The conditions could not have been more contrasting for the return match against Buxton, following the monsoon like away fixture back in October. The sun shone down on the under 12s and this was a game where they also shone.
From the offset Panthers dominated. Buxton started with a drop kick which was caught by Tobi who, after being closed down by Buxton, passed to Rocky who ploughed into the Buxton defence and offloaded to Finn who went on one of his trademark weaving runs up the field before being tackled. A ruck followed which Panthers won, Louis Y and Enzo combining to continue the attack. A further ruck saw Vinnie win the ball and make a good pass to Tobi who accelerated towards the line for the first try of the game.
A Buxton restart was caught by Enzo H who made a great run forward attacking the Buxton defence. Enzo offloaded brilliantly to George R who drove forward and passed to Tobi who sprinted up the wing for a second try.
Panthers took the next restart with Louis Y kicking to start. A fumble by the Buxton player attempting to catch saw Vinnie diving on the ball to gain possession for Panthers, the ball being picked up by Rocky and driven 10m forward before being pushed out of touch and the ball going to Buxton. A pass down the Buxton line led to a dropped ball which Finn grabbed, also grabbing the chance of a try.
Buxton kicked to restart with Thomas grabbing the ball and driving the attack forward for 10 metres before the Buxton defence brought him down and the subsequent ruck saw Buxton win the ball. The Buxton team attacked, driving forward but the attack was stopped by a joint monster tackle from George R and Rex. The ball went to Panthers with Ed passing to George R who kicked the ball brilliantly for Tobi to chase. The ball bounced perfectly into Tobi’s arms leading to another try.
Buxton restarted with a short high kick which was ably caught on the move by Finn. Finn offloaded to Rex who passed to George R who had the ball ripped by a Buxton player however George never gave up, tracking the Buxton player with the ball to force a passing error which was intervened by Rex who dived over the line for yet another try, his first in a number of years.
The second half was almost as dominant from the Panthers. Louis Y restarted with Panthers chasing up the kick to gain possession. Sam, Louis and Enzo H combined by passing down the line before Enzo was tackled. Panthers won the ruck and Elliot drove forward against the Buxton defence towards the try line eventually leading to Louie S’s first try for Panthers.
Elliot followed this up with a well worked try, exploiting Buxton losing the ball in a ruck. A further try followed again from Louie S who, having taken advantage of Buxton losing the ball when attempting to pass, combined with Elliot, Enzo S and Ollie to score his second try.
Buxton clawed a try back in the second half when Panthers lost their defensive line to let the Buxton player through however Panthers were soon back on top with a good run forward from Hunter at the restart, the ball offloaded to Tobi almost leading to a try which was only disallowed due to an unfavourable bounce when touching the ball down.
Further tries followed from Freddie, Enzo H, George R and Finn but it was the improved team attacking and defensive formations and working together as a team, undertaking more defined roles, which made this a stand out performance by the team.

Great work by all the squad!
Next up – Ashbourne – Sunday 16th March
Pride – Passion – Panthers Under 12s!