 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
© Copyright |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
U15’s Match Reports 2006-7 The game continued in much the same vain, with Park working hard in the forwards but failing to convert the ball won into successful moves. Their best move of the game coming from a kick over the defence that full back Sparks failed to gather. Danger loomed as Park streamed forward, but wing Redfern showed his soccer skills to remove the danger. Northwich started to spread the ball wide using the pace of wings Redfern and Hale to good effect. Redfern scoring one in the first half and two in the second, the last one a lovely interception of a pass, Hale, although not touching down, created the space for the others to finish. Further tries by Houghton and Crozier completed the haul of 7 tries, Devaney completing 4 conversions to give the final score of 43 – 0 in favour of Northwich. The return fixture in December will no doubt be a fiercely contested affair. Return to fixtures Despite having 5 players away at Cheshire Trials, Northwich were still able to field a full team and 3 reserves. Receiving the kick off they soon started to work the ball out and get the back line moving. Initially the handling from Northwich was erratic, but it soon settled down as the forwards started to find dominance in the tight and the backs started to receive good ball. Congleton had brought what looked like a useful squad, certainly they have found some big guys since last year. However, it was not long before Matt Phillips opened the scoring for Northwich finishing off a well worked backs move. From there tries just kept coming Northwich's way. Both wingers (Hale and Redfern) managed a brace of tries as did stand off Devaney. Full back Sparks ran 3/4 the length of the pitch to get his name on the score board. Turrell, who usually is to be found at prop, enjoyed the freedom of the flanks and claimed a great charge down try as he applied pressure on Congleton’s kicker from a 5m defensive scrum. Back row colleague Baker also crashed over from short range to keep the scoreboard ticking over. At 54 points down and with about 15 mins to play, the referee offered to call a halt to the match, however, Congleton, pluckey to the last decided to see it out to full time and never gave up the fight. Phillips, who had moved from outside centre to scrum half due to the departure at half time of Hart, added another try in the second half, to his opener of the first half. Devaney and Redfern doubled up on their first half score and with Devaney managing 6 conversions, though a 7th went agonisingly close, the final score was Northwich 67 Congleton 0. Having beaten Winnington Park 43 - 0 two weeks earlier, this win keeps up the early season momentum and gives a points difference of 110 points in 2 games. This had been a great opportunity to give full games to a number of the squad players who do not always get as much game time as they would like. All the players took their opportunities and selection next week will be a challenge. Next week the U15's play their first away fixture of the season at Crewe and Nantwich, kick off at 11am Return to fixtures All the time Northwich were using their big squad to advantage, keeping players fresh and not allowing knocks to become serious. In the second half things started tight again with C&N trying to establish a platform to work from. On two occasions lapses in the Northwich defence lead to breaks by the fast C&N players, however good last ditch covering tackles by Northwich kept them out. New signing Waby showed a remarkable turn of pace down the right wing only to get bundled into touch yards short of his first score, however, Sparks who had looked threatening throughout the game latched on as the ball came out wide and forced his way into the corner despite valiant attempts to hold the ball up by C&N. Another valiant conversion attempt from Devaney again failed to find the mark. So the game ended 20 points to 7 in favour of Northwich, both teams clapped and cheered their opposition off the field in recognition of a hard fought match having been played in good spirits. We look forward to the return fixture in March. Return to fixtures The Blacks kicked off and immediately had the home side pinned down in their own 22. A good early move saw Holt support well by the touchline but just unable to hold on to the pass which would have led to a try. However, it didn’t take long for Northwich’s pressure to tell and following a clearance kick from Wilmslow a good passing move along the back line saw Redfern charge down the wing and then cut inside to score close to the posts. Devaney converted the try – 7-0 Wilmslow then spent some time in the Northwich 22 but the pressure put on the Wilmslow players both in the tackle and at the set pieces meant that the home side didn’t look like crossing the Northwich line. Both backs and forwards were battling hard and the support work was very good. Northwich eventually relieved the pressure and started to test the Wilmslow defence. Another good move involving a number of players and great support work saw Ben Jones in at the corner making the score 12-0. Every time Wilmslow tried to get in the Northwich half, the Blacks won an important tackle or pressured mistakes. The