Arduous day at Chester for the Rugby Seconds.

Its never an easy place to go and play rugby at in the best of circumstances but with the second team facing a barrel full of team changes from the previous week and forwards having to ply their trades in unaccustomed positions within the backs ranks the level of difficulty to take much from this game was significantly magnified.
Added to the woes was the heat factor , somewhere in the region of 30c which according to the experts is increased by around 5c when playing on a 4g pitch which Chester has installed and it felt like it too. Chester also had a host of subs on the bench whilst Rossendale played with a bare 15. That had a big part to play later in the game when fresh legs were definately needed for the visitors.
Dale started breezily enough and some good defensive team efforts kept Chester at bay . However it wasnt long before Chester realised that their speed around the outside was their winning factor and two tries in quick succession saw Dale on the back foot.
Slowly but surely though Rossendale started to claw their way back into the game and didnt allow the home side to have it all their own way. Scrummaging was strong for Dale and some decisive running penetrated Chesters defensive line on more than one occassion . Despite falling behind to another score Rossendale responded with two well taken penalty goals by AJ Potgieter to bring the score to 19-6. The half time hooter was about to sound when a lucky bounce got the better of Dales defence and Chester capitilised with a further score which was a shame for the effort the Dale lads had put into the half and just tipped the balance of the game back to Chester.
The Second half didnt start well for Rossendale with further tries recorded quickly for the home side. Dales response was good and again the effort and commitment the lads were putting into this match didnt justify them going so far behind but Dale couldnt captilise further. As the game continued the heat took its toll on the Rossendale side and they couldnt match the speed of the more mobile Chester team nor match the defensive strengths they had in the first half and literally ran out of steam.
The game finished at 76-6 for Chester but whilst disappointment was evident the Seconds were content that they had given their all on the day and did in the end take alot of positives from the game.
Whilst the whole team can be proud of how they conducted themselves some performances worthy of note included the Captain for the day Hayden Wells who had a great game in the inside centre role , AJ who was a real thorn in the side of Chester with his terrier like approach, Scott Marshall and Kieron Parker , two bigs lads who ran their blood to water and Jay Wilson who made his debut for the team . Jays first half performance was as good as what it gets.
Post match interviews with the coaches showed no change from Pottsy , still as tight as a nats chuff whilst new arrival Terrence said in his homeland tongue "bloedige goeie moeite maat".
Next week the seconds are at home to Blackburn with a 3pm kick off.