Character building Snow Sunday

We've had a few weeks this season where we have been disappointed and surprised to have games called off. Today it was surprising to get a text saying the match was ON , and even more so as we waded across the sodden ground - and then came the snow , hail and wind - we were grateful for the tent but longed for the bacon rolls , 3 matches to play.

And so to the games - to be fair the main point to make is that ALL players from ALL teams acquitted themselves with excellent application in appalling conditions which worsened as the games progressed. For the record, Rossendale emerged victorious by 4-2 against Preston Grasshoppers in game one. The teams traded tries in the first half to be 2-2 but the second half belonged to the home team who piled on the pressure playing downhill to emerge 4-2 winners. The game ended with a mazy solo run from Jack Tracy , options to the left and right heading to a dead end but an amazing right turn opened up a corridor in the snow, cue the dive and slide then he was over in celebration - the crowd found a great excuse to warm their hands and it rounded off a fine performance. Tom " I'm so tired " Leech opened the scoring with a characteristic blistering run, followed by 2 Rownator efforts owing much to persistence and determination. Great to see Rowan rightly earning man of the match for consistent effort and hard work, with Ben Barnes the tackle hero making some heroic saves to keep Preston out early in the game.

We all froze in the tent while Littleborough overcame Preston , by now the cold was biting , the wind driving, the snow sweeping across the hills and the pitch a sodden quagmire. Despite conditions akin to an assault course both Rossendale and friendly rivals Littleborough played out another tight epic struggle which ended 1-0 to the visitors , rarely are these sides separated by more than one score. This final game saw some great play from both sides, with real commitment and bravery in the tackle - as demonstrated by Max Dunn who earned tackle hero for the third time , but ably supported again by Ben and Rowan, however it was Jason Wilkinson who earned man of the match honours for a fantastic all round scrum half performance - good distribution, marshalling , running and above all courageous tackling - well done Jason !
Also a mention for Luke Entwistle , clearly struggling like many with cold hands, but never gave up, dug deep and showed superb heart for his team, that's what it's all about.

Hope everyone has thawed out, let's hope for a bright sunny day next week :-) well done to all players from all teams today.