Manchester 30 – 0 Littleborough

Round three of the Lancashire cup, both teams with one win under their belt already and Manchester playing catch up after missing a game due to a waterlogged pitch. The pre-game atmosphere was tense as both sides knew a defeat at this point would make it difficult to qualify for the cup knockout stages.
As per competition rules the game was played in 2 x 25 minute halves. Manchester fielded a squad of 19 while Littleborough arrived with a smaller squad but made up for it in physical stature.

On a bright and crisp morning Manchester kicked off with a deep and high ball that was knocked on by the Littleborough full back. Manchester took full use of the advantage rule as the ball was quickly rucked out and passed to Ciaran who bulldozed his way through some desperate tackles to open the scoring under the posts. Tom J duly obliged with the first of a fine series of conversion kicks and within the first minute the home side were 7-0 up.

Any thoughts of a walkover were quickly dispelled as Littleborough fought back and playing to their strengths they moved the ball well down the middle of the pitch. However they were faced with a pack that should be renamed the Manchester Mean Machine such was their determination and resolve not to give up any ground.
Switching tactics Littleborough tried to move the ball out wide but the wings stood firm with Hamsa and Aiden forcing man and ball into touch with some strong defensive blocks. Lessons learned in training to not over-commit numbers in the loose play saw Manchester continually recycle from loose play and on 12 minutes the ball was won and quickly moved out from forwards to backs and to Tom W who probed left then right before spotting the gap and outpacing the Littleborough backs to score the second try of the match.

To their credit Littleborough fought back and spent most of the rest of the half in Manchester territory but again found no joy against a home side determined not to give up any points. Rucking, counter rucking, even an unconventional kick pass from Charlie that found its way nicely into Tom W’s hands standing on his own 22 line who accepted the gift, took off and out-sprinted the visitors defense to return the ball under the post for his second and the home sides third try. Converted by Tom J, the half time whistle blew though the 21-0 scoreline was a harsh reflection on the performance of a strong and determined Littleborough side.

Littleborough started the second half with a long high kick to the Manchester try line but the ball was well caught by Will and the home side switched from defense into devastating attack in the play of the match as the ball was moved through 9 pair of Manchester hands as the ball was taken out wide to the left, then when the move was held up the ball was quickly switched across to the right before Ciaran touched down in the corner to make it 26-0. A great team try and a fine example of passing out of contact which must have pleased the coaches immensely. I even heard someone on the sideline ask ‘are they Lymm in disguise?’

There then followed an unfortunate incident where the opposing front rows had an altercation with each other. However, this was eventually calmed down and the game continued.

The game resumed and a determined Littleborough moved the ball up close to the Manchester try line before defense again quickly turned to counter attack as a fine long clearance kick by Luke was chased down and picked up by Tom W who was tackled before handing it back to Luke who was held up agonisingly short of the visitors try line.
Once Manchester got on top of the forwards battle they exerted a level of control (though never total domination over a good team) with all the forwards, Josh, Max, Joe, Luke, Lawrence, Matt, Alex, JP, Tom B and Ciaran all rucking, counter rucking, ripping and driving the ball forward with a determination typified when rookie prop Joe C took the ball 25 meters up the middle of the park while carrying half the Littleborough pack on his back.
With both Charlie and Matt G harassing and moving the ball well around the scrum, Tom J, Hamsa, Sean, Will, Aiden, Tom W and Joe Mc supported each other well and were always dangerous with ball in hand.

As the clock ticked down, another strong Littleborough drive was held up on the half way line as Tom B ripped and fed quick ball out to Sean who set off on an arcing run before spotting a gap and sidestepping through the defense to touch down for Manchester’s 5th try of the game. Final score 30-0

Epilogue
The biggest dilemma for the Manchester coaches pre-game was which team to start with following last weeks magnificent team performance against Warrington. Once again all 19 who played today performed admirably, gained vital cup experience and have posed more selection headaches going forward. A nice problem to have.
Littleborough have notched up some good results this season and will travel home wondering how they lost by a 30 point margin. Both sides demonstrated an effective kicking game but the speed and quality of the Manchester backs told. Full marks to the Manchester pack for facing up to and putting away a solid and aggressive opponent without conceding a single point. After showing the right attitude in training followed up by a fine match day display of commitment, handling and distribution Will picked up the player of the week award but everyone deserved credit today and it was great to see so many of the squad making telling contributions. 4 scrums won against the head, effective rucking, much improved line outs won by the forwards all complimented by fine handling and ball movement among the backs.

So, a home win, 5 points to Manchester, a position at the top end of the league secured and thoughts now turn to round 4 of the cup and a short trip up the M60 to Trafford MV in two weeks time