forwards were fully committed in the rucks and mauls often causing Wilmslow to give away penalties in their vain attempt to get the ball. As a result the home side were very rarely allowed any time or good ball in the Northwich half. However every time Northwich had the ball they looked dangerous and when the ball found itself to Devaney, a great little side step saw the defence wrong footed and the third try. Devaney converted his own try 19-0 The second half started in much the same way as it had when they last met, Northwich punching up the middle with powerful runners and good support play homing in behind. Williams was on the end of the move which had been started by Crozier and carried on by Dutton and the try between the posts made Devaney’s conversion easy – 26-0. Northwich continued to work hard and their support of each other remained of the highest standard – even when a mistake was made the ball was soon regained and the pressure put back on the home side. The fifth try was a good indication of the confidence the team are currently playing with when a Wilmslow player was waiting for the ball to come to him only for Devaney to intercept and run through for his second try which he then went on to convert – 33-0. This was followed by some Wilmslow pressure but it was always effectively dealt with by the defence the ball finding its way back into Northwich hands. The latter stages of the match saw some good moves put together by Northwich who went close on a number of occasions. The final play of the game saw Williams score his second try to round off a very good performance by all the squad and a convincing 38-0 victory. Return to fixtures Northwich came out in the second half with a point to prove. The forwards again more than held their own with good driving and a couple of scrums taken from the visitors. But now the backs were finding the chance to run and some excellent breaks by Devaney, well supported by the rest of the backs, started to put pressure on Ormskirk. It was no more than the home side deserved when Croziers strength and determination saw him cross the line to put points on the board. Northwich were lifted by this and continued to pressurise the visitors. Williams was next to cross the line, only for the ref to decide that it had been held up, much to the chagrin of the Northwich captain. However, a little later, some good work on the Ormskirk line by the Northwich forwards resulted in a neat pass by Tuzza to send Houghton over for a try, which was converted by Devaney to make the score 12 – 19. Ormskirk realised they were now in a fight and tried to put the pressure back on the home side but the Blacks were now putting together some good team rugby and this lead to Crozier going over the line for his second try and Devaney levelled the scores at 19 – 19. Following the restart, Ormskirk put huge pressure on the Northwich receivers and thanks in part to some good touchline sledging of the Ref got a penalty awarded for holding on. The Northwich pack was incensed as they were convinced it was not them that had offended. Smart coaching from the touchline had the visitors attempt and make a difficult kick from the touch line to grab the three points which proved to be the difference in the two teams. So this was to be the first defeat of the season but it was close. Both sides felt they got the rough end of some refereeing decisions, which in the end probably means that they evened themselves out. Ormskirk were always going to be a strong challenge and the fact they won by a single penalty kick shows closeness of the game and the respect they gave the home team. The team should all take a lot of encouragement from this result and look to build on this performance as they go forwards. Tries Conversion Penalties Due to half term absences the whole squad travelled to Northwich with the intention of the coaches to play both first and second teams for equal game time. The first squad started the game against a well disciplined and much improved Northwich side that on the last outing were put to the sword 98 to 7 by Ormskirk in a try fest. Both teams set their stall out early and attacked each other from the start, Ormskirk attempting to break the Northwich line with some long passes to open space, Northwich defended well and slowed the ball down, not letting Ormskirk use their speed and pace to effect. Some hard work by Ormskirk forced Northwich into their own 22 and eventually pressure told and Josh Stratton feinted a pass brilliantly to draw his man and ran through the gap to score, with John Pape adding the extras. Northwich though to their credit caused some ‘hairy’ moments for Ormskirk, a deft chip close to Ormskirk line was smartly countered by Alex Martland taking quick lineout in and the ball was cleared away. Northwich put the pressure on and a strong tackle isolating Northwich player allowed the speed and pace of Ormskirk to show and defence was turned into attack with John Pape running through to score under the posts. Northwich tried to counter but Ormskirk quality showed and in the counter attack the ball was taken wide and moved in again it fizzed along the line for another score to put visitors 19.0. Northwich tried to counter again from the drop out and using their excellent forwards tried to pressure a score, Ormskirk