Winning Streak Ends

The Boys in Blue were in good spirits as the headed up to face Widnes away. Chapel felt like they had a score to settle as last season Widnes had given Chapel a good hiding on their home turf. A run of excellent form before the Christmas break had potentially given Chapel some false confidence and Widnes themselves had been in god form.

The game started with a deep kick from the Widnes 10 and Chapel attacked hard keeping the ball tight with big drives from Jim ‘Hammy’ Hamilton and Conor ‘CG4’ Gavin. The Widnes defence matched the attack however and there was a stalemate in just inside Chapel’s own half with possession changing hands but neither team getting very far. After a period of sustained pressure, the Station Road lads managed to secure a penalty which was easily converted into points by Andrew Davies. However as has often been the downfall for Chapel the lads took their foot off the gas just as Widnes stuck theirs on. A silly penalty for offside at a ruck meant that the Widens kicker could even the score and then some poor defending, discipline and general effort led to another try from Widnes. Chapel decided it was time to put right some mistakes and attacked hard, experienced Jim Bowbeer was putting in a shift, disrupting and turning over ball, unfortunately one of his turnovers spilled out his hands and he saw yellow for ripping the ball. This only motivated Chapel to strive harder and they soon found themselves on Widnes 5 metre line. The front 5 had been doing a fantastic job at the set piece and opted for a scrum knowing that they could drive the Widnes pack, and after a couple of deliberate wheels from Widnes a penalty try was awarded. Again Chapel fell afoul of complacency and allowed Widnes to return with another try almost immediately. Just before the end of the half a high tackle led to another successful penalty for Widnes.
Half time 20-10
Half time started excellently for Chapel who found themselves at a lineout about 15 metres from the Widnes line, a well worked move saw a rolling maul destroy the defence and waltz almost unopposed over the line, David Steer claiming the try. 20-17 the game was in Chapel sights and again a lack of discipline and some generally poor defence all around the park led to another quick try from Widnes who did some excellent offload work and supporting runs to score a pretty try. Converted again so the score stood 27-17 to Widnes. However Widnes started to lose their discipline with a player getting sent off for a very blatant and unneeded shoulder charge. Down to 14 players Chapel mounted their attack and used their successful set piece to work their way up the pitch, again Chapel opted for a scrum on the Widnes line, CG4 crashed over the line for another try and Andy Davies added the extras. 27-24. Widnes lost another player for throwing unnecessary punches so Chapel were playing 15 on 13 however the lads started getting frantic but were still forcing the penalties from Widnes but not happy with the draw and wanting the win stand in Captain Tom Chambers made some poor decisions and failed to utilise on the advantage. The last 5 minutes of the game and Chapel took a scrum on Widnes 5 metres and drove the opposition over the try line unfortunately due to the nature of rugby balls the pill had bobbled out the back of the scrum and forced a hurried and forced attack which they were unable to capitalise on.
Chapel have a lot to work on, however they can be proud of how they almost brought the game back and how they dealt with their discipline issues.
It’s going to be more important than ever to make sure we get to training and make ourselves available for both teams so we can improve as a club and individually.