Rossendale U11s - Muddy Marvels

The Coaches & supporters were all unanimous in their praise for the Rossendale U11s today for their tenacity at sticking to the task against a powerful Old Aldwinians side in atrocious weather conditions at the Marl Pits ground.

The game started with the rain lashing down on the players and temperatures not far above freezing. From the outset the visitors were intent on using their big forwards to crash through the Rossendale defence and to their credit the home side were able to withstand the relentless pressure from the visitors with a series of determined tackles from Haig Howarth, Elliot Newell & Josh Beeken and fierce rucking bolstered by Sam Ashworth, Tyler Johnson, Noah Taylor & Oliver Leah. The onslaught could only be repulsed for so long and after 8 minutes the inevitable score came to be followed by 4 more in the first half.

The second half, with Rossendale enjoying the benefit of playing downhill, was a more balanced affair. Old Aldwinians scored first, once again using their big powerful runners & despite good positional play and heroic tackling from Rowan Hopkinson, Connor Ferguson and Dan Dunham, Old Aldwininans breached the Rossendale Defence.

Without doubt however the biggest cheer of the morning came when Joe Bedlow won the ball, at the breakdown and passed to Nathan Waddington who broke free & fed the ball to Fin Wilby who crossed the try line for Rossendale, concluding a spell of pressure from the home side, who had been stubbornly parked in the Old Aldwinians half for several minutes. Some try saving tackles including one from Ieuan Dwyfor-Jones inches short of the try line, kept the visitors at bay until the dying seconds of the match, when they scored a try to seal the final score at 5-35.

All credit to both sides for competing in such terrible weather, particularly the Rossendale lads who despite the score line never let their heads go down & can be proud of their performance.

There was no Man of the Match this week as the coaches felt everyone deserved the praise.

Final score Rossendale 5 - Old Aldwinians 35