Dinnington RUFC end long wait for cup success
DINNINGTON RUFC have claimed their first trophy in a major cup competition in more than two decades.
They beat Midlands-based Huntingdon 72-24 at the 25,000 capacity Darlington Arena to win the Papa Johns Community Cup.
It was fun in the sun for their band of travelling supporters who travelled north for a contest that was more keenly contested than the final score suggests.
They led only 20-17 at half time but then pulled away, scoring seven tries and converting five to set the celebrations in motion.
“It was a great day,” said Matt Challinor, who took charge of the team with his old Dinnington clubmate, Johnny West, for the end-of-season cup competition.
"There was an appetite from the lads to play the cup games. We got a bye in the first round and then beat Hoylake from Merseyside and then Bramley Phoenix to get to the final.
"If you weren’t there and were looking at the final score you’d think it was an easy game.
"In reality there were only a few points in it at half time. It was a hot day and we had a lot of youths in our team and I believe the fitness made the difference."
Will Cockerham and Michael Leitch both scored two tries for Dinnington and the others were claimed by Ayrton Radford, Jamie Shaw, Steve Leitch and James Eggerton, with Cockerham’s kicks making up the rest of the tally.
Fly-half Kai Ramrattan guided the team forward at every opportunity.
The triumph was a welcome boost for coach “Chall,” who is slowly recovering from a leg break he suffered while playing for Rotherham Titans at the start of the year.
"Dinnington was my junior team and Johnny’s as well so it was always in the plans to come back at some point and it’s been great so far,” he said.
Dinnington’s points tally was the highest in a Papa Johns Community Cup final, which was another honour for the lads to bring back with them to Lodge Lane.
A club spokesman added: “More than half of our team which played in the final came through the junior ranks, so the future looks bright.”