Sparky Performance Nets Bonus Point Win

A bonus point win was secured against our friends at Caldy, courtesy of a hat trick by livewire Hannah Johnson. The match points move Manchester joint second with Caldy, tucked in behind Tyldsley who still have the return matches against both of us to play.

Manchester’s preparations were disrupted by an ankle injury suffered by tight-head prop Amber Smith in lineout drills during the warm up. The pack had to be shuffled but our strength in depth meant we were still able to field an experienced front row which many girls’ teams curiously struggle to do…

Caldy kicked off on a bright but cold afternoon and a determined chase gave them good field position. In fact, Manchester were unable to escape their half and found themselves pinned in their own 22 for a lengthy period. Efforts to break out were pinged several times for offside forcing Manchester to concentrate on their defence which held up extremely well. Eventually a penalty went our way and an excellent clearance to touch by Nieve Jones edged Manchester into the Caldy half for the first time.

It has to be said that the first try was against the run of play to that point, when Katy Morten made a telling break which Hannah was able to capitalise on to touch down under the posts. Nieve added the extras to bring up a 7-0 lead.

The score gave Manchester a much needed energy boost and and Caldy now found themselves on the back foot. First of all Harriet Parsons came close, being denied by a strong tackle forcing the knock on just 10 metres out, then Hannah, who broke several tackles was brought down inches from the line. The resulting five metre scrum was held by Caldy but the clearance kick was charged down by Nieve who was superbly aggressive in attack and defence all day. The loose ball came agonisingly close to being held on to by Amy Lees just a few metres out, but was eventually desperately cleared to touch.

With the pressure that they were now exerting, Manchester looked odds on to score as half time approached. Beth Price, welcomed back from a long term injury, almost made it along the right wing but the resulting breakdown brought us to the break with just a very slender lead.

A score from Caldy at this point could have been crucial but fortunately Manchester picked up from where they had closed the half. The restart was chased hard so that Caldy could not settle and the hosts found themselves back in their own 22. The pressure resulted in the defence being caught offside maybe ten metres from their line. The points were there for the taking and as Amy L got her players into position there really was only one outcome as she tapped and passed to a charging Amy Johnson who at pace was never going to be stopped from giving her team a 12-0 lead.

With this deficit, Caldy knew that they had to score next. They did well to progress to deep inside Manchester’s 22 when a penalty was awarded against Manchester. The defence had to be quick to react rather than question or try to understand the decision and everyoneremained focussed. Charlee Chambers, who was excellent throughout, was alert to spoil the move from the set piece. Somehow Charlee then got hold of the loose ball and broke away from the melee. Amy J was in support as Charlee raced out of the 22 and an interchange of passes had Manchester breaking free towards half way. Katy was the first of the backs to catch her forwards (!) and she showed tremendous pace as she received the ball from Charlee, then cut infield. Out running the defenders Katy touched down for a memorable try converted by Nieve, now putting some daylight between the teams at 19-0.

Caldy’s kick off was not well handled however and a knock on gave Caldy a scrum half way towards Manchester’s line. Both sides were generally holding their own scrummages and this time Caldy were able to build on that platform. A gap was found and with Manchester’s defence split, it looked as if Caldy were going to be back in the game. Tremendous determination by Leanne Murray resulted in a certain try saving tackle as she caught, then hauled down her opposite number while her teammates regrouped.

Leanne was then instrumental in the next try. With the backs spinning the ball out, a quick pass from Leanne released Hannah who had the pace to round the defence, sprint along the wing, then cut back inside to deposit the ball under the posts. Another conversion by Nieve put Manchester into a certain match-winning position at 26-0.

A win had certainly been the target for our trip to the Wirral, but with a few minutes left Manchester now felt that a five try bonus point was there for the taking. This came courtesy of a carbon copy of the fourth try with Hannah’s smooth running proving unstoppable. Once again Jess Gurney was there in the back line, effectively as an extra centre, and her presence stretched the defending three quarters to breaking point. Although Hannah’s pace was blistering on the day, the passes that Jess and Leanne made to her were perfectly timed. In fact, all Hannah had to do was break the 10 seconds / 100 metre barrier and she was in for a couple of easy tries! At 33-0 the final whistle was blown.

Some key players were sidelined or unavailable for this match but a strong squad and excellent team spirit resulted in another excellent performance that has put Manchester back into a strong position in the league.

Photos here by Liz Broadbent (which I know you prefer to the match reports anyway...!)>>>
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