Manchester shut out local rivals in dominant performance

A short trip to Heaton Moor for an early kick-off (10.30pm) and our first competitive game in over a month. Weather was overcast with dry conditions, breezy and sunny intervals – much like the rugby. There is a proficiency, focus and togetherness about this Manchester team and sufficient individual determination and flair which means they are able to dominate and win games when previously they would have struggled to secure the result. Such was Sunday’s game, against local rivals Heaton Moor.
Heaton kicked the game off, the ball was well caught and the forwards quickly moved the ball into the home teams half before Ciaran ran off the back of a maul, handing players off and making significant ground before being held up just short of the right hand try line, the ball was quickly recycled and confident, slick handling saw the ball moved across the backs to Tom W who touched down wide on the left. A fine kick by Tom J posting an early 7-0 lead to Manchester.
The home side, clearly stung, came back strongly and a period of pressure was well met by fine resolute defending from Manchester with a combination of excellent tackling and good clearance kicking averting the danger.
One of the biggest improvements this season has been the performance of the Manchester pack who were yet again up against much bigger lads but they constantly turned over the opposition in open and set play, ripping and recycling the ball.
The second try for the visitors was typical of the forwards determination and then the clinical execution of the backs when a Heaton scrum near the half way line was nicked against the head and the ball was quickly moved out at speed through the backs for Aiden to touch down for a fine try near the right corner, a fine move well drilled during Wednesday night training. Once again a superb conversion from TJ, this time right into the teeth of a strengthening wind made the scoreline 14-0.
The high tempo Manchester were playing at soon paid dividends again when following a short period of open and set plays a great hit and drive by the Manchester pack won yet another scrum against the head and captain Ciaran wasn’t to be denied this time as he picked up the ball and powered his way over the line. A fine conversion attempt by TJ was only just blown off target by a strong gust of wind but at 19-0 Manchester were rampant. The rest of the half was marked by some stand out moments for Manchester’s forwards with big hits all round including the cruncher of the day from Matt B and the half was well rounded off with Max taking the ball at full steam and powering over the Heaton Moor line near the posts, the conversion making the half time score 26-0 to the visitors.
Any thoughts of a route were dispelled as the second half resumed and Heaton Moor were able to rally, stemming the Manchester attacks, performing better in the set plays and starting to move the ball well. Despite this, Manchester were determined to shut out the opposition and maintained the pressure well for lengthy periods down both sides of the park with a number of well controlled set plays and open breaks. As the clock ticked down the home teams resolve was finally broken by an excellent move from the back of a ruck which saw Tom W side step and wrong foot the Heaton defence to nip in and score his second try of the match. The conversion from TJ was once again a formality from in front of the posts and the referee ended the match with the final score Heaton Moor 0 – Manchester 33

Epilogue
A combination of bad weather, Easter holidays and late cancellations meant this was our first proper game since the Preston game in early March and it was heartening to see the appetite and determination of the lads still very much evident as was their focus straight from the kick off. It is fair to say Heaton Moor did not know what had hit them in the first half but we should credit the home team for a much better performance in the second half when they were perhaps unfortunate not to register any points.
Alex was named man of the match for his strong work in the second row and his best performance to date in the Manchester shirt, a great platform to build on for next season. Nice to also see a confident debut from Patrick.
To sum up, the shared focus and determination displayed by all the lads led to a totally dominant first half performance though maybe areas for improvement in a slightly scrappy second half where faster ball and a simpler approach might have served Manchester better.
That said there were some strong stand-out moments of fine individual and team rugby from the under 13s that would have comfortably befitted the game at more senior levels. As the season winds down (one game left) we can look forward to next year with genuine optimism. Well done to all and thanks to Heaton Moor for the warm welcome today.