Academy claim dramatic win over Broncos!

It was the hosts who had the first chance at the line after a brilliant line break from Nathan Carter split the Broncos defence. The centre got within 10 metres of the line before he was stopped, Charlie Harris took the play left, but his pass wasn’t accurate towards Aaron Willis and dropped out of play.

After surviving that moment of pressure, London then took the lead a few minutes later. Castleford conceded a penalty on halfway and were punished as George Dadd was on hand to scoot over from close in. Rhys Cotter hooked his conversion wide for the scores to read 0-4.

It didn’t take long for the Tigers to respond as 10 minutes in they were over the whitewash. Adam Rusling’s accurate dink forward forced the visitors into a drop out and Cas made the most of the pressure as Josh Milthorpe charged over. Rusling then put his side two points ahead with his conversion.

The London side had come to The Jungle to play and were rewarded for their endeavour as they retook the lead. Hooker Bill Leyland bounced off a couple of challenges near the goal line and did well to offload to Ramon Silva for the prop to touch down under the posts. Cotter slotted his kick on this occasion to give his side a four-point advantage.

After a couple of scruffy sets from both teams which ended in knock ons, it was the Fords who showed that bit of quality to drag themselves back ahead. Lewis Ransome was fresh off the bench and used his strength to twist away from a couple of defenders to reach out and get the ball down. Rusling kept his 100% record from the tee to nudge the Tigers into the lead.

It got even better for the Cas academy with just over five minutes of the first half to go as they added to their advantage. Charlie Harris timed his pass to Tom Hazelgrave perfectly for the second rower to skid over. Rusling missed his conversion for the scores to stay at 16-10.

London had the last attack of the half but couldn’t take advantage as Alex Deery’s pass wide left on the final tackle went forward.

Broncos came out eager to get back into the game and put themselves in a great position after a 40-20 kick got them in Cas territory. However, they found a Fords defence which was hard to break down as they held up both Teddy Davidson and Jacob Smith on the line.

Cas looked to have unlocked the London defence when Collinson made a break and handed the ball to Hall, but the prop found it too hot to handle and knocked on. Moments later the same combination linked up and this time they were clinical as they managed to free Harris who sprinted over. Rusling added the two points from in front of the posts to give the Fords a 12-point lead.

That score did not put the visitors off in their quest to make it a contest. Broncos then had a brilliant five-minute spell where they crossed twice through Luciano Bejanidze and Teddy Davidson got the visitors back within four points with over 20 minutes to go.

After such a strong spell from the visitors Castleford did well to respond and stretch their advantage once again. The Tigers spotted they had numbers on the far side and spread the play beautifully into the hands of Ransome who crossed for his second of the day. Leyton Davies took up the kicking duties and slotted his effort.

London made it a grandstand finish however as the momentum swung their way with just a few minutes left. Leyland produced a good pick and go to score which was then followed by Max Allen pouncing on a defensive error and a Baker conversion tied the game at 28-28.

The vital moment for the hosts came with three minutes to go as they set up for a drop goal and Rusling kept his composure to kick through the posts to win it in dramatic style.

Full-time: Castleford Tigers U19’s 29–28 London Broncos U19’s

Castleford: Render, Scurr, Carter, Milthorpe, Willis, Harris, Rusling, Hall, Robb, Wood, Hazelgrave, Magee, Collinson

Interchanges: Shaw, Ransome, Donnelly, Davies, Cook, Lynch, Harte

Tries: Milthorpe, Ransome x2, Hazelgrave, Harris

Goals: Rusling (4/5), Davies (1/1)