Preston Grasshoppers belatedly got their Lancashire Cup campaign off to a winning start against Vale of Lune.
Sam Gale captained the Hoppers' side, missing Andrew Hughes through a shoulder injury, against their North Lancashire rivals.
The game, officiated by RFU referee Andy Taylorson, began with Grasshoppers’ stand-off, Sam Hargreaves kicking deep into Vale’s twenty-two, being fielded by the defending wing, the ball subsequently being played into touch for a Grasshopper throw. The first of many lineout’s that Ryan Wilkinson and Matthew Hardman provided excellent ball procession for the backs to move through their hands out to the wide positions.
In the scrum, Tristan Hodge provided good ball from hooker, to scrum-half Tom Kin, before having to leave the field after an excellent defensive catch, that attracted a heavy but fair challenge from Vale’s Matthew Robinson. Robinson, in partnership with David Harrison, proved determined in defence.
Although the game was played in a calm, bright autumn morning, the heavy dew resulted in a number of missed chances for both teams, as the ball proved to be slippery in the tense condition of play. The deadlock was eventually broken by a Preston try under the posts, scored by James Worlock. Ben Rhodes Powers, Ben Swift and Thomas Deakin recorded Hoppers’ later scores.
Despite some intense pressure from the Lancaster team, Grasshoppers managed to maintain their line with good tackling and defensive play from Matthew Beatty, Ben Lever and fullback Jack Wilkinson. The coaches were also pleased with the input to the game by all twenty two registered players who contributed fully to the team’s maiden win in the Lancashire competition, acknowledging a number of improvements that the squad as a whole need to work upon in training.
Chris Johnson - Preston Grasshoppers
(328) Sefton 0* Aldwinians 30* (images by Diane Simmons - Aldwinians)
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(330) Bolton 12 Waterloo 10
An exciting game of rugby between two good squads of players ended with the honours going to Bolton in a very tense finale.
Throughout the game Bolton tried to advance through their powerful forwards whereas Waterloo were more organised and looked to spread the ball. Nathan Stansfield, Seb Reilly and Daniel Doyle featured frequently in Bolton surges. Sam Towers organised well from scrum-half and Alex Lawless had a great first outing at full-back. The opening score was a cracking 70 metre run from debutant winger Richard Gallagher. After a period of intense forward pressure Mathew Robinson jinked over for a score. Waterloo replied with a well worked score in the corner on half-time.
In the 2nd half Waterloo came into it more as Bolton tired. A 2nd try reduced the deficit to two points. Bolton rallied to see the game out and looked to have done enough as Nathan Stansfield, Sam Towers and Richard Gallagher all went close. However Waterloo counter-attacked with the last play of the game ad won a kickable penalty.
Tension all round the ground as Waterloo lined up the final kick of the game. Luckily for Bolton the ball drifted under.
The entire game was played in a super spirit; a real advert for rugby.
Mark Robinson - Bolton
(333) Tarleton 30* Blackpool 0 (mobile phone images by Steve Mann - Tarleton)
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Not quite what we had in mind, but Tarleton's Steve Mann registers a first!
This was a really entertaining match played by in a great spirit by two really enthusiastic teams on a lovely autumn morning.
The final score does not do Blackpool justice as their players matched the home side for much of the match. The highlight of the morning though was the four try haul from Tarleton’s number eight, Ryan Ball. At the final whistle Blackpool and Tarleton were both rewarded by great round applause from both sets of supporters. A big thank you to the Tarleton players who helped to balance out numbers by playing for Blackpool; and a big thank you to referee Mr Wood for his limited use of the whistle!
(334) Rochdale 7-21 Fylde
Rochdale welcomed Fylde to their club in Bamford for a Lancashire Junior Competition match between the two sides. The conditions were excellent for rugby and the referee was neutral. The sides were physically equally matched and the game got underway on time.
Fylde scored in the first minute with a long run from their fast inside-centre, which was converted. Rochdale's pack was led well by Binns and their captain Castree kept Rochdale together. Fylde then took advantage of the gaps in the wing and scored then converted another try, leaving Rochdale 14 points down. Fylde scored again after half-time, converting it to put Rochdale down by 21 points.
Rochdale bounced back with a fantastic run from Pickersgill from inside his own 22 to the opposing try line and scored a brilliant try. Rochdale's kicker Garvey then did an amazing job from the touchline to convert, giving Rochdale a total of 7 points.
The forward play from Rochdale towards the end of the match was excellent, with many scrums being won from Fylde's put-ins because of Rochdale's powerful driving. Sadly their greatly improved performance in the second half was not enough to claim the match. Overall, the squad tried incredibly hard and their standard of play gained the respect of the Fylde team.
