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1st XV Match Data 2004-5

18th September 1stXV vs Rochdale (Home) Lost 3-28
Northwich were soundly beaten by a good, big, well organized Rochdale team at Moss Farm on Saturday. The visitors opened their account with only 3 minutes on the clock with a well worked try which was converted from the touch line. Although Northwich replied with a Dale penalty they never really threatened the Rochdale line and were always on the back foot, the Northwich team didn’t help their cause by making a number of unforced errors and turning over the ball at the breakdown, which was gratefully received by the eager Rochdale pack who punished each mistake with points. The pick of the Northwich team was inside centre Dale and lock forward Chris Heywood who put in a man of the match performance in the lineout and loose.

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25th September 1stXV vs Broughton Park (Home) Lost 5-30
Northwich were 5-0 down after les than five minutes when poor defending let in John Knight. Steve O’Connor failed with the conversion attempt and missed again after John Clifford powered over the Northwich line to make it 10-0. O’Connor then drilled a penalty home and followed this up with a conversion to complete an Alan Hodkinson try. Trailing 20-0 at half time Northwich were in trouble and came out fighting in the second half to register a try thanks to Huw Jones, who crossed the line in the corner. Park extended their lead with 15 minutes remaining when O’Connor scored another penalty after an offside infringement. With just 5 minutes to go Clifford scored his second try of the afternoon and an O’Connor conversion sealed victory for Park. Northwich chairman Sam Naylor said “ there seemed to be no aggression at all, we did’nt dominate the line outs and we tried to make things too complicated. “We’’ll have to turn things around when we play Sandbach next week”.

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16th October
Northwich 1st XV had a break from activities last Saturday as the league was suspended for the Powergen Cup. They return to the fray next week with a visit to Wigan. Dave Massey returns at hooker to bolster a team that desperately needs a win. A big game is also expected from centre Chris Dale.

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23rd October 1stXV vs Wirral (Home) Lost 7-36
Northwich's tales of woe continue despite fielding an impressive team at Moss Farm on Saturday. They had a quality team sheet which included England colt Chris Dale, ex North of England under 19 player Chris James who has returned from Australia and brought with him a very exciting and explosive centre in the form of Kolo Fifita, an Australian of Tongan descent. With the other Australian import prop Nick Blake who has been coming into form and with lynch pin stand off Chas Wood enjoying a good patch everything looked good at last Thursday nights training session
However, come Saturday morning, stalwart Rob Heath and Hooker Dave Massey were not fit enough to play and this clearly disrupted what would have been the strongest Northwich team of the season so far. In addition there were one or two raised eyebrows with some of the selected positions with Dale playing at fullback for the first time and flanker Chris James selected in the centre.
The first half was over in a flash with each team performing well and with the home team looking slightly the stronger. Northwich mauled well but gave away more penalties than a disciplined side should do.
The spectators were waiting for the half time break but in the three minutes of first half stoppage time two moments of slack play completely turned the game in the visitors favour. Pacey winger Alex Baker scored unbelievably in quick succession with his second try converted by Sean Kay to give his team an undeserved 12-0 interval lead. Both tries came from poor tackles which at this level is unacceptable and those concerned must be prepared to put their bodies on the line a bit more. Northwich hit back with their first play of the second half, Chris James kicked ahead and was on the receiving end of a lucky bounce to score a spectacular looking try. Chris Dale converted and there was time for Northwich to turn the table on Wirral. A crazy moment of madness saw Northwich take a quick lineout deep in their own half. It was thrown over the top to Wirralian Paul Rawthorne who scored under the posts and Kay converted to make it 7-19. Northwich then ran out of steam and their heads dropped as they faced yet another humiliating defeat. Kay kicked a penalty and two further converted tries from Graham Phelan and Colin Davies really did rub salt into the Northwich wound. Kolo Fifita is a class act and Northwich have some talented players. There is still plenty of time to get out of this mess but only the commitment of the players can get them out of their current, unlucky form.
 Northwich have a big weekend coming up with away fixtures on both Saturday and Sunday. They are at Wigan in the league on Saturday and visit Prenton in the Cheshire Cup on Sunday.

