1st XV
Matches
Sat 19 Oct 2019  ·  North Two West
Manchester Rugby Club
1st XV
62
15
De La Salle (Salford)
Manchester 62 v De La Salle 15

Manchester 62 v De La Salle 15

Tim Harper22 Oct 2019 - 16:22
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Manchester Pack Dominate

Manchester 62 v De La Salle 15

A dominant display by the Manchester forwards ensured another home win, the final scoreline helped by the opposition going down to 14 men shortly before half time.

From the kick off DLS kept the ball well and all the early pressure was on Manchester. However, a good steal by Freeman in the loose allowed Manchester to clear their lines. Following a clean break by Doug Day, the ball was moved first to the left and then back across with good interplay between forwards and backs resulting in a try in the right corner, conversion missed 5v0.

From the restart DLS were caught offside in the middle, a series of Manchester drives took the ball deep into the opposition half where Manchester managed firstly to butcher a 3 on 1 overlap. However, following another DLS penalty ,Manchester kicked for touch and a good catch and drive from the line out so Karl Higginson go over for the second try, converted by Freeman 12v0.

Manchester were soon back in the DLS half and from another catch and drive line out Mikey Williams went over despite DLS attempts to bring the maul down, converted 19v0.

A dropped ball from the restart gave DLS a foothold in the Manchester half, which they exploited with a couple of clean breaks taking the ball close to the try line, another drive close to the ruck saw DLS open their account, conversion missed 19v5.

DLS then had a period where they managed to hold onto the ball with a series of good drives but never managed to get out of their own half. Eventually play broke down for them, with Doug Day stealing the ball in the tackle. Manchester then put several phases together and when DLS came offside in the centre, there was a scuffle involving several players, when the dust settled the referee decided to red card the DLS no 9 for foul play. This ended any hope of DLS coming back into the game; Freeman had an easy penalty conversion to take the score to 22v5 at half time.

Right from the 2nd half kick off, Manchester made the extra man count, with two quick tries, firstly by Charlie Johnson following a poor clearance kick and secondly by Freeman a quick snipe close to the scrum, both converted by Freeman moving the score to 36v5 and securing the try bonus point.

DLS then had their best period of play on the day, retaining the ball well and making good ground close to the ruck, with a penalty pending, a further drive saw them go over for a second try, conversion missed 36v10.

Over the next ten minutes DLS tired and Manchester’s extra man advantage told, four tries were racked up in quick succession. Charlie Johnson going over on the right following a scrum won against the head; Charlie Ding touching down close to the ruck; Charlie J making a break finished by Joe Williams; the best was saved for last, with good interplay between, Mike J, Jake and Charlie Ding down the left seeing Charlie Ding crash over after moving the ball between them for 60 plus yards,; 3 conversions made the score 62v10.

Credit to DLS they had the last say on the day, constant pressure in the Manchester 22 forced a number of penalties, one of which led to a quick tap and drive for the line for a well deserved 3rd try, final score 62v15.

A good performance all round but especially by the forwards, dominant in both in the set piece and open play. Nine tries, 8 kicks by Freeman, easily securing five more points, which keeps us in the chase for promotion.

Match details

Match date

Sat 19 Oct 2019

Kickoff

TBC

Competition

North Two West

League position

3
Manchester
11
De La Salle (Salford)
Team overview
Further reading

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