Rossendale U13s 30* - 0 Trafford MV

Round 6 of the Blacksticks Blue Challenge qualifying pool saw Trafford MV due to visit Rossendale, but due to availability of fit pitches, the game was played at Macpherson Park. A bout of illnesses saw Rossendale travel with 14 players, meaning they needed to play the game a player short. However, that didn’t prevent the Rossendale lads taking control of the game and getting the edge on Trafford in both the forwards and backs.

The first try came after 10 minutes, when the pack won a scrum against the head, and Mark Rutherford-Shaw picked up the ball from base of the scrum and ran in from the half way line his first try. A few minutes later, a planned lineout move caught the Trafford defence napping and ended with Mark Rutherford-Shaw dotting the ball down under the posts. The conversion was successfully kicked by PJ Butler. Rossendale’s next try came from Ciaran Cambell, immediately followed by a lovely solo try from Tom Unsworth, who received the resulting kick off and jinked his way through the Trafford defence from deep in Rossendale’s half; PJ Butler added the extras. The next try was again from a lineout move, and again ended with Mark Rutherford-Shaw scoring, with PJ Butler adding the conversion. PJ Butler shortly after proved how important support play is and popped up as the last man to score his try, which he also converted. This score ended the game as it breached the largest points difference allowed in the competition rules.

However, a follow-up training game was played, and Trafford appeared to be matching the Rossendale lads for the first 10 minutes, until a piece of solid forwards work saw the ball recycled through several phases and left debutant Morgan Cornell with 10 metres to run to score. Jordan Fortune got a well-deserved try, Tom Unsworth scored his second and PJ Butler scored two conversions.

There were many candidates for Rossendale’s Man of the Match after an excellent team performance, but was awarded to Max Lyth who adapted well to playing out of position at flanker and make his impact at nearly every breakdown.

Thanks to Roy and the lads down at Trafford for making sure the game was played, and credit to the Trafford boys who's heads never dropped and were much closer to the Rossendale team that the score suggests.