countered and lovely kick forward was smothered by Northwich player to prevent a fourth try of the half. At half time Ormskirk brought on their second team and rested the first. Northwich came out with a point to prove and from the start were determined to show it. Northwich forwards once again put the pressure on and Ormskirk played like men possessed to keep them out. They were all over the pitch resolutely defending and tackling anything in a black shirt, some parents I believe took off their black jackets just in case. As a man Ormskirk forwards played their hearts out but eventually some neat work by Northwich, and a good solid move, allowed them through to score. This was followed quickly by a second try for Northwich following intense pressure and some excellent defending play; unfortunately a gap opened and was exploited to make it 12-19. From the drop out Ormskirk put in some good hard driving work but found themselves in their own 22 and from a penalty they managed to defend as a team and hold the ball up, much to the disappointment of Northwich. Again the visitor’s line was attacked and despite some excellent defending Northwich levelled the score to 19 – 19. The fact they were being watched by first team coaches and players galvanised and rallied the Ormskirk team and they put pressure back on the Northwich line and for once the referee awarded a penalty to Ormskirk for holding on by Northwich. This was a real pressure kick for Jack, 2 minutes to go, close to the touchline 20 metres out at 19 to 19, with coolness Jack slotted the ball over to give Ormskirk the lead at 22 to 19. At the end both teams knew they had played in a very entertaining game, and both had been on the end of some perplexing and harsh refereeing decisions. Northwich showed how they have improved and both teams had respect for each other. The second team played arguably their best rugby of the season and showed they can play as a team, with some excellent individual performances from Jack Calvely, Bryn, Johnny Evans and Alistar Valentine. The first team showed why they are reigning National and Lancashire champions and have such an awesome reputation and the second team showed how much they have improved and both teams should take any lessons learnt forward into their next games. October 29th U15’s vs Macclesfield (Home) Won 33-21 Return to fixtures The second half was a mere formality, the ref had advised at half time that with the score approaching 50 -0 the option to stop the game had to be offered to the home side, as per the rules. However, a game Marple team elected to continue play, even after the score had passed 50-0. Northwich reshuffled positions giving lads experience of playing in unusual places and the ref began to interpret the rules “sympathetically” in favour of the home side. However, Northwich continued to dominate territory, Marple did put a bit of pressure on in the Northwich 22 but the visitors were able to contain the spirited challenge and then got back to scoring ways with a try by Hale, the conversion hitting the posts 53 - 0. Hale quickly added to his tally and this time Devaney converted making the score 60 – 0. Northwich defence was quickly turned into attack with a good break by the backs followed by good support from the forwards and Tuzza going over the line to seal his hat trick and allowing Devaney to convert – 67-0. Northwich then spent a couple of minutes defending their line determined to keep a clean sheet and they were successful in this and still had time to break away, set up a position close the Marple line and for Connell to dart through the legs of the defence and score a very cheeky try at the death making the overall score 72 – 0. Our thanks to Marple, who were genial hosts and good sports. Also, to Glossop’s U14’s for providing the referee.
Return to fixtures Northwich were the first to show, the lads were fired up and put immense pressure on the Lymm line. Lymm showed that you don't get to win the Cheshire cup with out being able to tackle and wave after wave of Northwich attack was repelled by stern defence. Northwich kept the ball alive and started to create overlaps, eventually allowing winger Hale to dart in at the corner to open the scoring. This score seemed to rattle the champions and they came back hard and the game started to get prickly. Referee Hart had to step in an quell a few situations that threatened to become nasty as Lymm looked for a foot hold in the game. It became Northwich's turn to soak up the pressure as Lymm laid seige to the Northwich line. Several time Northwich turned the ball over only to fluff the clearance and put themselves back under pressure. Lymm thought they had equalised when ball was spun quickly down the line, only to find that the winger had tried to ground the ball over the 5 metre line. Eventually the pressure told though and Lymm squeezed into the corner, an excellent conversion from out wide saw them squeeze into the lead. 7 - 5. Northwich rang the changes either side of half time, ensuring the whole bench was played and trying to find a winning combination, but the changes just seemed to make the play scrapier. Both teams back rows were quick up on the back line and any loose ball. Much of the play was hard fought in the centre of the field and the passion on both sides was