Holmes Chapel 1st XV took on a very strong Buxton side at Station Road last Saturday in an important game for both sides in South Lancashire & Cheshire Division 3. An impressive second half performance from the hosts saw them to victory in a game that could have gone either way at half time. Skipper Mike Cottam welcomed back a number of seasoned veterans to line up alongside the younger players who have seen Chapel off to a great start to the season.

Chapel drew first blood with a penalty from Stuart Butters to out them 3-0 ahead. The outside half’s boot would be a reliable source of points all game for the hosts as any indiscipline from Buxton in their own territory was punished by 3 points. It was the visitors who scored the first try of the game however, when they broke down the right hand side to score. The conversion kick was unsuccessful but Buxton had shown that they would cause problems if allowed to build up a head of steam in the match. Chapel responded well and were soon over the whitewash themselves with a try from Ed Meyrick after some strong running from Wayne Scott and good support from Cottam. Butters added the 2 points and then went close with an attempt from the halfway line after the referee had ordered the game to restart with a Chapel penalty. The visitors regained the lead with a second try when their Number 8 managed to ground the ball following a 5 metre scrum, which this time was converted to put them ahead 12-10. Chapel’s confidence remained high and they soon scored their second try of the afternoon. Butters surprised the opposition by running a kickable penalty and after Cottam had hit the ball up, quick possession was spun out to Paddy Kennedy to score beneath the posts for a converted try. Another penalty made the score 20-12 to the hosts but they knew the match was far from over.

Buxton started the second half strongly and very nearly scored in the corer, only denied by a try-saving tackle from Mark Mcenaney. However the referee had been playing advantage and they narrowed the deficit to 5 points with the resulting penalty. From this point on Chapel took complete control as they stepped up a gear in the pack. A run of quality lineout possession gave them the platform to launch a wave of rolling mauls that drove the visitors back deep into their own half. Eventually the pressure told with first Scott, and then Cottam touching down for crucial tries that took the game away from Buxton with Butters nailing both conversions. At 34-15 and having already secured the winning bonus point for 4 tries, Chapel continued to twist the knife with 2 more penalty kicks from their Number 10 and take themselves past 40 points for the fourth time this season. To their credit, Buxton never gave up and the hosts still had their fair share of defending to do before the final whistle blew.

Overall, this was an excellent win although Chapel will expect an even tougher game when they travel to Derbyshire for the return match. There is no 1st XV fixture this weekend so all eyes will be on the 2nd XV as they host Acton Nomads at Station Road. All supporters are welcome and kick off is 2.15pm.

Holmes Chapel RUFC would like to acknowledge and thank all club sponsors for their support. For more information on our sponsors please visit our website: https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/holmeschapel/d/sponsors.html