Manchester vs Broughton Park

It was evident that today’s match meant much to this confident Manchester Team, as they set about preparing for the game. Maybe it was good preparation, or maybe just a little extra sleep, that helped the team to hit the ground running, with Liam scoring in the opening moments of the match. This early lead was extended shortly after with two tries from Chuckie, putting the score at 15-0. Manchester continued to dominate all aspects of the game, and kept the ball well within the Broughton Park half. Whenever Broughton did have the ball, they didn't keep it for long, as was brilliantly demonstrated with a crunching tackle by Smithy, who is making a name for himself in the tackle area. The Manchester Scrum functioned as perfectly as the the lineout and Manchester consistently turned over opposition ball. The backs also were in top form, with frequent incisive runs and line breaks, and good first up tackling in the midfield.

Not to down play Broughton Parks' effort but Manchester were in such a ruthless mood that it was, perhaps, surprising that it took them an entire half to rack up the required thirty points needed to end the game. The scorers were Liam and Connor each with a try, and Olly and Chuckie who had two apiece. With two of these tries converted, including an excellent long range effort from Louis, the score stood at 34-0.

However, the game did not end there. The second half continued, as the teams decided to clear the score board and play a “friendly”. Whilst not contributing to the result of the official match, Broughton Park were definitely playing for pride, and it showed in the second half. Manchester continued with their dominance, scoring two more early tries through Ned and Callum. Whether these tries spurred the opposition on, or encouraged Manchester to sit back on their laurels is not clear. However, the game became much better contested, and the opposition showed their worth with a few dangerous runs from their bigger players. This tactic proved ineffective as a crunching tackle from Callum showed them they couldn’t break through our line. By the end of the game Broughton Park had managed to score two tries, one of which was converted. Having been rested for a portion of the second half Chuckie was desperate to come on again for the last few minutes and try for his hat-trick. Unluckily for Max, who had played well but didn't get on the score sheet, no sooner had he swapped with Chuckie then the ball was moved to his wing and Chuckie romped in on the overlap to get his 3rd and close the game. Well done Chuckie..sorry Max!

The second half score was 15-12 to Manchester, with an overall score of 49-12. This was a fantastic all round performance, with no true standout performers, though the Captain Crunch award is jointly shared by Smithy and Callum for their ferocious tackling.

Report by: Toby "stato jobs" Jones