Durham defeat makes Twickenham appearance unlikely

Durham v North Midlands At Stourbridge RFC

Durham battled hard in the County Championship Shield encounter with North Midlands at Stourbridge RFC but despite fighting to the end were defeated 20-12.

A combination of bad luck and Durham's inability to convert chances into points were the key factors that determined the outcome of the game.

Durham frequently besieged the North Midlands line but more often that not came away with no reward for their efforts. A disallowed Tony Irwin (Sunderland) try in the opening minutes of the second half was a hammer blow that Durham never recovered from.

Despite racing out of the starting blocks, it was North Midlands that quickly established a 10-0 lead. Winger Jon Hall (Stourbridge) opened the scoring with an unconverted try after only 3 minutes and number 8 Howard Dawson (Stourbridge) was drove over midway through the half.

Durham reduced the arrears after 30 minutes with a try from Irwin that came from a good team move and the score remained 10-5 at halftime.

North Midland's again opened the scoring early in the second half with a penalty from fly-half Duncan Hughes (Stourbridge.)

Minutes after Irwin's disallowed try, North Midlands struck from deep following a charge-down from eventual try scorer Toby Wilson (Stourbridge.) Hughes added the conversion for a 20-5 lead.

Durham responded soon after with an impressive try from winger Frankie Coulson (Darlington.) Coulson scored under the posts after collecting his own chip over into the North Midlands half. Fullback David Glendenning (Darlington) added the conversion but Durham's fight back was too little, too late.

Durham's next game is against Cumbria at Darlington RFC, Saturday 21st, 3pm kick-off.