Manchester versus Aldwinains

After a 5 week lay off from all rugby Manchester hosted Aldwinians

3 sessions of 15 minutes format would be the order of the day; Manchester with 29 players available from a squad of 30 blended the teams to allow the newer members to play with the more experienced.

The first session started with Manchester putting the Aldwinians line under pressure with attacks being repelled by some great tackling and counter rucking. Aldwinians cleared their lines with a kick to touch and the subsequent line-out taken cleanly by the Manchester forwards; allowed the backs to find space on the outside for the first touchdown of 2010. The rest of the session followed a similar theme with Manchester having the lion’s share of possession and Aldwinians defending and counter-rucking their socks off. The session finished with Manchester scoring a further 2 converted trys and remarkably no scrums at all witch demonstrated the handling levels of both sides!

Manchester coaches juggled the squad and produced a balance of speed and power for the 2nd session; attacking towards the spectators; Manchester took the territorial advantage and with some uncharacteristic missed tackles from the visitors crossed the line twice; both converted. Some indecision from Manchester on the Aldwinians line and some terrific defence and a solid scrum kept the scoreboard quiet but the noise from the crowd could have been heard from Edgeley Park. Manchester then attacked the spaces out wide and with accurate passing scored 2 converted trys.

In the last session a never say die Aldwinians stepped up and were rewarded with 2 converted trys, the first from a scrum sneaking down the Manchester blind side and the second from a powerful rolling maul; this time dogged defence from Manchester and a great counter-attacking move that started in the 22 and ended with Manchester scoring their last try of a fabulous morning of rugby.

A fine ending with all players showing great sportsmanship in the tunnel! Good Job Manchester and well done to Aldwinians who never gave up and left with a massive tackle count.

Final score 54 - 14