Cracking start to Vale of Lune tournament

Warm sunshine, a large and vocal crowd, good playing surface and excellent all round organisation provided the perfect ingredients for a great day out. Rossendale were up against the hosts , masquerading as the Saxons , in match one, and were keen to put on a good show for the crowd. The pace was fast and frenetic and by half time Rossendale had sped to a 3-1 lead, courtesy of stong running and "bendy legs" from the deadly duo Ieuan Bissell and Dan Stevens (2).
The fighting spirit was well captured by a brave try saving tackle from Luke Entwistle right on half time, and the prospects looked good at the break.
However this was always going to be a tough gig as the tournament was attended by some excellent rugby clubs , well drilled with free flowing passing and well organised defences. The hosts were no exception and came out at pace, before we knew it they were 3-4 up. It says a lot for this group that they do not give up and admit defeat easily, and so Ieuan drove through the Saxons ranks to draw Rossendale level at the death, cue pandemonium and that was just the parents- the team was quite happy too.
The post match analysis suggested that we should have held the lead, the Saxons scored when we conceded possession with uncharacteristic handling errors or failure to choose the easy pass. But it was a core aim to gain valuable experience and learning, so undaunted we headed off to warm up for the Preston Grasshoppers, whom we were warned would prove a stern challenge.
The second half golden moment belonged to Jack Tracey who embarked on a driving " wrecking ball" venture into the Saxons defence, which had Gary licking his lips for next year. Great stuff Jack !