Holmes Chapel 19 v 10 Liverpool University

Holmes Chapel 19-10 University of Liverpool

Another very tough contest in South Lancashire Cheshire 3 saw Holmes Chapel 1st XV make the most of their game in hand to defeat a very talented student side at the weekend and move to second place in the league table. University of Liverpool were the early-season pace-setters but overall their results have been a mixed bag this season – nevertheless they were clearly not intending to make up the numbers in this fixture with Chapel having to fight to the finish to secure the points. A selection headache for Captain Mike Cottam saw him name himself on the bench with Ed Meyrick taking over as skipper for the day and it was the stand-in captain who put Chapel ahead in the first half. Meyrick combined well with Angus Morrison and Jon Griffin and then showed his pace to score in the corner. Stu Butters nailed an excellent conversion to make the score 7-0 to the home side. However, the students soon hit back and were close to a try of their own but a last ditch tackle kept them at bay. Some defensive skulduggery at the ruck saw Chapel penalised though and the visitors reduced the deficit to 4 points from the penalty. Chapel continued to weather the storm and when they forced their way back into opposition territory a second try came scored by Danny Kennedy after some good recycling work by the forwards. The conversion was missed but the score remained 12-3 until half time.

The second half started with Chapel being reduced to 14 men – Cottam paying the price for his team-mates’ previous transgressions shortly after coming on as a replacement – and Liverpool saw their chance to get back into the match. After winning a scrum on the halfway line they attacked with pace through the centres and scored a well worked try to make the score 12-10 to Chapel with plenty of time yet to play. The home side saw out the rest of the sin-bin period with no further damage and once back to a full 15 began to regain control of the match. The crucial try came from a scrum in midfield as Cottam and Simon Davies combined for a training routine back row move and drove deep into Liverpool territory. The ball was quickly recycled and Kennedy finished well beneath the sticks for a converted try to give Chapel a much-needed cushion at 19-10. This was ultimately enough to see Chapel home without too many further scares. With the swirling wind continuing to wreak havoc in the lineouts, Jim Ainsworth still managed to secure enough possession for them to keep the visitors at bay and a couple more chances went begging which could have secured a winning bonus point. However, the students continued to compete until the final whistle and in the end Chapel were happy enough to record the win.

This weekend sees Port Sunlight visit Station Road. Sunlight will feel they should have taken the points in the earlier fixture this season so Cottam will need another similar performance to continue this current winning streak. Kick off is 2-15pm with all spectators welcome. The 2nd XV fought bravely but ended up losing 17-0 to Lymm to exit the cup competition for this campaign. This weekend the 2nd XV travel to Wilmslow looking to improve their position in the league.

Holmes Chapel RUFC would like to thank El Fourno Pizzeria for sponsoring this match.

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