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6th November 1stXV vs Wirral (Away) Won 11-5
A gritty performance witnessed Northwich scrape a victory at Wigan on Saturday and lift themselves off the bottom of the league. They deserved the 11-5 victory on a very heavy pitch and the only real concern was Kolo Fifita leaving the pitch in the second half with a twisted knee. The tough Australian thinks he will be fit for next week at Leigh but both he and fellow Australian Nick Blake (neck) will be visiting sports physio Pete Henderson this week. Former professional footballer Pete will work hard to get both players fit as they are now a cornerstone in the Northwich outfit.
The first half was nip and tuck all the way and the conditions saw a catalogue of errors from both teams, however it was Chris Dale who was on form with his boot and his two penalties were the difference at half time. Wigan nil Northwich 6.
The second half witnessed both teams giving as good as they got and Wigan came back into the game through a try from Scott Buckley. He received the ball from yet another messed up Northwich line out and it was fortunate that the Wigan kicker had a poor day with his boot. Northwich played intelligently and kept the ball in the forwards and it was a forward's rush and maul that enabled Chris James to score his second try in as many games. Dale failed with his conversion but the whole team kept their heads and ground out the rest of match.
 It is sometimes difficult to understand the form in this league, Wigan beat Sandbach recently and yet Sandbach stuffed Northwich 50-0 on October 2nd. Director of Rugby Don Phillip's is hoping to improve the performance of Northwich in the league but his ambitions are being hindered through injuries to Stuart Mills and Dave Massey.
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7th November 1stXV vs Prenton (Away) Lost 32-12
On Sunday Northwich sent a team containing only four 1stXV players to two leagues below Prenton. For Prenton it was their cup final and they soundly deserved to beat a spirited but inexperienced Northwich team 32-12. The Northwich points came from a try and conversion from Chris Dale and a late try from John Brotherton.

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13th November 1stXV vs Leigh (Away) Lost 60-0
If you want to know how the Canadian players, (70-0) or the Northwich Vics players, (5-0) felt on Saturday then ask the Northwich rugby team who were pummelled 60-0 at Round Ash Park, Leigh.
 Yes, Northwich are injury struck at the moment and yes Leigh are a very good outfit but some basic questions have to be asked about the Northwich tactics and style of play on a surface that resembled a paddy field rather than a rugby pitch. It was bitterly cold and windy and yet time and time again Northwich threw the ball about and over complicated the lineout with the result that the bustling Leigh players had a field day living off the Northwich mistakes. Despite instructions from the touchline Northwich lacked a decision maker on the pitch, they should have played it tight and up the middle but they rarely got the forwards running game going. They also kicked away possession to a team who since time immemorial have been renowned for their vicious counter attacks. Having said all that Leigh have an outstanding player in the shape of centre Paul Wilcock. Despite the conditions he moved beautifully and completely dominated the game. Exceptionally quick, a fierce tackler and consummate kicker he amassed 35 of Leigh's points.
In the first half he kicked a penalty, converted his own try and also converted tries from Peacock and Losty. Northwich had competed fairly well in the fist half but Losty's try on the stroke of half time put the game beyond a punch drunk Northwich. Chris James had come off after ten minutes through a nasty bang on the head and centre Chris Dale had been on the receiving end of too many bone crunching tackles from Wilcock. In the second half Northwich had the wind behind them and the advantage of the slope but it was Wilcock and the rest of the Leigh outfit who completely ran amok. Wilcock scored two further tries and kicked a penalty, his only failure was to miss the conversion of his last try but he converted tries from O'Reagan, Liku and Peacock. So ended the eight try demolition by Leigh, it was a game Northwich were never going to win but if they had played simple rugby and played with the aggression and passion displayed by number eight Graham Robinson, then it could have been a much closer affair.
 Northwich have a tough encounter with high flying Rochdale at Moss Farm this coming Saturday. With injury doubts over Fifita, Dale, Mills, Thompson and stalwart Rob Heath the home team have a big hill to climb.

