Magnificent Manchester the envy of MV - please also see correction at end of report

Both teams were made up of a group of players with mixed levels of experience. With 13 players available to Manchester, MV agreed to allow Evie to join the squad from the Under 8's to allow two matches to be played simultaneously.

Manchester Reds

Squad: George, The Dragon (Freddie Hill), Seals (Joe), The Jet (Hudson), Freddie, Evie, The Fox (Zac)

Game 1
The first game was played on a wide short pitch giving little opportunity for 'second chances' in defensive play. From the kick off Manchester looked to take a quick advantage and The Fox darted through a gap on the left wing, racing through to score in the corner. MV made an immediate response and it became clear that the tagging would need to be spot on if tries were to be prevented. Both sides were using the width of the pitch and turnover ball generally only resulted from either handling errors or players running into touch. William from MV provided entertainment for the crowd by heading back towards his own line while a moment of panic from George saw him pass the ball all the way back over his teammates in his desperation to get the ball away after he was tagged. He soon made up for this by picking up a pass from Evie to run through and score in more familiar style. Positioning of the players was good throughout, particularly in support and once again the Dancing Dragon jinked through to score while a turn of pace from the Jet saw him through a gap to make it four. The game was on a knife edge going into its final moments with Manchester holding a slender 4-3 lead. Trafford were in the ascendancy and pushing Manchester back as the width of the pitch allowed them to spread out to the wing, then a crucial tag was made. However, the play moved on and Trafford took the ball through to touch down in the corner - but the try would not count. The pass had been forward, the player receiving it had knocked on and the Manchester defence had been obstructed by a mass of offside MV players. Throughout the game the referee had been keen to ensure that the players were aware of what errors were being made and highlighting these to both sets of players.

Game 2
After a close fought first game the players moved to the other pitch. With a squad of 9 players, MV suggested that an 8-a-side game would allow all players a full match and the coaches from both teams agreed this could be whichever of their players wanted to play for Manchester. William joined us and immediately showed the benefit of learning from his mistakes, running forward with the ball, passing to a teammate when tagged and holding a good defensive line. In a game often halted for reviews on errors and the input of coaching points, all of the players were able to have a run with the ball. Although initially reluctant, Freddie showed good awareness, after darting through the MV lines he made a cool pass to a teammate when tagged. The supporting play in this game was exceptional as the narrower pitch forced more passing as a result of tagging. The movement created space for both the Jet and The Dragon to get through to score. Handling of the ball was very good, with the ball moving around the team with a confidence that passes would not be dropped - both Seals and Freddie played as though their hands were covered in glue. There was a real understanding from all of the players in staying onside and the defensive positioning resulted in an impressive clean sheet in a 2-0 victory

Manchester Blues

Squad: Tom, The Terminator (Frank), Joseph B, Will, Seth, Joseph, Bailey, James 'The Invisible Man' Barwell

The 'Blues' perhaps had more of an opportunity to play a flowing game with Will refereeing. The games were once again a close encounter but the Manchester boys play was sometimes out of this world. Throughout the season so far, The Terminator has always been ready to collect the final ball and crash over the line and this style of play has not been lost on the other boys. With Frank making a run with the ball it was up to his team-mates to be ready if his tag was taken and they did not let him down. In one outstanding move, that will live in the memory of those lucky enough to witness it, Bailey played close to the shoulder and as The Terminator was forced to a halt Bailey was on hand to collect the pass in one flowing movement, crashing over superbly to score! As his first competitive try it could hardly be bettered and we all look forward to him continuing in this style.

In a team of mixed experience the new boys acquitted themselves well , Joseph Lee was thrown straight into the deep end playing two games to mark his debut and showed some great potential while Seth hounded the opposition delivering some great tags and showing fantastic determination! Through the two games all of the boys worked hard for each other in a manner that does them all credit, there were some fantastic tries from Tom, Frank, Joseph B, Will and Bailey, great running into space and turns of speed!

All credit to both the 'Reds' and the 'Blues' for their teamwork and commitment. It's great to see the belief the boys have in their abilities and each other, there is a real spirit throughout the squad. The under 6's cheered on their mates and worked hard practising ball handling skills in their training session, well done boys, keep it up!

Despite some close games we were able to maintain our undefeated record with a clean sweep across the board!

Frank was awarded 'star of the week' for some outstanding tagging and ferocious try scoring!

CORRECTION-CORRECTION-CORRECTION

It has been brought to the attention of the management and journalistic team that an error was made in the reporting of the try scored by Bailey for 'The Blues' and in the players in the squad...James 'The Invisible Man' Barwell was actually an integral part of the team and the move. This part of the text should now read as follows....

With Frank making a run with the ball it was up to his team-mates to be ready if his tag was taken and they did not let him down. In one outstanding move, that will live in the memory of those lucky enough to witness it, The Invisible Man played close to the shoulder and as The Terminator was forced to a halt The Invisible Man was on hand. In one flowing movement he collected the pass and ghosted through the opposition defence in style before laying off a pass to Bailey who crashed over superbly to score! The role of The Invisible Man in the game should not be underestimated - in addition to his creative play he also finished the day with 2 tries of his own!