By James Kenny, Rochdale Under 13s Player
Under 14s:
(430) Fylde 33* Southport 3 (images by John Roper - Fylde)
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From the kick off, the visitors soon forced a scrum on Fylde’s 22m line. Fylde won the ensuing ball which was swiftly passed out to centre Tom Higham. He sprinted towards Southport’s line, and Ralph Dowds was in support to record an early score.
The home side soon reasserted pressure after the restart and eventually Higham made another dangerous break, being brought down just short. Scrumhalf Alex Roper stole the ball at the resultant ruck and bounced off an upright to score, converted by Emilio Arciniega.
Despite conceding early points, Southport started to apply some pressure and enjoyed a lengthy spell in the Fylde 22, eventually winning a penalty. Lock forward Tom Johnson converted.
Fylde recovered as number 8 Jacob Nickson grounded a fine try on the wing after a strong run through a despairing defence, the final score of an error riddled first half. The forwards immediately won the ball back after the interval, which was fed out to Higham who darted in a try under the posts. Arciniega converted.
Despite a number of tactical changes Fylde now seemed to step up a gear and the scoreboard ticked over again with a lineout steal in Southport territory. Nickson and, later, James Aird scored. Arciniega converted both.
Fylde lock Michalis Papangelis escaped down the blind side from a maul, only to see the field open up in front of him, no opposition in sight, and the try line some 40m away. Michalis will be the first to admit that he isn’t built for speed and he lumbered off with no real hope of getting there but gave it his best! Nickson completed an excellent all-round performance in getting his first hat-trick.
With Fylde banking the result, both sets of coaches organised a re-formed training game. Southport now played some of their best rugby, giving their hosts a serious defensive workout.
John Roper - Fylde
Under 15s:
(523) West Park 17 Eccles 12 (images by Bernie Raynard - West Park)
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This was a really tough competition match for both teams, but a match to remember.
After going behind very early on West Park picked themselves up and started to play their brand of rugby. Hard work throughout the match from the forwards set up a platform for the team to play off and score tries, which they eventually did. Their were mistakes form both sides which led to a very open game of rugby, which suited the occasion.
Tries scored by Adam Price(2) and Thang Hampson(1) with one try converted by Jonathon Gorst. West Park eventually won the match after going behind twice and puts them in a good position to qualify for the next round.
Jackie Gorst - West Park
Under 16s:
(625) Waterloo 18 Fleetwood 22 (images by Russ Foden - Fleetwood)
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Fleetwood opened brightly but a loose pass allowed Waterloo’s winger to kick on and score in the corner within the first 5 minutes. The visitors’ forwards were slow in reaching the rucks, conceding regular turnover ball. Danny Maher and Adam Dawson rose to the challenge, as Fleet’ began to take the game to Waterloo. Quick ball from the ruck saw Maher break the gain line and off-load in the tackle to Keiron Teale, who passed outside to Kris Phillips and who out-stripped the defence to score under the posts.
The pack picked up the pace when prop Alistair White hit a gap with George Worthington and Tom Hird in support. The home side defended well and regained possession. From the ensuing ruck, Fleetwood were penalised for the use of hands in the ruck and went into half time 7-8 down.
The second half saw little change in the tight way the game was played but Phillips scored the try of the match. Controlling the ball deep in his own 22m he picked off the Waterloo defence single-handedly with pace and dexterity to run 90 yards to score in the corner. Waterloo gave away a penalty for coming in from the side and Tom Evans kicked for 3 points. There was no respite as the home side came back strongly and again scored in the right hand corner.
Turnover ball was now being won by Fleet’ with the impressive Dawson, supported ably by Maher, causing most of the damage. Scrum-half Evans kicked on a loose ball after a sloppy pass by the home side and appeared to be held as he tried to score but James Cameron was in close support and dived to touch down despite the close attentions of the Waterloo defence. Evans again converted before Waterloo scored their third try towards the end of the game.
It was an excellent match - end to end stuff - played in great spirit - referee Mr Christopherson had a very good game too - very fair and even handed. Special mention to all the Coaching staff at Waterloo for making us feel so welcome (some clubs could learn a lot from Waterloo). All in all a fine advert for Rugby.
Vaughan Evans - Fleetwood
(626) Aldwinians 17 Fylde 10
Fylde travelled to Aldwinians in round 3 of the Lancashire Junior Challenge, and lost out 17 points to 10 in a hard fought encounter.
Fylde's scorers were Cal Mackenzie and Charles Hough with a try apiece, though Hough missed both conversion attempts. Fylde's three nominated props, Ross Andrews, Tom Fox and Niall Cartmell, who is able to prop but normally plays second row, deserve special mention as they put in a hard shift in the front row.
Jamie Robertson also contributed an encouraging debut performance on the wing. Although disappointed by the result, the squad gave their all and 21 boys thoroughly enjoyed the match and returned home with a bonus point.
Ian Cosh - Fylde
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