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20th November 1stXV vs Rochdale - Cancelled
The atrocious weather of Wednesday and Thursday rendered the Northwich 1st XV pitch unplayable and forced the cancellation of the game against Rochdale on Saturday. In a way it was a bit of a godsend as it will give a string of injured players another week of recovery. It should mean that Kolo Fifita and Dean Thompson will be fit to play and if Rob Heath could only throw his hat into the ring Northwich may have a full squad to choose from. They have a friendly against Bury scheduled for this coming Saturday and could do with ironing out their game plan before visiting Southport the following week. Southport are doing badly and if Northwich are to stay in this league they need to take points from the seasiders both home and away.

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27th November 1stXV vs Rochdale Lost 38-0
Northwich began the game in a bright and positive manner. We were first to the ball and had a significant amount of possession. However Northwich were over ambitious trying to run from deep in the Northwich half. This did lead to a lot of turnover ball and eventually a penalty was conceded which Rochdale kicked to the corner. The ensuing lineout produced a well controlled driving maul that could not be stopped and led to the first try which was duly converted.
10 minutes Northwich 0 Rochdale 7
Northwich steadied the ship and appeared to be back on track when Rochdale attached from a lineout in their own half of the field and following a series of missed tackles they scored under the posts, which was again converted.
10 minutes Northwich 0 Rochdale 14
Once again Northwich rallied and on 20 minutes were given a penalty which Chris Dale failed to convert. Northwich then lapsed into a period of ill discipline during which time Rochdale were well on top. On 35 minutes Nick Blake was sin binned following a series of altercations with his opposite number. Resolute defending kept Rochdale out for the remainder of the half. On the point of half time there was a collision between John Brotherton and Chris Heywood.
Half Time Northwich 0 Rochdale 14
Unfortunately John Brotherton was unable to resume the second as he required a cut on the head stitching. With Nick Blake still in the sin bin Northwich were forced to go to passive scrums. With Northwich stretched Rochdale took immediate advantage and scored a try in the corner which was again converted.
45 minutes Northwich 0 Rochdale 21
Rochdale piled on the agony with an easy penalty.
46 minutes Northwich 0 Rochdale 24
With Nick Blake reinstated Northwich began their best passage. The forwards took control and a series of drives produced a lineout close to the Rochdale line. Northwich began a maul and looked certain to score but the maul collapsed leaving Nick Blake dazed and unable to take any further part in the game.
Northwich were still chasing that elusive score and conceded two late try’s both from broken play and both converted.
Final Score Northwich 0 Rochdale 38
Northwich played with a lot of spirit and on occasions were on top. With a fully fit squad we will be able to turn our season around.
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4th December 1stXV vs Southport Won 22-13
Northwich travelled to Southport on Saturday buoyed by Kolo Fifitas declaration of fitness and it was Kolo's contribution, to what was otherwise a fairly dank affair, that proved to be the deciding factor between two teams struggling to hit form.
 
Northwich found it hard to get into any rhythm and gave away early penalties, fortunately Southport did not have a kicker of ability and preferred to feed the ball to their big set of forwards.
 
Northwich defended well but their only big piece of meat in the shape of Graham Robinson left the field early with a damaged shin. He was replaced by sub Kirk Naylor who performed solidly for the remainder of the encounter.
 
Ten minutes of class from the Australian import Kolo ushered in try time for Northwich who for some weeks now appeared to have forgotten how to score. He sped through the centre to set up Chris Dale for a long awaited try which the ex England youth player failed to convert. Kolo then scored himself in quick succession; the first which Dale converted, resulted from a well taken lineout, fast hands delivered the ball to Kolo who zipped through the defence to score under the posts. His second try followed good defensive pressure which brought about a dropped pass which Kolo seized upon, Dale failed to convert but Northwich appeared to be cruising at 0-17.
 
There then followed a short period of Northwich inexperience and naivety.
The Southport pack had been trying throughout to rough up the younger Northwich players and one such attempt brought about a melee and the referee decided to sin bin Dale and the Southport hooker. As Dale was walking away Chris James foolishly kicked the ball away preventing Southport from playing the ball, the referee, quite rightly instructed James to join his team mate Dale behind the oppositions sticks. Ben Swinson kicked the penalty for Southport and gave them their first score of the game so far.
 
