 28-4.

Keighley Albion chairman Richard Dibbin said: "Yes, this was a rugby tour, but it was so much more than just the matches.

"The camaraderie, team spirit, tour bus, singing, eating and spending time together was just as, if not more, important.

"The real winner was rugby league and it was a fantastic experience for the boys.

"It was a fantastic trip and we are already planning our next one."