Aldwinians U13s 15 - 24 Rossendale U13s

Rossendale U13s travelled to East Manchester hoping to repeat the comfortable win from the home fixture against Aldwinians earlier in the season, although a look at some of their recent results suggested this would be a different encounter. Due to the residual Easter holidays, Rossendale travelled with only 14 players, but sportingly 2 of the home-side’s players offered to play a half each for Dale to make up a full complement. The rain stayed away for the fixture, but the wind didn’t, and that would make for a difficult kicking game ahead. The home side won the toss, and elected to receive the kick off at the start of what would become an evenly matched game, played in a good spirit.

The first five minutes comprised of both sides trying to get the upper hand, with the Rossendale forwards trying to batter their way through the defence and Aldwinians pushing the ball out to midfield and the wings to go round the Dale line. The stalemate was broken after a good Rossendale scrum, where Mark Rutherford-Shaw picked up from the base and burst through to score, and despite the strong lateral winds, PJ Butler converted for the extras. For the next ten minutes, both sides cancelled each other out until Aldwinians got the ball out the left wing and exploited a gap in the defence to score their first try. Dale came back straightaway, after a strong chase of the restart, and where Dale reacted more quickly at the first breakdown with Rhys Tighe stealing the ball and streaking down the wing to score. Aldwinians scored their second try just before half time, which made the score Aldwinians 10 – 12 Rossendale.

The second half continued in a similar manner, until Rhys Tighe pounced on a loose ball just inside the Aldwinians half and ran 40m to score his second try, again nicely converted by PJ Butler. Rossendale’s fourth try was the best, from a team perspective; it started with a strong chase off a clearing kick into the home-side’s 22, and Man of the Match Isaac Cornwall reacted instantly when the ball spilled and dived to recover the ball. This turned into 5 or 6 phases of pick and drive play, each time getting closer to the try line. Eventually, the Aldwinians defence managed to get the ball but were pushed into touch for a Rossendale lineout. A well-executed short lineout saw Mark Rutherford-Shaw sprint through to score his second try. Aldwinians rounded off the game with a consolation try, with the final score Aldwinians 15 – 24 Rossendale.

Thanks to Danny, Nick and the lads from Aldwinians for a game that was closely matched, good to watch and well refereed, with special thanks to Will and Tico for playing a half each for Dale. Thanks also to all the parents and supporters who provided transport and support!

It was a pleasing performance today - I saw some of the things we've been working on in training executed well today, and if we remember to keep doing the basics well, we will keep improving.

Whilst Isaac got Man of the Match, and Rhys and Mark bagged a pair each, the whole team stepped up and gave 100%. There should be a few special mentions :

• Jordan Fortune was everywhere today, hitting tackle after tackle and played his heart out
• Ciaran Campbell had a super game both in attack and defence
• Michael Brierley, in only his third game, had a cracker
• Bradley Harris, with one of my favourite moments with Brad driving 3 Aldwinians defenders (who were all bigger than him) back 10m with some excellent technique, aggression and desire

Well played to all and we'll prepare in training for our final match of the season against Ashton-Under-Lyne on 28th April.