Manchester Sunk By Mermaids

Although the defeats for both the U15 and U18 sides were disappointing, the games allowed several recent recruits to debut and gave the coaches an opportunity to see the Manchester and Sandbach squads playing as a combined team.

Manchester introduced a number of new players into the starting line up, and experimented with a number of players out of position. Charlee Chambers and Emma Broadbent would have been surprised to find themselves in the backs, but with uncontested scrums declared by the referee, it was decided to play the more experienced players in the back line.

The well established Welsh club took full advantage of the initially unsettled opposition, effectively clearing the ball from the breakdowns and attacking the out-of-position defence. By half time they had run in four tries, two of which were converted, without reply. However, the signs were there that Manchester had now settled and they were unlucky not to have turned pressure into points as they finished the first half strongly.

The second half started much more positively and Manchester/Sandbach started to peg back the visitors with two well worked tries of their own. The comeback was not to be however as injuries to Rachael Knowles and Amy Clavin again unsettled the team. A purple patch for the Mermaids as the hosts try to regroup, saw them score five unanswered tries to put the match beyond the Manchester girls.

However, Manchester showed great resilience and character by once again finishing the half strongly. In fact their response was to score the final two tries of the match to make the final score a much fairer reflection of their efforts.