clear. Lymm managed one more well worked try out wide, but could not convert. Northwich kept working for the opening, but solid defence from the visitors meant that they hung onto their slender lead to the final whistle. Northwich came away disappointed from a fixture they had believed that they could win, however, it was not to be on this occasion. They seriously rattled the opposition causing them to turn to some of the "darker arts" to try and gain an advantage. Northwich have seen the levels that they need to attain though if they are to be real contenders for the cup this year. December 3rd U15’s vs Anselmians (Away) Won 27-5 Northwich kicked off and although there was some hesitancy by the home defence a big clearance kick bounced awkwardly and OA were only prevented from scoring by a knock on. The resulting scrum saw Northwich penalised and the home side put points on the board by kicking the penalty. The strength of the wind and the slope made it difficult for Northwich to gain traction initially, although Devaney was able to make some ground with low probing kicks under the wind. However, early mistakes from the Blacks, combined with some questionable officiating contributed to a less than convincing start by the visitors. The lads showed great character and dug in and rode out the first 10 minutes. After this settling in period the Blacks then went on to dominate the match. Having worked their way up hill into the opposition 22, blind side, Ben Jones stole the ball from an OA line out and charged through to defence to score the opening try. Despite an excellent effort against the wind the conversion was missed. Northwich’s forwards were now beginning to dominate play in mauls and rucks although sometimes they were frustrated by a knock-on or another decision going against them. Eventually however another line out win by the visitors saw Devaney score following an excellent run through the home defence. Northwich nearly added to this score just before half time when a burst out of defence by loose head prop Tuzza was blown up apparently for a forward pass. The move would surely have seen flying winger Hale cross the line, but the alleged forward pass seems to have been seen by only one person on the park! Nevertheless Northwich went in at half time with a good 10-3 lead and the wind was now in their favour for the second half. The second half belonged to the visitors with great play throughout the team both in attack and in the tackle. From a Northwich scrum the ball found its way to Devaney who passed inside for Phillips. He in turn presented the ball back in the tackle and Tuzza’s run from the ruck saw him cross the line for the third try. Sadly the conversion again fell victim of the strong wind. From the resulting kick off, Tuzza sparked one of the best moves of the match, he took a good catch and drove forward slipping the ball out of contact to the fast moving Baker who made good yardage before off loading to Williams and before then getting back onto his shoulder to take the return ball. The final scoring pass could not be delivered so Baker set up the ball, but OA were then penalised and a quick tap eventually saw Crozier go over to effectively confirm the victory for Northwich. Devaney finally got to grips with the wind and added two points for the conversion. There was still time for two more “scores”. OA worked themselves into the Northwich half and a hopeful kick through seemed to be well covered by the retreating Holt. However, the bounce eluded the cover and went over the dead ball line before an OA player dropped on the ball. To the amazement of both home and visiting supporters and to the anger of the Northwich players the referee gave a try, despite being some distance behind the play. The wind kept the conversion away and fortunately this score did not have a bearing on the final result. Northwich rounded off the game when Elliott crowned another great personal and team performance with a fifth try just before the end. Final score 27-8. Despite missing a few key players, Northwich showed what a great squad they are building. In any match report many players don’t get a mention, however, today everyone deserves a mention as they all had a great game. Northwich have a training session this coming Sunday before rounding off the year with a game against our neighbours the following weekend. We await the 2nd round cup draw with interest.
Return to fixtures However, the Northwich defence stood firm, despite the repeated use of big runners into the heart of the defence. Northwich finally managed to clear their lines and then set about building their own attack.The forward battle started to swing slowly towards the men in black as they looked to unload through the tackle to keep the ball alive. Park continued to defend solidly and made Northwich work very hard for the second score just before half time. At 12-0 this was probably a fair reflection of the game. The second half continued much as the first half had ended. Northwich gained a penalty right in front of the Park posts and decided to accept the points - 15 - 0. Northwich continued to move the ball wider and as a result they worked another score in on the other wing as Ben Redfern celebrated his return from injury by racking up Northwich's third try. Park were determined not to leave empty handed and they again drove up field through their big pack and number 8 Golding powered through the defence to score by the sticks, making the extras easier to add. Injuries to the already depleted Northwich front row meant that the last few minutes were played with uncontested scrums, but this had little bearing on the game. As the game neared its closure legs began to tire on the heavy pitch, Underhill managed to waltz his way through the defence to celebrate his return to the game after a period off for soccer. 