Manchester fail to press home a winning advantage; the best form of defence is.....?

A rapidly transformed resurgent Otley, kept on the back foot and starved of possession in the first half, were quick to take advantage of being allowed to get onto the front foot by the tiring visitors. They certainly showed their quality and exploited lack of competitive commitment to rucks and mauls by the MRFC pack and a poor drift defence by the backs to run in four tries themselves with excellent off-loading and turn the game on it's head.
The loss of Ollie Lee, a colossus in the line-out (to shoulder injury) and absences of Captain Tom Fantom; the natural leader of the pack, two regular wings and forwards coach Dinky were all significant factors, but the squads will know all too well that this was a game they could and should have won. Perhaps it was just a change in mindset thinking they could soak up pressure and defend a three score lead, but certainly there appeared to be a change in game-plan: to hold on to what they had rather than go for the jugular. That proved to be their undoing.
That said the Colts still produced one of the best halves of rugby seen by the officials and parents alike in a sensational top quality game and will no doubt focus on never trying to defend even a big lead in a similar manner again. Starving the opposition of ball was indeed the way to beat Otley.
The Otley coaches and officials were very generous in their praise of Manchester in what they realized was a veritable gem of a proverbial game of two halves. Otley deserve considerable credit for never accepting they were beaten, even when 24 points behind and exploited the huge gaps in the Manchester first up defence with alacrity and clinical precision.
We wish them good luck in bringing home the U17 National Championship to the North and thank them for their hospitality.