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3rd XV Match Reports 2011-12
January 28th 3rd XV vs Bowdon (Away) Lost 17-15
Northwich 3rds visited a very damp and boggy Bowdon in the next round of the Cheshire Cup. Northwich started strongly and put Bowden's big and experienced pack on the back foot. Liam Gough kept the hosts guessing with a mixture of great tactical kicking and some crisp passing to unleash a young and keen Northwich back line. Bowden's experience showed and they put the Northwich pack under pressure at every scrum. But Northwich kept them camped firmly in a defencive mode in their half. Spotting an opportunity Liam Gough nudged Northwich ahead with an ugly yet affective drop goal and Northwich tails were up. Northwich were forced to make an early substitution after Nick Braitch fell (or was he dropped) on his ankle at a line-out, being a Paratrooper Nick isn't used to fall of 4ft and landing properly! Liam Gough took a break for 10mins after stopping Bowden taking a quick penalty, this unsettled the Northwich game and Bowden were right back in it and after a constant barrage of runs from the Northwich backs, Bowden made a break and scored against the run of play. A few more Bowden attacks were foiled by some great tackling, Mike Eaves punching well above his weight knocked Bowden's big runners back. Seizing an opportunity as the ball showed itself at the side of a ruck Northwich's 9 Sam Jones kicked the ball clear, a few more dodgy kicks forward and great support play from Tom 'Teddy' Sherridan with a final kick through he scored Northwich's first try, which was then converted by Chris Shepperd. After the break and having to play up a considerable slope the Northwich forwards struggled to get out of their half, and spent a great deal of time defending. Northwich backs did not see much ball in hand but defended superbly well, Andy O, Chris Shep and Rob Welby all tackling like their lives depended on it. The pressure told in the end and Bowden scored again. Earlier in the season this would have killed the game and Northwich would have folded but this seemed to strengthen the resolve and back came Northwich at the now tiring Bowden team. After a super run by Chris Shepperd he was bundled into touch just as he tried to round the last player. Northwich won the line-out, Sam Jones picked the ball up on the 10 metre line in the Bowden half through a dummy to beat the Bowden 7 and then jinked and stepped his way through the Bowden defence to score a great individual try and Northwich's second. Liam Gough narrowly missing the conversion. Trailing by just 2 points Northwich battled on and Bowden defended the strong running of the Northwich backs, and great work from the Northwich forwards, Sam McCormick putting in some big hits in defence and making ground with bursts of power from the back of the scrum linking well with Sam Jones. In the dying moments of the game Northwich were awarded a penalty and decided to go for a kick from halfway to try to win the game, Chris Shepperd fell short and Bowden were victorious. Superb effort from a young and growing team, notable performances from Mike Eaves, Chris Shepperd, Mike Gough and man of the match Andy O.
Bowden 17; Northwich 15 (Tries: Teddy Sheridan, Sam Jones, Conversion Chris Shepperd, Drop Goal Liam Gough)
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February 18th 3rd XV vs Old Bedians (Away) Draw 24-24
Having been given a walk over in the game earlier in the season Northwich 3’s were not sure what to expect when OB’s came to Moss Farm. In the end it was a very closely matched game, ending honours even at 24 points a piece.
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