Moor misery for Manchester

Sunday was a fixture best forgotten as Manchester crashed to heavy defeat against Heaton Moor.

All the familiar defensive frailties came to the fore against a Moor side who were well disciplined and more than happy to pounce on any weakness from Manchester.

The bite and vigour shown against Sale three weeks ago were absent in a fixture that demonstrated the rust brought about by three weeks without any rugby.

From the off, Manchester were second to the ball and showed none of the free passing that had attracted admiration from the coaches of our last two opponents.

Bogged down in the middle of the pitch, Manchester couldn't find a way through the Heaton Moor forward line and failed to use the speed and quick hands in the wide areas that has so often brought success.

Two uncontested tries at the start of the first game gave a glimpse of what was to come and Match 1 should be remembered for the 2 fine solo tries scored by Josh, the first a mazy run to the corner and the second characterised by determination and strength as he powered over the line while several Heaton Moor players tried to hold him up.

Our only other try came courtesy of Ethan who was on hand to snatch up the ball from a solid tackle on Josh and surge over the line.

Heaton seemed almost to score at will and a 4-1 deficit at half time became 9-3 by the time the whistle was mercifully blown.

Game 2 was another difficult endeavour for Manchester and for the first time in many matches, the spirit seemed to drop as Heaton Moor once again took a grip of the game, running in 6 unanswered tries before Will grabbed a ball in the loose after pressure from Josh caused a mistake on the visitors' ranks.

Final score in Game 2 was 7-1 and Manchester will have to chalk this one up to a bad day in the office.

Squad: Matty, Josh (C), Fin, Ethan, Hanuf, Matthew, Louis, George (Mr T), Eddie, Will, Thomas W, Max, Billdozer, Charles.

Try scorers: Josh (2), Ethan, Will
Tackle of the Week: Will
Player of the Week: Josh