North Midlands Under-17s suffered a last-gasp 21-14 defeat at the hands of Cheshire in their inaugural fixture at Dudley Kingswinford today.
Two evenly-matched sides fought out an entertaining contest which was in the balance until Cheshire nipped in for a converted try under the posts with final play of the match.
Cheshire topped and tailed the scoring but North Midlands played their part in the contest and pulled level when right wing Louis Filiatraut (Prince Henry’s, Evesham) picked up a loose ball and raced away for a try converted by fly-half Rhys Morris (Ellesmere College).
Morris gave North Midlands the lead when he jinked through for an outstanding individual try, which he also goaled, early in the second half.
But Cheshire finished strongly, first drawing level then snatching victory with their third converted try.
North Midlands Under-17s will play their second match against Staffordshire at Stourbridge on April 5.