1st XV
Matches
Sat 31 Jan 2015  ·  South Lancs/Cheshire Division One
Sefton
33
20
Manchester Rugby Club
1st XV
Half and Half Performance

Half and Half Performance

www.manchesterrugby.co.uk1 Feb 2015 - 16:32
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A try at the start and a try at the end but not all that much in the middle, resulted in a disappointing defeat at Sefton.

Manchester’s attacking intent and ability was clear from the off when a flowing move across the backs meant that Gareth Bridgman was the man to touch down within a couple of minutes (0-5).

Sefton rallied immediately and their pack looked ominous after a strong drive forced them into Manchester’s 22. A good clearance kick by Ian Jinks relieved their early pressure and pushed play back into the home half. When Sefton were repeatedly penalised for holding on, the second occasion resulted in Jinks increasing the lead to 0-8.

Sefton’s maul wasn’t pretty but it certainly was effective and Manchester’s defence were soon found wanting with the opposing pack in control within Manchester’s 22 . When the drive was finally stopped, a very easy run to the line was allowed so that Sefton were back within a point at 7-8 just short of the 20 minute mark.

Both defences were having an off day with the visitors’ second try scored when an attempted kick through fortuitously bounced back kindly towards Manchester when inside Sefton’s half. With the defence at sixes and sevens as a result, good support allowed Bridgman to score again so that Manchester restored their lead only minutes after conceding to 7-15.

The promise of a try fest continued when Sefton came straight back at Manchester, had advantage signalled when in one corner of the pitch, allowing an ambitious but impressive cross-field play to score in the other corner and narrow to 12-15 after a fairly even but loose 30 minutes.

Manchester finished the half strongly, looking dangerous but not really making the most of their possession when in attack. On balance, the half time lead should have been greater but it could have disappeared altogether when a late interception came to nothing thanks to a lack of pace.

The match was turned on its head when Sefton matched Manchester’s first half opening with a score within two minutes. A kick through was chased hard so that it became difficult to deal with, bobbled the wrong way, and was reached first by the Sefton attacker. A good conversion in windy conditions gave the home team the initiative for the first time at 19-15.

Sefton didn’t look back after their bonus try was scored on 10 minutes - a breakaway from the back of a ruck was completely missed and an unlikely touch down was made by the lone forward with the defence’s attention elsewhere. An even better conversion extended the lead to 26-15.

A killer blow was dealt when despite the referee’s apparent uncertainty, he was persuaded that a clearance kick direct to touch by Manchester left the boot outside the 22. Play was brought back to give Sefton an attacking lineout which they moved slickly to score out wide. With the Sefton kicker on form, this was impressively converted so that the score became a daunting 33-15.

Sefton had been allowed to move out of sight with barely 15 minutes left, but Manchester had demonstrated their capability to score and bonus points remained a possibility. Unfortunately the ball then spent far too long with the forwards as if trying to limit the damage rather than build on any possession. It was only in the last few minutes (with some urging from the touchline) that Manchester started to run the ball again. The rugby became more exciting but wrong options were once again taken by a few players, some with white line fever, so that the late endeavour came to nothing.

Nonetheless Manchester finished on the front foot and the match was bookended when a score was made with the last play of the game, unfortunately Manchester’s only one of the second half, to slip from a half time lead to a 33-20 defeat.

Match details

Match date

Sat 31 Jan 2015

Kickoff

14:15

Competition

South Lancs/Cheshire Division One
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