Bees U16s 20 Hull Ionians U16s 18

Nico DeVittoris was the man of the hour as his try in the final minutes levelled the game and then a superb touch line conversion added the points to seal the game and the trophy for Bees.

Bees got off to a great start as Bobby Darbyshire made the half break and the supporting Jake Brett then took the pass to sprint towards the Ionians try line. The Ionians full back pulled off a great cover tackle to halt Brett's charge but the ever impressive Darbyshire was on hand to take the return pass from Brett to go in at the side of the posts. Nico DeVittoris slotted over the goal to give Bees a 7 0 lead. Ionians came back strongly but impressive defence from the Bees pack kept their much bigger opponents at bay with Reggie Herd Joel Waddington Travis Smith and Max Hutchinson working overtime.

An infringement by Ionians in their own half allowed DeVittoris to step up and take the points and extend the Bees lead to 10 0 midway through the half. Ionians were not for lying down though and they sucked Bees into playing down the middle. Against a much bigger pack Bees tackled admirably but eventually Ionians found the space and their no 8 cut a great line to scythe through and touch down. With the goal missed it was 10 5 but with Ionians continuing to press in the Bees half a penalty was awarded and Ionians took their chance and slotted the penalty over to make it 10 8 at half time.

Going into the second half the Bees usual expansive game was not being played out and they got dragged into an arm wrestle down the middle of the field which played into Ionians hands. Despite their best efforts Bees began to concede penalties and Ionians were able to kick into the corner. From the ensuing line out Ionians brought their size advantage to bear and were able to take the ball and drive over to take the lead 13 10. Bees were not for giving up though and took the game back to Ionians with Zain Ali Travis Smith and Joel Waddington running strongly. DeVittoris twice looked to be heading for the corner but 2 excellent cover tackles from the Ionians full back prevented the scores. With Bees taking the game back to their opponents Ionians were pinged again in their half and DeVittoris stepped up to cooly slot over to level at 13 apiece.

In a real nip and tuck game Ionians again stepped up the pace and a tiring Bees began to concede penalties to allow Ionians to march down the field. A repeat of their first try played out as again they kicked to the corner and despite their best efforts Bees again conceded from the drive over from the lost lineout with just 8 minutes remaining to see Ionians lead 18 13 and the trophy seemingly heading back to Humberside. However the Bees lads were not for lying down and to their real credit came back strongly against Ionians. With Ionians turning over possession in their own half Bees suddenly had a chance to wrestle the trophy back. With nothing for them down the middle the ball went down the line and some crisp handling set DeVittoris free down the left wing. This time he was not going to be denied by the Ionians full back and as he dived over in the corner with the flag being knocked over the home crowd was momentarily silenced as they waited for the referees call on whether it was a try or not. As the referee raised his arm the home support put up the cheer for the Bees drawing the game level 18 18 and talk on the touch line was whether the game would go to extra time.

Man of the match DeVittoris was having none of it however as his touch line conversion sailed between the posts to land the match winning points with only minutes of the game remaining. Bees held their nerve and played the game out to seal the win in a fantastic final and the match of the day. As the whistle went for full time coaches and players took to the field to begin the celebrations in winning a classic cup final.

Real credit should be paid to the coaches Jamie Brett and Steve Etienne for bringing this group of lads together. Having only lost 2 games all season all the team can be justifiably proud of their achievements with yesterday the icing on the cake to a fantastic season.