27 - 7 was the final score. A respectable win for Northwich but also a solid performance from a much improved Winnington Park side. This should mean that future games will be closely fought contests, as they always have been. Return to fixtures For most of the first half the game was scoreless, however, the visitors finally worked away around the wide defence to post the first score in the corner. A difficult wind prevented the visiting kicker from adding the extras. Northwich were stung by the score and hit back hard and probably shading the rest of the half and after twice spurning kicks right in front of the posts managed to equalise the scores when Dutton went in the corner. The second half was largely a battle between the forwards with both sides putting in good drives and tackles. Northwich were hoping that the wind being in their favour would give them the advantage but unfortunately it was their undoing. Northwich were beginning to put the visitors under some pressure when a clearance kick held up in the wind and was well taken by the Rhyl player who stormed half of the pitch past the covering defender to score between the posts. The try was converted and the home side found themselves 12-5 down. Northwich did have opportunities to get back into the match but lacked that killer touch and Rhyl continued to tackle well. Much of the half was even but when penalised in front of their posts Northwich found themselves two scores behind as Rhyl converted the penalty. This knocked the stuffing out of the Blacks who knew to score twice against Rhyl’s excellent defence would probably be too much. In fact towards the end of the game it was the visitors who looked more likely and it was only an excellent tackle by Underhill prevented another Rhyl score. Northwich did keep the visitors out but did not look like scoring themselves and finally fell short 5-15. Both sets of coaches and fans agreed that it had been an excellent and enthralling game, played in a great spirit. We look forward to the return fixture next season. Return to fixtures Northwich applied the pressure but so often promising moves broke down as cold hands and bodies failed to do the owners bidding. However, the blacks persevered and eventually were rewarded when the ball was slipped to Sam Blears, who stuck his head down and went flat out for the line, breaking the cover tackles to score out wide. The kick from the touchline was no easy matter with a strong wind to contend with. Devaney struck the shot well, the adjustment for the wind looked right, but the ball just dipped under the bar. The score gave Northwich the lift they needed as they looked for the win, however, Stockport were not for giving up and it took some ferocious defense to deny Stockport tries on more than one occasion. As the game slithered to an end, a loose kick from Stockport was picked up by fullback Sparks who turned on the pace and raced around the wide cover, he got within 2 meters of the line but the defense was waiting for him and rather than challenge the defenders, he put the ball inside. The ball flowed across the front of the posts and was destined for Hale who was unmarked on the opposite wing, however, wet cold fingers lost the ball one pass short of a certain try. So in the end the Blacks had to accept defeat, though they came away knowing that on another day the result would have been different. Our thanks go to Stockport for excellent hospitality and a great game. Hopefully the next time we meet will be in better weather. Return to fixtures Northwich started the stronger and in the first half more than held their own. In the second half, with the sun in the Lymm teams eyes, hopes were high in the Northwich camp that they could spring a surprise, but, alas, it was not to be! Return to fixtures The second half was again one way traffic but still West Park fought hard to keep Northwich from crossing the line. Gradually as Northwich attempted to pass the ball down the line the pressure took its toll and Northwich’s wingers ran in 5 more tries through Sparkes (2), Redfern (2) and Hale. Devaney converted two of these, one an excellent kick close to the touch line. The final score came from Holt who kicked a loose line out ball down field and was rewarded with a very favourable bounce to enable him to cross for a try which was then converted by Devaney. Final score 53 – 0 A good performance by the home team although there were a number of handling errors and too much ball given away easily but you can’t argue with the score! All credit to West Park who never gave up and defended very well for three quarters of the match. March 4th U15’s vs Wirral (Home) Drawn 0-0 Time and again Wirral tried to clear their lines, only to have the kicks held up on the wind and for Northwich to surge back