The final turned out to be an intense affair with some exceptional and committed rugby being played by both sides. With both defences on top it took 8 minutes before Novos broke the deadlock when Jake Douglas powered down the blindside catching the Northern defence unawares.

Novos then went two up thanks to some resolute defence presenting an opportunity for Thomas Williams who skipped past a couple of defenders and then ran the length of the pitch to touch down.

With Northern excelling at the breakdown, James Taylor and Euan Venruss to the fore, Novos spent a lot of time living the club motto with some very brave defence. Plaudits to full back James Hepburn for three courageous try saving tackles.

In the second half Novos got their fast offloading game going and swift passing saw centre Max Loraine catch the ball with his finger nails and dot the ball down for a 3-0 lead.

Novos then went 4-0 up when captain Dan Neill spotted a gap at the side of a ruck and ran in from half way to score. Northern who are an exceptional team mounted a comeback scoring two excellent tries through David Lawson and their inspirational captain Ben Douglas. Despite having two players sin binned credit must go to Northern for their never say die attitude.

Novos nerves were settled when two minutes from time when the irrepressible Jake Douglas pounced on a loose ball and cantered home to seal the win for the Rockets.

It would be remiss not to mention the Northern head coach Steve Douglas who worked tirelessly throughout the week to arrange a venue for the fixture and was exceptionally sporting as were all the coaches, players and parents of Northern who were a credit to their club.

Every Novos player was a hero and this was a full squad effort with a real team ethos on the pitch. Man of the Match was Martin Croom…….who marshalled a car park for over 9 hours by himself at Novos finals day instead of watching his boys who he has coached for 7 years win their highest honour. His attitude typifies everything the under 13s stand for - it’s not about me, it’s about the team, the club and rugby.

Thanks to Alfie Fisher, Sion Gittins, Charlie Smith, Theo Mouille, Jake Douglas, James Purves-Liddell, Tom Steel, Dan Neill, Matt Hayes, Max Loraine, Thomas Williams, Sonny McDonnell, James Hepburn, Joe Jersby, Edmund Kelly, Lewis Burd, Jack Ribton, Niall Boothroyd. And not to forget our injured warriors Sam Ogilvie and Fuzzy!

By Steve Neill