Rossendale 42 - 29 Dukinfield

Well what a difference a week makes and a welcome home game. This was the season debut for the 14s at home against a strong Dukinfield side who we have normally provide Dale with stiff test. This game was no different to previous past battles with them. They came short of a player and luckily we had a few spares, so a big thank you goes to Henry Higgins and Andy Shaw who turned out for the duckies in each half. Dale got off to a flying start with the consistent Ben Cameron crossing for a great solo try in the corner. Rossendale really came together as a team this morning, showing great effort and all round team spirit. The forwards finally managed to take control of a free running duckies side, and this resulted in a try for a deserving Josh Harrison. 2 more quick tries from Ben Cameron and great try from Felix Ellis , added to the dale score before half time. Alas, unusually, Kyle Entwistle appeared not to have his kicking boots and only managed 1 conversion. The half time scoreline of 27-0 to the home team gave Dale the chance to switch things round in second half and give everybody a runout.

A very different duckies side emerged after half time and brought the fight to Dale. 2 early tries and a conversion saw them post 12 points before Dale woke up. A quick drive over from Jordan Payne saw Dale respond and begin to rally. 2 more great tries from Kyle Entwistle and Henry Higgins gave Dale a brief gap in scoreline. However, to Dukinfield’s credit, they came on strong and posted 3 more tries, to take it to a creditable full time score of Rossendale 42 Duckinfield 29.

The Rossendale man of match award could have gone to any number of people but was awarded to Josh Harrison, a young man in his first season of rugby playing in the forwards.