Chapel See Off Competitive Macc

Saturday 20th February saw Holmes Chapel 1st's welcome Macclesfield 4's to Station Road. Despite the ancients playing Knutsford away Chapel were still able to name a strong squad of 22 players.

Macclesfield travelled currently sitting third in the league and looking to close the gap on league leaders Chapel. Vice Captain Tom Chambers warned the players to be wary of Macc's physicality and ability at set pieces. The boys were well aware that the fixture would a tough one with the weather conditions favouring the away teams style of play.

The game started slowly with handling errors from both sides leading to numerous scrums. The scrums were an even affair with Will Mitchell and veteran prop Ian Lightfoot holding their own against a much heavier Macc pack. Hooker Joe Tomasik was striking the ball cleanly meaning Chapel were retaining their scrums. The conditions were poor with heavy rain throughout which meant the pitch quality soon deteriorated and as a result it was difficult for Chapel to play their usual fast paced game. Mid-way through the first half Jed Wragg found himself receiving the ball inside his own 22. Wragg playing at outside centre set off on a run beating 3 defenders around the outside with his pace before showing the strength to hand off another two. Wragg delivered a lovely offload to support runner Jack Cottam who had an easy five meters to run in the first try of the afternoon. A real piece of class from the Chapel centre with the conversion finished by scrum half Andy Davies. The half continued at a slow pace with both sides struggling to dominate or dictate the play. A Chapel penalty saw them opt for the corner and returning fly half Mike Lightfoot nudged the ball towards the 5 meter line. A well constructed catch and drive off the lineout saw young second row Conor Gavin power over the white wash for Chapels second try. Again, Davies added the extras. Macc came back strongly from this with some good work from the pack. This pressure lead to a kick and chase try which was finished well by the Macc winger. Conversion missed. The half finished 14-5.

The second half started with the rain still strong, the pitch now resembling a swamp. The Chapel boys kept up their work rate despite the conditions making attacking play difficult. The half was similar to the first with mistakes from both sides leading to plenty of scrums. The away side had periods with the ball in hand where they looked dangerous but the Chapel defence held firm. Debutant Matt Lawrence came on at number 8 with 25 minutes to go. He soon showed his ability by turning numerous balls over at the break down and carrying well from the back of the scrum. With 10 minutes to go he found himself hitting a line off the scrum half which saw him break a tackle and run in Chapel's third try underneath the posts. Davies completing his 100% record with the boot. The game finished 21-5. Man of the match was awarded to Matt Lawrence for an impressive debut off the bench.

In summary, a tough game made tougher by poor weather conditions. Chapel president; Garry Cottam said "it was good to see the boys adapting and proving they can win ugly". Positives from the fixture were both Ed Chapel and Mike Lightfoot returning from injuries.

Thanks to Macclesfield for playing the game in good spirits. A big thanks also goes to our sponsors.