Rossendale U14s victorious at Aldwinians Tournament.

They played 6 games, winning all of them and only conceding one try throughout the day. Throughout all of the games, Rossendale maintained a very high tempo, retaining and recycling the ball safely and quickly, ruthlessly exploiting attacking opportunities whilst defending fiercely to repel most attacks. The team play was a joy for the many travelling parents and supporters to watch as Dale played much of their best rugby of the season.

The first of the pool games saw Rossendale beat Littleborough 36-nil, with the Rossendale tries coming from Rhys Tighe, Jordan Fortune, James Willetts, Mark Rutherford-Shaw and two from Tom Haigh plus three conversions from James Willetts. Their next game saw them face the hosts, with the final score being Rossendale 38-5 Aldwinians. The Rossendale scores came from tries from Callum Pelling, James Willetts, Tom Haigh and a hat-trick from Rhys Tighe, plus three conversions from James Willetts and one from Ciaran Campbell. Rossendale’s tails were well and truly up now, as they went into face Broughton Park, a team that they had not previously played. This game was not as high scoring, but Rossendale still managed to dominate the possession and win the game 15-nil, after tries from Jordan Fortune, James Willetts and Michael Brierley. Rossendale’s fourth game of the tournament saw them up against another side they had not faced, Wrexham, who appeared to have had a very good season with some significant scalps under their belt. Dale set to the job in hand, keeping the pressure on the Welsh visitors and broke through with a try from Rhys Tighe. Further tries from James Willetts and Mark Rutherford-Shaw, plus a conversion from James Willetts, saw Rossendale win 17-nil. The final game of the pool stages saw Rossendale facing Glossop & Marple. This game ended Rossendale 34-0 Glossop & Marple, with the Rossendale score coming from Rhys Tighe, Tom Haigh, Idrees Nazir and two apiece from Michael Brierley and Jordan Fortune, plus conversions from James Willetts and Jordan Fortune.

This put Rossendale firmly at the top of the league tables and facing a team they had previously beaten, Broughton Park, in the final. After getting this far without defeat, the pressure was on Dale to hold their nerve and push for the silverware in the final game of the day. They did not disappoint, and came out very strongly and ran out the victors, with the final score Rossenale 24-0 Broughton Park. The Rossendale scores came from tries for Rhys Tighe, Isaac Cornwall, Mark Rutherford-Shaw, Tom Haigh and Ciaran Campbell and conversions for James Willetts and Rhys Tighe. The victory in this tournament crowned a season that has seen the lads really develop, whilst adding several new players, and prove that the future at Rossendale RUFC looks very bright indeed.

Well played lads - superb team performance that you can all be really proud of. I can't wait for next season!