Half time came and went and shortly after the break, despite being two players down, a nifty break from scrum half Steve Taylor gave Northwich what should have been an unassailable lead at 3-22. Ian Bartlett missed the conversion but there was no real concern as the referee signalled that Dale and James could return to the fray. This seamed to spur on Southport who then pushed Northwich all the way to the finish.
 
A slap down in a Northwich lineout allowed Southport captain Mike Dale to pick up the loose ball and score in the corner, fortunately Swinson missed the conversion. Five minutes later, and again quite rightly, Northwich second row Jonathan Simpson was sin binned for uncalled for comments to the referee. Southport kicked ahead from the penalty and Ben Swinson was on the end of a lucky bounce to score unopposed, again, thankfully, he fluffed his kick.
 
The referee blew his whistle on a game which Northwich should have won by a much greater margin. Having said that it was a deserved and welcome win and will give the Northwich team some confidence for the encounter with fellow strugglers Warrington at Moss Farm this coming Saturday.
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11th December 1stXV vs Warrington Won 38-8
Christmas came early to Moss Farm on Saturday afternoon when a bumper President's day crowd witnessed cracker of a game. It was easily the best performance of the season so far by a Northwich outfit who possess the talent but who, up until Saturday, have consistently failed to live up to expectations.
Both teams had been him humbled by their pre match meeting with John Blower who was particularly paying tribute to the fundraising activities of the Warrington community. Northwich President John Cosgrove also accepted, on behalf of the club, Chris Dales framed England shirt. These two events seemed to inspire the Northwich players and they entered the fray looking much more confident than their fellow strugglers.
Over exuberance by Northwich resulted in a couple of early penalties and Warrington's Richard Eden drew fist blood with an easy shot at goal. Northwich back row player Dean Thompson who, by his own admission, has been off form lately broke from a subsequent scrum and fed stand off Chaz Wood who broke through the defence to put Chris Dale over for the first of his two tries, he converted this but in general he had a dad day with the boot missing two easy penalties and a conversion.
Although Northwich were dominating the lineouts it was a sloppy slap down which allowed Paul Thompson to seize on a loose ball and regain the initiative for Warrington. Eden failed with the conversion and from then on it was Northwich all the way. Kolo Fifita and Chris Dale showed some blistering pace and it was only final tackles that prevented both from crossing the line.It was a superb handling move which saw Chris James score under the posts only for Dale to fluff his conversion. The half finished 12 - 8 but Northwich looked by far the more dangerous team.
Despite loosing Fifita and winger Andy Allen early in the second through what are hopefully minor aggravations substitute Ricky Evans scored in the corner with his first touch and although Dale missed the difficult conversion he soon made ammends with a blistering break down the middle to score between the sticks, he converted to put the game beyond Warrington's reach at 24 - 8.
Rob Heath and Gez Gough scored further tries, both converted by Dale to give Northwich their biggest victory of the season so far.
Dale was the pick of the backs but mention must be given to Northwich hooker John Brotherton who had an outstanding game. With eight points Northwich now have clear blue water between them and Southport and Warrington who prop up the bottom of the league. Northwich should take comfort from their performance and although they have a tough fixture at Rochdale on Saturday they can easily fulfil their objective of staying up.
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18th December 1stXV vs Rochdale Lost 60-0
Believe it or not Northwich were well in this game until just before half time when a couple of soft defensive errors gave Rochdale an undeserved 20-0 lead. With five minutes of the first half remaining Northwich were fighting hard to come back from an Alan Bardenhorst try and a Chris Johnson penalty. Northwich then dropped the ball in their own 22 and Chris Johnson picked up, scored and duly converted to make it 15-0. The giant number eight South African Bardenhorst then scored from the base of a scrum to put the game beyond a sadly depleted Northwich team. Despite being without Chris Dale, Jan Cartman ( flu ), Kolo Fifita, Andy Allen and Chas Wood, ( injured ) stalwart forward Johnathan Simpson was called into work. The completely revamped back line