at them. Towards the end of the half Wirral had managed to get themselves into the Northwich 22 and looked capable of scoring, however, cold wet hands in the backline meant that the good position they had created went unrewarded. The Blacks immediately returned to the attack and after some fine passages of play were awarded a penalty almost in front of the posts. However, rather than taking the points the Blacks clearly felt that they needed more from the dying minutes of the half as they tapped and ran it. However, the defence held firm and the chance was lost. Both sets of coaches agreed that with a game that could have gone either way, the draw was a fair result. However, no one at pitch side could remember when they had seen such an enthralling game of rugby finish without a score. Return to fixtures Much of the first half was spent slogging it out in the middle of the field although Northwich, who were against the wind, did go close when some good play by the forwards almost allowed the backs to convert the possession with a try. Unfortunately good tackling from C&N prevented the score. There were a number of infringements during the half and tension between the two sides was high particularly after a “stray” boot to Undies face resulted in him taking no further part in the match and receiving stitches to a nasty face wound. The atmosphere was not helped by rather un-rugby like behaviour by coaches/parents on the touchline which threatened to spoil a potentially exciting and competitive match. For the third half on the trot, the rugby on show had failed to generate any points. The second half saw Northwich benefit from the wind and the visitors were never able to threaten the Blacks line. Northwich, on the other hand, were dominating play but were unable to penetrate C&N’s defence. Eventually the pressure did tell and a penalty awarded to the home side was converted by Devaney to give them a 3 point lead. Unfortunately for the match tempers were still short both on and off the field and to some degree this prevented both teams from playing to their potential. Another penalty to the home side was well converted by Devaney to give Northwich a 6 point lead. Despite their territorial dominance, Northwich had to be aware of the sucker punch that could be around the corner if a C&N were allowed to steal the ball, but the Blacks tackled well and kept the visitors pointless. The game was clinched at the death when some good team work resulted in Dutton scoring a try in the corner. Final score 11-0 Unfortunately this match will probably be remembered for the wrong reasons. In 8 seasons of watching lads rugby I have never witnessed the “football” like behaviour of some individuals off the pitch. Referee decisions were challenged from the off and the “negative” comments aimed at the players were not necessary. The lads are pumped up enough at this age without being indirectly encouraged to be undisciplined by behaviour from the sidelines – it is their game after all!!! We all like to win and often feel hard done by when we don’t, but my experience of rugby is that you might politely question, the referee, but then you get on with the game – not much evidence of that today. Return to fixtures Return to fixtures However, Stockport had not travelled to be cannon fodder and put together some good play without really putting the Blacks under too much pressure. Northwich continued to play good rugby but too often gave up the ball in rucks and mauls, allowing the visitors to establish a hold in the game. In addition the home side were guilty of giving too many penalties away – and one stage being moved from close to the visitors try line to close to their own through 3 consecutive infringements. This became a frequent problem in the match and certainly stopped Northwich from taking control of the game. Fortunately the home tackling and good kicking ensured that Stockport could not take advantage of this indiscipline. Northwich nearly scored with the last move of the half but the visitors held out. Return to fixtures Initially there was meant to be 2 groups of 5 but two dropped out before the week-end leaving Northwich in an international group containing Glasgow H.A., Mackie and Ystrad Rhonda. The lads, in their new gold shirts arrived at the ground with time to spare to ensure they were well focused before their game with the Welsh. How much spare time was not appreciated as we found out that Northwich’s reputation had gone before them and the Welsh had dropped out at the last minute. Three and a half hours later the lads eventually got to play! Northwich vs Mackie From the kick off Northwich forced a scrum close to their opponent’s line and when the ball broke free a couple of good passes saw Hale in for the first try. This obviously was a great relief for the lads and they tried to force the issue from the restart. Unfortunately they conceded two penalties and found themselves in their own half. Defence was good and a tap penalty resulted in Holt scoring Northwich’s second try which was excellently converted by Devaney. Virtually straight away good passing allowed Hale to sprint three quarters of the field to cross the line only to find it disallowed for a forward pass. The onslaught continued and Mackie found themselves on the end of another good passing movement