Manchester Rugby Club – U10’s vs Aldwynians – Sunday 24th Jan 2010 – ko 11am.

First game since mid December – cold and drizzly, but a great turnout by both teams meaning the coaches can rotate and give everybody a game.
Richard tries to sell a dummy to both the opposition, and some of our own players, by switching the game to the Hulme Hall pitches at the last minute – nice try Rich, but we’ll find ya!!
First game – Ciaran, Matt B, Will C, Patrick, Charlie, Matt G, Ben, Tom and Max start the game. Ciaran, Charlie and Max are winning everything in the scrum. What’s this? PASSING DOWN THE LINE!! Great movement, and Patrick is unlucky to be tackled in mid flow. We continue to dominate the scrum and the loose, but the lineout needs a bit of work – Aldwynians are throwing it in very hard and we find it difficult to cope ...... in saying that Ciaran wins one, sets up a ruck, picks the ball up and runs half the length of the field to score – great try Ciaran. Just to prove it’s not a fluke he does it again a couple of mins later. Another scrum win, Tom sends it down the line, Patrick uses, at least, 74 body swerves to reach the line! 3-0 ht.
Second half sees Luke, Will M and Daniel come on – same script we are winning all the scrummaging, but they are still getting more from the lineout’s. Luke picks the ball up off the ground (legally of course!), and with Mark screaming ‘LUKE – PASS IT’, Luke heads off for the corner to touch down!! Tom picks the ball from the scrum, spots a gap, and runs it in from his own half. Will M adds another, and that’s it 7-0. Clean sheet – great forward work – and best of all some passing.

Second game – Ciaran, Will C, Patrick, Matt G, Tom, Max, Luke, Will m, and Daniel start off the game. Both sides tighten up their weaknesses from the first game – Aldwynians scrummage is much better, and our lineout work is paying off. Not many chances in this half, so Max embarks on his trademark ‘take the whole opposition team with me as I go over the line’ move .... and it works! Charlie, Matt b, and Ben get on in the second half, and we spend most of the half threatening the Aldwynians line, but only have Luke’s try to show for it – good try though, Luke! 2-0 at the end, second clean sheet, more good passing – a good morning’s work all round – well done lads.

Thanks to Frank for this week’s match report, I’ll be hassling others for a contribution

Rich