did well to cope in the first half but from the start of the second it rapidly became one way traffic. The six foot five, 18 stone, Bardenhorst completely bossed the game and ripped the heart out of a gallant Northwich outfit. He scored another three tries and was instrumental in feeding the ball to the other Rochdale star Erin Howarth who ran in a hat trick. This nine try rout was made worse by the confident boot of Chris Johnson who converted six tries. Rochdale are pushing for promotion and it was never a game that in all probability Northwich were going to win but a full team would have helped but all credit to those who wore the Northwich shirt, they never gave in and battled to the end. Northwich now have a break before they take on Leigh at Moss Farm on January 8th. Leigh put sixty on Northwich in early November but I think the home team will give a much better account in 2005
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8th January 1stXV vs Leigh Lost 3-30
Leigh battered Northwich 60-0 at Leigh on November 13th last year and although Northwich put in a much improved display they were unable to match and contain the fire power of their Lancastrian visitors. It was a repeat performance in as much as the Leigh outside centre Paul Wilcock completely dominated the proceedings. Gifted with real pace and a formidable boot he amassed 20 of his teams points tally. Northwich were against a strong and bitter wind in the first half and at 15 nil down at half time must have fancied their chances in the second period. Wilcock had opened the scoring with a penalty and converted a Chris Bailey try to give Leigh an early 10 nil advantage. Northwich defended well but allowed Wilcock to cross in the corner just before the break. The wind blew his conversion off course but as long as Wilcock remained on the pitch the prospects for Northwich remained ominous. The second half started disastrously for Northwich when a slick handling movement saw Leigh's Paul Hunt score between the sticks, Wilcock duly converted to give Northwich a 22 point mountain to climb. Northwich pressure resulted in a Chris Dale penalty but despite incisive bursts from Kolo Fifita and Rob Heath, Dale's three points were all that the home team could muster. Wilcock hit back with a penalty and then sealed his polished performance with yet another try which he just failed to convert. The home side rallied and on a number of occasions pressured the Leigh goal line but were unable to break down their resolute defence.
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22nd January 1stXV vs Wirral Lost 36-10
Northwich travelled to Wirral buoyed by the confidence of fielding a virtually full strength team and for the majority of the first half looked as through they could grind out a deserved win. They dominated the play and fine work from Thompson, Dale and Fifita enabled Ian Bartlett to cross in the corner, Chris Dale failed with the conversion and reinforced the need for the men in black to find or school a quality kicker. Northwich continued to dominate but had difficulty in turning pressure into points. In a rare foray into the Northwich twenty two the visitors gave away a penalty for holding on. The Wirral captain Sean Kay converted to put his team back into the frame. With five minutes to go before the break the game completely turned around when the referee awarded a very dubious penalty try. The home team were driving a maul five meters from their opponents line when Kolo Fifita was judged to take the ball carriers legs and deliberately collapse the maul. The fact that defender Jonathan Simpson had grappled possession of the ball was clearly not taken into account. Kay converted and from the resulting kick off Wirral drove back up the pitch and again Kay did the damage and scored on the stroke of half time. He duly converted and amazingly Wirral were 17-5 up.
The Northwich outfit were gutted and the stuffing was knocked out of them when early in the second half a series of missed tackles allowed winger Ali Baker to score the softest of tries. Northwich rallied and Dean Thompson finished off a driving maul to make it 22-10. Dale missed the conversion but with fifteen minutes on the clock Northwich were still in with a chance. The visitors hopes were smashed to smithereens when firstly Graham Phelan and then Simon Hignett scored scrappy tries. Kay converted both giving Wirral a very flattering total. In a perverse way Northwich can take comfort from the result, they played very well for long periods and the return of Dave Massey in his new back row position augers well for the visit by Wigan next Saturday.
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29th January 1stXV vs Wigan Won 23-17