resulting in a third try scored by Houghton. Before half time a good forward drive resulted in the Scots being penalised and Northwich put the ball into touch close to the try line. Mackie could not keep out the Gold and Blacks and Hale scored to make the half time score 22-0 Northwich continued in the second half where they left off in the first and a good team move resulted in Williams scoring and Devaney converting. It wasn’t long before another move from the base of the scrum saw Hale go over the line but passing to Blakeman to score. Mackie were demoralised by now and Northwich were making the most of their game time and showing their next opponents what they were made of. Sparkes pounced on a good kick forward to score the seventh try and Devaney rubbed salt in the wounds with a great conversion from the touch line. The resulting restart led to a great run forward and if it wasn’t for the pass going to ground Northwich would have scored again. The relief for Mackie was short lived though and Ben Jones finished the game with a score to make Northwich winners by 46-0. Northwich vs Glasgow Hawks Academy Glasgow kicked off and Northwich’s clearing kick was charged down putting the lads under immediate pressure which resulted in a penalty close to their try line. However superb defending saw the Glasgow forwards driven back and a penalty conceded by the Scots enabling Northwich to kick down field. Although the kick did not go into touch the Gold and Blacks managed to get the ball back and set up a period of pressure in the Scot’s half. However the ball was given up at vital moments and Glasgow were able to defend their line. Just before the end of the half a kick forward by Northwich resulted in the ball going over the try line and it appeared the only reason the Northwich backs were unable to score was due to an illegal block but unfortunately this was not seen by the referee and Glasgow were able to clear their lines again. A scoreless first half. It was clear that Northwich would need to dig deep to break the Glasgow defence but eventually the pressure told. A scrum won against the head saw consecutive penalties given to Northwich close to the try line. On the second a superb long pass by Houghton deceived the defence who were expecting a forward drive, saw the ball end up in Hale’s hands and what turned out to be the winning try. Glasgow did press straight away but Northwich tackled well and it was Redfern who nearly scored towards the end but was tackled into touch just before the try line. Final score 5-0 Top of the group and fearing no-one although the rumours going round was that the home side of Ayr who won the other group were unrecognisable from their normal team and would obviously be difficult to beat to win the tournament On Sunday Northwich arrived at the ground knowing their seniors had just been victorious at Twickenham in the EDF Vase – would the lads be able to add to the trophy collection? Northwich vs Darlington Mowden Park This was really the last attack Darlington managed in the rest of the match with Northwich dominating territory and possession. Tuzza went over with a quick tap penalty only for the referee to bring it back as it wasn’t taken from the correct place (about 2 feet away!).Then just before the half time whistle the same forward touched down from some great forward pressure only for the referee not to allow the try as he was unsighted. The second half saw constant Northwich pressure and it is difficult to remember Darlington getting into the Black’s half. However their defence was excellent. Every time the ball was passed out the Darlington defence was up quick making distribution difficult and causing errors. When the forwards tried to go from the back of rucks or scrums again the defenders were up extremely quick and prevented quality ball. Twice more the Blacks pilled over the line and on at least one of those occasions Houghton got the ball down on the line but in both situations the referee was unsighted and would not give the try. So a gallant attempt was not rewarded and a 7-0 defeat meant a play off against Glasgow for third place. Northwich vs Glasgow The second half saw early exchanges in the middle of the pitch as both teams tried to establish superiority. Eventually a good run and kick by Redfern resulted in the winger scoring the second try to make the score 12-0 The rest of the game was best remembered by bizarre refereeing. Northwich were penalised 4 times in succession for indiscipline (apparently once for an infringement, once for not giving the ball back, once for giving it back and finally for looking confused at the decisions). Obviously the man in charge was trying to make a point but only allowed the tension to increase and opportunities for non-rugby confrontations. However he continued to penalise the Blacks for a series of infringements and despite powerful defence eventually the Scots went in at the corner which turned out to be the final move of the game. So Northwich finished third by beating the older Scots but losing out to a well drilled defence from England. Not surprising to some in the know – Ayr won the tournament, beating Mowden Park quite comprehensively. Summary It was rounded off by our accompanying U14’s team being successful in the Shield at their age group. So both teams