Match Report: Manchester vs. Bowdon

A confident Manchester played host to Bowdon Rugby Club today, on a pitch that was far from being in its best and in completely miserable wet and windy conditions.

Manchester began the first half well, contesting for the ball in open play, and forcing turnovers from the opposition. It was clear that this game meant a lot to the players, as all put in maximum effort. Things looked ominous for Manchester when good build up work allowed Bowdon score their first try after 5 minutes. Manchester fought back and both teams pressed each other with equal alacrity as the ball moved from one end of the pitch to the other. With 12 minutes gone Bowdon managed to put down another try, as they utilised space they found out wide. For the rest of the half honours were even in the set pieces but Bowdon became dominant in the rucks consistently thwarted the Manchester forwards at virtually every breakdown. This was among the very few faults shown by the Manchester team - but it proved to be crucial.

The second half started more positively, though with the wind advantage, Bowdon had more possession and were able to score three more times during the second half. Despite the increasing scoreline, Manchester showed good commitment and determination, and gave no ground in the tackle area. After Bowdon scored their final try, and with the final whistle just a few minutes away, Manchester found a sudden surge of energy, and camped out by the opposition try line. Despite some great play at the death, Manchester were unable to score any points, and Bowdon kicked the ball off the park to end the game.

The final score was 31-0 to Bowdon, and they deserved the win mainly because of their superiority in the ruck. Manchester should not be disheartened, however, as there were many good aspects of the game, such as the first up tackles, and the “tail gunning” off the back of the lineout. The game was played in excellent spirit and the Bowden coaches were graceful in their compliments on how Manchester had developed since the same fixture last season when the margin of defeat was double that of today. Bowden are an excellent and well coaches squad and have notched up some notable victories this season putting them into the Cheshire Cup Semi-finals. We wish them luck for the rest of the season and look forward to closing the gap even more next season.

Toby "jobs" Jones