Northwich secured their first 'double header' of the season in a fiercely fought relegation battle at Moss Farm on Saturday afternoon. It keeps Southport and Wigan below the 'men in black' and Director of Rugby Don Phillips will continue to squeeze every ounce of effort from his squad to ensure Northwich stay clear of the drop zone. The win took Northwich up to ten points and realistically sixteen should ensure safety. Phillips has targeted Warrington, Southport and Sandbach as must win games but he is also convinced that a win on the Isle of Man this Saturday is not out of the question. The ex Northwich number eight forward thinks that the team is just starting to play to its potential and considers that a win against the Vagabonds could supply the extra impetus required to keep Northwich in their current league. The end of Saturdays game was soured by the sending off of Australian star Kolo Fifita for landing a retaliatory punch smack in front of South African referee Athol Sew. Kolo had an otherwise outstanding game and the normally mild mannered wing three-quarter will now have to await the referees report before appearing before the Cheshire RFU Disciplinary Panel. Chris James opened Northwich's account when he cheekily stole the ball from an advancing Wigan player and romped off to score in the left hand corner. Chris Dale failed with the conversion and was also off target with a couple of penalty attempts. Wigan hit back through a Chris Brand penalty before Northwich stretched their lead when Dave Massey finished off a slick set of passes to dive over to the right of the posts. Dale missed and handed over the next penalty attempt to Dean Thompsom who duly converted to give his team a deserved 13-3 interval lead. Things got even better when early in the second half Australian prop Nick Blake crashed over to complete a very impressive period of Northwich pressure. Thompson converted to give Northwich a 20-3 lead. Most loosing teams would have capitulated and played out the remainder of the match but Wigan are fighting their own relegation battle and threw everything but the kitchen sink into the last fifteen minutes of the half. The Wigan scrum half Danny Baker was inspirational and bossed his pack down to the Northwich tryline not once, but twice, to score nippy individual tries. Chris Brand converted both to put Wigan right back in the game at 20 -17 with five minutes to go. Northwich responded magnificently and bombarded the Wigan twenty two. Thompson converted a penalty and Northwich were again pressing when Kolo was sent off. The referee blew his whistle at the next breakdown to close the curtain on what might turn out to be a defining game in Northwich's tortuous season.
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5th February 1stXV vs Vagabonds (IOM) Won 30-3
Northwich won on the Island for only the second time in their history in a game which Director of Rugby Don Phillips considered to be the best performance of the season to date. The emphatic victory all but blew away the winds of relegation and the sixty strong Northwich party celebrated long into Sunday morning at the Isle of Man Hilton. If Northwich continue their form Phillips is confident that his squad can pick up another four to six points and scale the league to a mid table finish. Northwich dominated throughout and most importantly bossed both scrum and lineout. Jonathan Simpson controlled the lineout and new signing Olli Watts was impressive in the Northwich back row. It was the superiority of the Northwich pack which gave the Northwich backline the opportunity to shine and all four tries, one in the first and three in the second half were scored by an "on fire" three-quarter line. Chris Dale scored just before half time when he latched onto a clever Chas Wood kick ahead. Dean Thompson converted to add to his earlier two penalties. All the Vags could manage was a Bryan Kennah penalty and at 13-3 up at half time the Douglas rain stopped, the clouds dispersed and the Island was bathed in glorious sunshine. The sun obviously reminded Australian Kolo Fifita of home and inspired him to produce two quality second half tries. His first was made by winger Steve Calbraith and his second was created by full back Andy Joseph who had an outstanding game. Indeed it was a Joseph try which came in between Kolo's tries and again Steve Calbraith made the space to allow Andy to dive over in the corner. Dean Thompson could only convert the last try to complete a fantastic afternoon's work. It is a strong Vagabonds tradition to give a "man of the match" award and both teams coaching staff were unanimous in awarding the title and a large bottle of whisky to Northwich scrum half Steve Taylor. Steve never put a foot wrong all afternoon, his defensive kicking was superb and his attacking decision making was at the root of this excellent away victory.

