Im lovin it !

Well that’s another derby game in the bag and a sataysfying result at the end of the day.

However we shouldn’t get carried away as the score line should and could have been by a much wider margin. Whilst there were moments of good rugby it was tempered by too many errors. Overall the game could be described as being sweet and sour nonetheless several of our tries were crackers.

The Dale lads were full of beans from the outset and took the game to Rochdale literally camping within their 22 for much of the first 15-20 minutes of play. The resultant pressure took an early toll on Rochdale when some good phases of play ( during a sweet moment) led to a Kane Bevan try on the wide left.

Dale continued the pressure but mistakes saved Rochdale’s bacon and despite several good chances it was on 25 minutes before that man Sharratt popped up and weaved his way through the defence to score to the right of the uprights.

At half time Dale remained only 10-0 ahead but a rocket in the ear during the half time sermon did the trick and Dale responded with a try after only 2 minutes. Will Sharratt once more showing great class to outstrip the defence with his guile and strength.

Five minutes later and it looked like the flood gates might open. A great period of play down the right side saw Leo into space and sprint towards the try line. Fantastic piece of draw the man and pass out to the supporting winger Will Nowell ensured a clean sprint to the line with the defence outdone. Great backing up and a great piece of unselfish play from Leo to ensure the try was scored.

Will Sharratt added the conversion.

Rochdale then had a period of sustained pressure and testament to Dales defence in keeping them out in what was a good period for the home side.

Some good forward work however from Danny Rylance, Mason and Joe led to the ball being worked back up into the Rochdale half. Up popped Ben Skelton ( the tank) who without the guile of a speedy back did a full on charge for the line , taking three defenders on a little walk as he went forward, he managed to power his way out of the tackle and tore over the line for a great try.

Jake Mann added the extras.

If I was a betting man I probably wouldn’t have put a steak on either Will or Bens name being on the score sheet but it was great to see them do that and how they both celebrated. Nice one.

The try was the final piece of meat in the sandwich and concluded the events for the day.

Injuries did take a toll through the later stages of the game losing some influential players like Leo and JR which interrupted the flow. Credit to the lads coming on to the field though for really stepping up to the mark particularly Jasp with his bloody nose and all.

There were many other good points worthy of a mention but I can only use selected nuggets from the game otherwise we would be here all night. What we can takeaway however from yesterday is a good team spirit, willingness to work hard and with a little fine tuning be ready to meet up with West Park this Sunday for what promises to be a belter.

Many thanks also to Don Lewis for playing his part and stepping up as a literally last minute replacement referee.