retired to the campsite to celebrate the win of the Seniors and that of the U14’s and to start to plan the 2008 tour!! Our thanks go to our sponsors that made the tour that bit easier to afford, Return to fixtures Although the Blacks were nervous before the match they started well and a good kick off by Devaney resulted in the home side putting the ball into touch. Northwich applied early pressure but unfortunately a knock-on came at the wrong moment and Ormskirk were able to clear their line. Most of the first half was spent in the middle 50% of the ground and Northwich were giving as good as they got. It was obvious that the home side’s backs were very dangerous but the Blacks defended well. The Northwich forwards began to exert pressure on the home side and as the match progressed they began to win the battle, driving back in the maul and managing to retain ball in the rucks. The backs put together some good moves but due to the expertise of the opponents found themselves with little time on the ball. Good use was made of the kick over the top and on a couple of occasions nearly created an opening. Ormskirk were obviously aware that they were in a battle and after 25 mins the scores were still tied 0 – 0. Ormskirk demonstrated the respect they had for the blacks, when they elected to kick a penalty that came from Underhill trying to improve on his excellent defensive tackle by trying to work the ball back Northwich’s side whilst still on the floor. Ormskirk duly slotted the kick and went ahead 3 – 0. Northwich kicked off and were gaining in confidence but unfortunately the line out was an area in which Ormskirk were very street wise in their approach and with a 6ft 5in second row it worked well for them. It was from a line out just in the Northwich half that the home side broke away and managed to finally get behind the Northwich defence to score a try to make the score 8-0. Northwich’s heads did not drop and a great pass interception by Sparkes saw him race off for the try line with nobody ahead. Against almost any other opposition the fleet footed Sparkes would have been under the posts, however a covering defender shot across the pitch like Billy Wizz on wheels and hauled Sparkes to the ground just short of the line. The follow up defender dived onto the side of the tackle area killing the ball for the Northwich support players; however, the ref had adjudged that the ball was knocked on by Northwich before the offence took place and so Ormskirk got to clear their lines. Against any other team Northwich would have gone in at half time 8-7 down but against this team the score line was still acceptable, especially bearing in mind that earlier in the season we were 19-0 down by this point. A good start to the second half was vital if Northwich were to keep the pressure on Ormskirk but unfortunately the kick off was not dealt with properly and the home side didn’t need a second invitation and made the score 15-0 before the blacks had had chance to settle. A further set back was to follow when a clearance kick was charged down and the visitors found themselves 22-0 down. An undeserved rout was on the cards but the Blacks continued to play good rugby and kept fighting to the end. A great individual try by Ormskirk stretched the score to 27-0 before Northwich were finally rewarded for all their hard work. A good flowing move drew the defence to one side of the pitch, the ball was rapidly reversed and Hale found himself with space to work in but with drifting defenders to beat. Undeterred, he pinned his ears back and backed his pace and comfortably rounded the defence to touch down under the sticks. Devaney converted the try. As the match drew towards closure Ormskirk crossed the line to be awarded a try which could easily have been ruled held up. But Northwich wanted the last say and another flowing backs move saw Devaney step the tacklers and apparently hit the line. However, the ref was again conned by a very streetwise outfit who pushed the ball back off the line and the referee ruled the line had not been crossed and failed to award the score, though both sets of supporters begged to differ. A final score of 32-7 is the heaviest defeat this team has suffered all season, by a considerable margin. However, it did not reflect the quality of rugby and effort put into the match by the Northwich lads. The opposition are a class outfit and having won the National Club competition, are viewed by many as the best team in England at this age group. With many players that represent Lancashire, are involved with the Sale Sharks academy and are even under the eye of the England selectors for next seasons U16 team, their pedigree is clear. However, all concerned felt it was a good match, which for a long time hung in the balance, and our hosts were more than pleased with the level of competition they received on the day. This Northwich team have provided a lot of good rugby this season and are not far short from beating the top opposition. It may not seem like it at the time but as a team you learn more and get a lot more respect and admiration from playing like this and losing against a team of this quality than putting 50 past lesser opposition. Well done all of you and hopefully you will all return next season with the determination to continue to improve. |