Manchester Festival Sunday 18^th October 2009

Macclesfield were drawn in Pool C alongside Vale of Lune, Warrington, Ashton on Mersey and Sheffield.   Matches were 7 minutes each way with no conversions.

Team : James Scott, Matty Joyce, Jamie Dunkerley, Owen Thomas, Simon Ridgeway, Callum Leonard, Jack Gooding, Jamie Harvey, Tom Hollingworth, Ollie Wheelton, Charlie Posniak, Jack Hudson, Marcus Connelly, Freddie Hayward, Sam Bailey,

Joe Callander and Ollie Quinn

Match 1 v Vale of Lune

Vale caught the ball from the Macclesfield kick off and passed the ball out to touch giving us a line out which we won but the referee ruled the throw not straight so a Vale scrum was awarded.  An offence by Vale at the scrum gave Macclesfield a penalty and we pressed our way down the pitch with a good run from Callum but the ball was lost in the ruck.  Macclesfield continued to press forwards despite the strong Vale defence and after being taken out to touch won the ball back from the Vale line out and Charlie scored the first try.  Macclesfield then had to be strong in defence as Vale pressed for the equaliser but Macclesfield managed to hold them up at the try line.  Macclesfield won the resulting scrum and James passed to Ollie who passed to Callum.  James emerged from the ruck with the ball and scored our second try.

Macclesfield won 2 – 0

Match 2 v Warrington

Macclesfield kicked off and chased the ball down.  Warrington got the ball and we drove them back towards the try line with a great maul.  However a scrum was given as there was nothing coming.  Macclesfield won the scrum and remained in possession despite the strong Warrington defence. We then knocked on and Ollie Quinn caught the ball from the Warrington kick.  Jamie D then ran up the pitch with Callum in support to catch the off load.  A Macclesfield scrum was awarded after Warrington were penalised in the ruck that had formed.  With both teams really strong the first half ended 0 – 0.  In the second half, with a few subs joining the match,   play continued in very much the same vein as before.  Good hands from Ollie Q meant we secured the ball from the kick off.  Plenty of rucks and mauls kept the game moving and Jamie H emerged from one of the mauls with the ball only for another one to form.  The boys drove over the line and dthe ball was touched down to score.  Joint credit for the try going to Jamie H & Charlie as no-one could tell who actually scored but the referee said a try was scored!

Macclesfield won 1 – 0

Match 3 v Ashton on Mersey

The ball went to touch from the kick off.  The line out resulted in a loose ball that Macclesfield picked up.  Macclesfield retained possession and some good rucking saw Jamie pass to Callum and with Matty in support he took the ball and ran forward before being taken to touch.  Macclesfield won the line out and continued to push past the strong Ashton defence.  Charlie eventually made it over the line to score the only try of the first half.   

At the restart Ashton came back strongly but Macclesfield set up a great rolling maul to drive forwards and maintain the pressure.  Matty then went over the line for the second try.  The ball changed possession several times through mauls and loose ball.  Great tackles from Sam Bailey and Ollie Quinn prevented a determined Ashton from scoring.

Macclesfield won 2 – 0

Match 4 v Sheffield

Macclesfield kicked off and drove Sheffield into touch to give them the line out which they won.  A good run from Callum saw Ollie take the ball further forward before being tackled.  Callum retrieved the loose ball and popped to Owen.  The resulting maul drove forward but was pushed into touch.  There were several times where we were close to scoring but the Sheffield defence was strong.  Once again this was proving to be a tough match with both teams very strong.  Eventually Jamie D made it over the line to score try number 1. 

In the second half it was very much a repeat performance with Sheffield determined to equalise.  Possession changed hands several times and we saw some good runs from James and Tom.    Macclesfields second try was scored by James.  

Macclesfield won 2 – 0

Winning all matches in our pool put us into the semi final against the winners of Group D – Altrincham Kersal.

Altrincham Kersal kicked off and Macclesfield won the ball and drove forward against a strong AK.  They turned the ball over but we managed to steal the ball back and pushed forward with some great support play before being taken out to touch.  Macclesfield then won the ball from the AK line out and the all too familiar maul formed.  AK emerged with the ball and made a break for it but a superb tackle from Ollie Q took the AK runner out to touch.  We won the line out and to push the play back we kicked the ball down field.  Play continued in much the same way for the rest of the first half and the half ended 0 – 0.

In the second half things didn’t really change much with both teams playing to win.  Macclesfield continued to be strong in the maul and did everything they could to drive for the line.  Charlie eventually appeared with the ball and passed to Jamie D who scored to the jubilation of the watching Macclesfield supporters! 

Macclesfield then had to put everything they had into defence as AK pushed for the equaliser.  With possession changing several times it seemed like an eternity before the final whistle and the boys made it through to the final.

Macclesfield won 1 – 0

Final v Manchester

In a repeat of last years final we faced Manchester.  Macclesfield won the toss and kicked off.  Manchester caught the ball and kicked it back where Ollie Q was waiting.  Unfortunately we then knocked the ball on and the first scrum of the match was awarded to Manchester.  Macclesfield showed some great rugby and retained possession but the determined Manchester defence were not to be beaten.  Macclesfield were awarded a penalty and we chose to kick the ball out which gave Manchester a line out close to the try line.  Macclesfield won the ball but then knocked on to give Manchester the scrum.  Possession continued to change hands with neither team showing signs of tiring.  The first half ended 0 – 0.

The second half gave the watching supporters a sense of déjà vu with everything to play for.  There was nothing to separate the teams and after a really tough 7 minutes for all the players the final whistle was blown. 

With a 0 – 0 draw at full time the tournament rules meant the teams shared the trophy.

Congratulations to the whole team who played some tough matches throughout the day but didn’t concede a try.  Some great rugby was played and some valuable lessons learned to take forward to future matches.