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19th February 1stXV vs Sandbach Lost 7-12
Sandbach completed a 'double' over Northwich at Moss Farm on Saturday but it turned out to be a completely different encounter than the one at Sandbach in October when Northwich were smashed 50-0. In reality Sandbach were
fortunate to come away with a win and the margin of one score illustrates just how much Don Phillip's team has hit form. Northwich started at a blistering pace and a shell shocked Sandbach got out of jail when Chris James was adjudged to have not grounded a try. Northwich were fired up through the return of ex captain Rob Heath and his barnstorming carries inspired the rest of his pack. Northwich were camped in the Sandbach twenty two and were only kept at bay by some ferocious defensive tackles. Sandbach put in a long kick to touch, stole the lineout and a Northwich missed tackle allowed Tim Jones to score with their first venture into the Northwich half. The home team could not believe it and matters got worse when five minutes later a loose ball was flyhacked by Sandbach centre Dan Massey, he ran forward and the ball bounced into his arms and he scored between the posts. Andy Rawlins converted and Northwich were 0-12 down and facing a mountain to climb. Just before half time Jan Cartman was sin binned for stamping but this, if anything, roused the home team and again Rob Heath rallied his troops and bombarded the Sandbach line. Northwich winger Mike Lowe dived over in the corner but his foot had gone into touch and Northwich were denied for the second time. Halftime came and went and Northwich continued the pressure, they eventually broke through the Sandbach defence and Jonathan Simpson finished off a bruising forward rush. Chris Dale converted and at 7-12 it was 'game on' for Northwich. Rob Heath ran out of steam and was replaced by Dean Thompson, five minutes later Nick Blake swapped places with Daniel Davy at prop. If the intention was to inject fresh vigour it didn't work and Northwich seemed to loose their way a little. They were awarded a relatively easy penalty but Thompson hit the upright. Northwich applied further pressure and were camped on the Sandbach line when the full whistle blew.
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26th February 1stXV vs Broughton Park Lost 23-0
Match abandoned after 62 minutes owing to serious neck injury to Park player Steve Nicholas, result to stand. Northwich were off form on Saturday and failed to perform against high flyers Broughton Park who themselves put in a mediocre, lack luster display. Northwich were without Rob Heath who was away in Scotland on business. His absence was noticeable by the manner in which the Northwich pack in particular simply went through the motions. There was no sense of urgency and the set and open play lacked aggression and overall commitment. The Northwich team appeared overawed by their once famous visitors but in truth had Northwich turned up for this encounter they could have given a much better account against what was, on the day, a very average Broughton Park. Slack tackling allowed Steve Newton to cross the line after ten minutes of play, Peter Hawks converted and kicked two penalties to make it 0-16 at half time. Northwich had pressed on a couple of occasions but their deficit of a recognised kicker was yet again exposed when Dean Thompson missed two easy penalties. The Northwich pack were under pressure throughout and ten minutes into the second half Broughton number eight John Clifford was on the end of a push over try. Hawks converted to give the visitors a comfortable cushion. Broughton continued to press and were in the Northwich twenty two when Steve Nicholas injured his neck in a rucking situation. The player could not be moved until the paramedics arrived by which time the players had stiffened up and amicably decided not to continue the fray. Fortunately Leighton Hospital have confirmed that there is no permanent damage and that Nicholas will be discharged on Monday.
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12th March 1stXV vs Hoylake Lost 36-11
A depleted Northwich outfit were unable to complete the double against their Wirral hosts on Saturday. If Northwich had been up to strength and played with just a little commitment they could have blown away what was in reality a very average Hoylake team. Northwich were without both second row boilerhouses Chris Heywood and Jonathan Simpson and suffered a further late setback when Chas Wood and Ian Bartlett cried off. If there was ever a time for the present stalwarts to stand up to be counted this was their opportunity but unfortunately Northwich looked beaten from the start and allowed themselves to be pushed around by a team who did not deserve the respect Northwich gave them. The depleted men in black put up a little resistance in the first half and kept the difference to two first half tries from Rob Kirton and Ben Flint. Chris Dale kept Northwich in the chase with two penalties and at 10-6 Northwich had everything to play for in the second half.
Things went badly wrong when Northwich fullback Adam Bown broke his arm in a tackle and then shortly after Jan Cartman departed with a leg injury. At this stage Hoylake had already scored further tries through James Massey and Rob Kirton. The visitors showed how they should have played when Chris James finished off a good forwards play. Chris Dale failed with the conversion and the whole team could not repeat that small period of pressure. Holake scored two further tries from Mike Young and a second from Massey. Steve Young converted three of the four second half tries and put Northwich to the sword with a flattering scoreline

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