Under 11's show England how it's done!

Today’s celebratory tipple of the day is Whiskey and lemonade (G&T last week). Similar pleasant effect as far as I am concerned but my guess is that Statto will be able to highlight the different ingredients in the two alcoholic beverages. Needed something to warm up as the temperature in Ashton was about 4 degrees lower than sunny Stockport and a gentle drizzle managed to dampen the ardour of the parents stood watching training for over one and a half hours!!!!

You may have noted the word “celebratory” – well that means “the boys did good” AGAIN!!!

Sorry for the time lapse in getting back to you Steph but I've only just emerged from the cleaning cupboard I've been hiding in since February 29th to avoid been proposed at.

Can't really tell you much about the differences between Whiskey and Gin not having tasted the latter since I was knee high to an abacus in my early double digits, other than Whiskey is aged in casks (Is it still legal to raise children this way?) and Gin isn't. BUT the spirit I'm interested in bottling is the one our boys are showing at the moment! Another stunning display from Manchester U11s - this time on the morning after THAT match before... England managing to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against Wales! I am by nature a simple man whose simple tastes amount to nothing more than studying the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data, walking along moon-lit beaches and poking dead things with a stick, but even I marveled at the result. Now, could Manchester do what England had failed to achieve so resolutely and win their round three match? From the start the signs were good. Manchester can boast several players with Welsh heritage in their team and even one who isn't but still likes to burn down holiday homes.

Straight away the boys were up at the opposition putting the pressure on. There were quite a few stoppages for misdemeanours such as hand-offs but eventually the boys got into a rhythm. A loose ball nearly resulted in a try but was foiled at the last minute. Some great tackling was a feature of play this week with all members of the team really getting stuck in – well done boys. There was again some fantastic passing out of the ball with a lovely flow – wonderful.

The first half was 4 – 0 to Manchester with tries all converted (were they Statto – I saw the last 3 converted but not sure about the first one?) Hi Steph, each conversion was as unerringly accurate as if kicked by Leigh Halfpenny himself! But what about the tries? The first was the result of a clever short pass at a Manchester lineout straight to the on-rushing try scorer to race over the line. The second again started at a Manchester lineout but this time an incisive pass out from the resulting melee began a series of passes across the pitch for a Manchester player to collect a well placed final pass and with a well paced run beat the defence to score. The third try was a fine solo effort with the try scorer beating the home defence with an injection of pace, racing at an angle from the middle of the park to score in the corner. The last try of the half came from some hard pressure put upon Ashton's defence which saw the ball moved forward a few feet in each phase before being forced over the try line. Ashton defended so well and were unlucky to concede.

In the second half Manchester maintained the pressure but Ashton didn't let Manchester walk over them and kept up at the boys. Manchester got a fifth try, a clever solo effort from the Manchester Penalty taker, who took a tap and surprised Ashton's defence to score, with the resulting conversion attempt successful. But the next 2 tries were held up and so were not awarded. The sixth try came from a short run by a Manchester player after the ball was recycled well at the scrum. The kicker adding another two points. The next attempt was held–up. The final try was came from a series of accurate passes across the field, finally reaching a Manchester player who drived over for the try. Once again the try was converted.

Some stats for the game: Manchester won all four of their scrums and two of Ashton's before they went uncontested. The boys won their one lineout and half of Ashton's four. We were awarded one penalty to the oppositions two. Manchester managed to turn the ball over once in this match.

All the boys put great effort in from great tackles to great passing to some fantastic runs both down the wing and sometimes hard into opposition. Wonderful teamwork! It feels as if the boys have “got it” as a team and know what they are meant to do and this has paid off in the results.

There was then a friendly against Sedgeley Park. This was hard fought with Sedgeley Park putting up a battle. However, Manchester got two tries in. The first came from the ball being sharply fed out from a Manchester scrum and after a series of passes reached a Manchester player who made a sublime break and jinxed around a couple of defenders to score. The kicker made no mistake with his conversion. The second try of the game was very similar to the first against Ashton, a short pass again found a Manchester player coming at speed who raced down the touchline to score. The boys nearly got a third but the fantastic run was deemed in touch and so the try was not awarded.

Once again, Manchester won their three scrums, with Sedgeley winning their one, we won one and lost one of our lineouts and had two penalties awarded to Sedgeley's none. I counted one turn over to Manchester in this game.

Thanks to Ashton for their kind hospitality.