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   Eccles RUFC 10 Hawcoat Park RUFC 3
Such a small score and yet, so much to say. But first a word for our visitors. Hawcoat Park made the long journey away from home with only 13 players and not knowing if the game would definitely be on due to the frozen conditions. It’s hard to say this for an Ex-Furness player but the Hawcoat (nee Vickers) Players were a credit to themselves and their club. Their commitment to the game of rugby was soon to be demonstrated to all during the game. With only 13 players it would be silly for us to not give them a player, so a full 15 Eccles players could be fielded. To his immense credit we had one lad man enough to put his hand up to offer his services to the visitors. James Wright showed us all his first team experience had not gone to his head, unlike some. With the effects of Jack Frost having an impact on the day there was no option but to play on the world famous postage stamp. I’ve always said the sun shines on the righteous. This was also to have an effect on the day’s performance. The first half started and continued for 33 minutes with Eccles in total control. Possession and territory was all for Eccles and yet the visitors line held firm with resolute defence and dogged determination. No matter what Eccles tried they couldn’t break the solid defence in front of them. To be truthfull it wasn’t just the Hawcoat defence that was stopping the Eccles offence, it was the Eccles team themselves. Poor passing, unwillingness to pass and plain greed stopped the Eccles boys making the numerical advantage tell. This was compounded by the lads at times running out of width on the pitch, I did suggest it was small and sometimes giving out the odd hospital pass with the receiver collecting both the ball and the opposition at the same time. To make matters even worse one of the Eccles boys gave the referee no option but to show him a yellow card. I have to admit for some one of my tender years, ha, that just as half time approached it was to no surprise that Hawcoat should be able to make their way into the Eccles half and gain a penalty kick, which they took well. This made it 0 – 3 at the interval. The second half continued very much in the same vein as the first with Eccles camped in the visitors 22 and not moving much out of it. Alas the only thing they couldn’t do was get themselves over the try line. If you want to know the reasons why, just read the paragraph but one above. Yet despite the frustration of getting nowhere very slowly, despite always seeming to take the wrong option, the Eccles boys never gave up. As the clock was forever ticking towards the end and the obituaries were being written, with one final hurrah we finally saw Ben Chapman (who was still sulking from last week’s footy results) crash over for a try. This was well converted by Reece James. This took all the panic and anxiety from the lad’s performance and the last few minutes of the game were played out in comfort. The game was finished with a long penalty being kicked again by Reece James who had managed to remain on the pitch this week for the whole game. The obituary, well that was simple. The visitors only turned up with 13 players, yet Eccles contrived to try and get beat by 15 players, themselves. The visitors as they always seem to do chose Mike Mpofu as MoM, yet special word should go to Luke Cullen who tackled as tenaciously as ever and Jordan Bromley who’s starting to prove he is a real second row. All he needs to do is start playing on a Saturday and settle his Chinese restaurant debts. Joke of the day, what’s the connection between Bob Dylan & James Wright? Answer, they’ve both been called Judas in Manchester. I know the young ones won’t get it but it’s still funny. They’ll just have to go to Wikipedia and work it out for themselves. Source: Eccles RUFC. Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
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