Bury (39) vs (19) Rossendale

Despite being on the end of what appears to be a big defeat the game was quite the contrary and the Rossendale lads need to be proud of what they achieved today. Bury have grown immensely over the last few years as a team and they are currently lying third in the top group of the Blacksticks challenge with only defeats by West Park, Preston and Aldwinians recorded against them.

Our lads have not played since 21/12/08 nor trained on grass since - can anyone remember ? i cant but im thinking it is pre November.

Their lads expected a walk over today and thought we would be a soft touch. You proved them wrong and i would class your efforts as ranking amongst one of the grittiest displays i have seen from a team. It wasnt just gritty there was class with the way we kept turning their ball over to us and it was the never say die attitude that really impressed me.

I asked the lads today to go out and just make sure Bury knew they had been in a game and they did more than that with a bit more on top as well. A half time 15-12 score line and with us proving to be the stronger side at the time i bet Bury wondered what hit them.
WELL DONE.

If we can get some training under our belts in certain areas we can tighten up on some our mistakes and only improve.Obviously the weather and state of pitches has been a major hinderence to us in our development this year but lets keep on getting stuck in and keep trying.We have a good team spirit well in evidence today and despite some set backs im sure we all continue to enjoy it.

Some great performances out there today and some very brave lads for carrying on despite suffering substantial injuries which all goes to show what a great team spirit we have.

We also have lads that played today with very little experience about rugby being new comers to the game - keep at it your are doing really well and you will soon pick things up.

One thing i did forget to mention today was a fund raising event on saturday 31st january. We have an organised bag pack at Asda.Our times for doing this is between 1pm and 2:30 pm and we need a minimum of 14 lads to take part. The proceeds all go to the junior section and will benefit our team either for new equipment, modes of transport for travelling or whatever. I would appreciate as many as possible taking part it is after all only an hour and a half.If anyone has any problems and cant do it please let me know asap.

the following is the report forwarded to the free press for todays game.

The Rossendale U14's travelled to a very strong Bury outfit on Sunday and despite a 39-19 defeat came away with their heads held high. The Dale team have not trained on grass since October yet proved to be more than a handful for their hosts who were probably a bit shell shocked by the tenacity and perseverence of their visitors. In the first half, tries by Man of the Match Joe Andrews and Harry Clark with a conversion by Sam Bedlow saw the visitors finish 15-12 down at half time. The second half started poorly for Rossendale, they conceded more scores early on before Sam Lowthion touched down for a breathtaking try to bring the vistors right back in it. Sam Bedlow added the conversion
A later score by Bury saw off any hopes of a come back but this in no way diminished the efforts of the Rossendale lads who played well above themselves given the lack of Rugby opportunities of late .
Joseph Williams took the Improving player award and Mason Wells takes a mention for a brave performance despite several injuries.

Many thanks to the parents for their support today. Dont forget about wednesday training if you can make it .

Regards
John