Win On The Road For Blue and Gold

After last weeks shock defeat to Northwich, Chapel were eager to bounce back with a good performance and a victory against Bowden 3's. After their performance in the last fixture we knew Bowden would be no mugs and we had to start the game well. The teams had agreed an early KO of 2 o'clock.

The game started at a fast pace despite the boggy pitch. Chapel looked comfortable in possession in the early stages and put the pressure on with forwards and backs alike getting hands on the ball. A turn over ball in Bowden's 22 led to Chapel's fly half Mike Lightfoot delivering a sharp, flat pass to centre Jim Moss who powered his way through 3 tackles to score the first try of the afternoon. Chapel continued to run the ball towards Bowden's try line with some good meters made by centre Jed Wragg and winger Nathan Stewart. We scored four tries in the opening 20 minutes and it could have been more of it was not for some strong Bowden defence and some Chapel handling errors. The pick of the first half tries was a lovely team move that led to tight head prop Rob Moore setting up his fellow front row partner; Dave Steer to crash over from five yards. Andy Davies converted 3/4 tries with some lovely kicking from differing angles. After 20 minutes Bowden had evidently had enough of Chapel's control over the game and came at them strongly. Their forwards started to carry the ball well and put huge pressure on the Chapel defence which was holding firm led by no.8 Jon Griff and winger Nathan Stewart, who was coming up fast to pressure the attacking side. After a strong period of backs play Bowden found themselves with a good field position underneath the away sides posts. The forwards took over and after several phases managed to bundle their way through the Chapel defence to score a converted try. Chapel responded with another try before half time, scorer Jed Wragg, to make it 7-34 at the break.

Despite the lead, Chapel coach John Stanway was looking for more in the performance. Our natural ability and pace had provided the scores of the first half but the game had little structure in place. Bowden had suffered a number of injuries in the first half so Chapel sent a strong trio of players over to play for the opposition. With Mark Makakakakaeaney, Calum G-S and Jim Moss playing for the opposition the game was sure to become a tougher affair. Chapel made a number of changes with nearly the whole back line changing.

The second half started with Chapel pinned in their own 22. A number of penalties kept us in there for a long period of time and allowed Bowden to take control of the game. Chapel were trying to add some structure into the game but were struggling to find their feet in this half. Some strong running from inside centre replacement Gav Paton allowed him to break a number of tackles and take Chapel into the oppositions half. His power continued to cause Bowden problems with him even bouncing his centre predecessor; Jim Moss. One of his later breaks led to some good offload play by Conor Gavin who passed to a quickly advancing Luke Day who was able to race through to score the first try of the second half. Bowden again came back with some pressure of their own and some strong running had Chapel's defence retreating. Joe Maddock twice the saving grace in defence with two big hits on his opposite number (yes, you read that right. Both tackles were perfectly legal too). It wasn't long before Bowden's pressure told and some long haired traitor powered over for the visitors second try of the afternoon. Apparently, Makka now has more tries against Chapel than he has for them. Surely a punishable offence. Try converted. Chapel were eager to end the game with some more points on the board. Replacement winger; Luke Day was getting his hands on the ball more and was showing his raw pace by beating defenders. Centre Angus Morrison also cut a couple of strong lines to pin the Bowden defence. Replacement scrum half; Bob Hamilton found a smart inside pass to the advancing Luke Day who raced through a gap to score underneath the posts. The final try of the afternoon left the score 14-48. MoM was awarded to Nathan Stewart for a good performance all round.

Chapel were pleased with the win and our ability to bounce back but feel we can perform at a higher standard. We will continue to try and play a more structured game that will be worked on at training.

We would like to thank Bowden for a game played in excellent spirits and for their exceptional hospitality in the clubhouse after.