TYNEDALE Panthers have a big showdown with their North of England counterparts after making the regional final.

The Corbridge side’s U15 team booked their place in the northern final of the RFU National Girls’ Cup, where they will come up against the might of Leeds’ West Park.

Both Tynedale and Park can boast players who feature in the North of England squads, so a great final is expected when they meet at Darlington Rugby Club on Sunday, March 5.

To book their place in the northern final, Tynedale ran riot in the North-East equivalent by running in 75 unanswered points against Horden and Hartlepool.

This was the first meeting between the two teams, with Tynedale not sure what to expect from their Durham visitors.

Horden struggled to compete with their Northumberland rivals at the breakdown, in the scrums and in open play, but showed true grit by tackling for the full 60 minutes.

Panthers coach Nick Oliver said: “The girls got off to a good start and then didn’t let up for 60 minutes . The support play was outstanding.

“They can go into the final with confidence.”

The game was played on the 3G pitch at Newcastle Falcons’ Kingston Park stadium as the pitches at Tynedale Park were unplayable due to the heavy rain.

The squad was made of, in the back row, left to right, of Isy Flynn, Charlotte Spark, Amy Marshall, Emily Longstaff, Lucy Cowell, Tatiana Dickinson, Keely French, Nicole Blakeburn, Holly Furphy and, front row, Beyonce Fowler, Hannah Carter, Maisie James, Holly Thorpe, Tori Marshall, Lucy Bailey and Amy Youngman.