A patchy performance at the weekend saw Holmes Chapel 1st XV win their opening league fixture of the new campaign, however they will be disappointed at not reaching anywhere near their full potential against a determined Port Sunlight side. After comprehensively beating Knutsford last week Chapel were looking to build on that performance at Station Road, however they were made to work extremely hard for the victory. Having not played against Port Sunlight for 4 seasons, Chapel were not sure what to expect from the game, although they had anticipated a backlash from the opposition following Sunlight's heavy reverse in the Cheshire Plate the previous Saturday. The visitors had an excellent kicker, were well organised in the forwards, and clearly looking for a strong start to their own league campaign. Mitch Lawrence started on the wing for Chapel after his appearance off the bench last weekend, with big Darren Saffill back in the squad as a replacement.

Chapel made by far the better start to the contest, playing to a sensible game-plan of kicking to the corners and using their height advantage in the line-out to steal or disrupt the opposition ball. Despite wanting to bring the backs into the game whenever possible, Chapel were also keeping the ball in the pack and driving into the Sunlight forwards to maintain control of the pace of the game. When the ball was released Chapel created several chances to score, but the visitors somehow kept them at bay. The dominance of territory and possession finally paid off when Doug Canavan converted a penalty to establish a 3-0 lead. This was soon followed by another kick at goal that stretched the margin to 6 points. The Sunlight players were starting to tire and 30 minutes into the game Chapel scored their first try. A lineout in the opposition half was driven towards the try-line putting the defence on the back foot. Ed Meyrick saw the space open up down the blindside and sprinted through to score. Canavan added the conversion to bring the score to 13-0. At this point there was only one team in the match, and a big score looked to be on the cards, but Port Sunlight had other ideas and began to cause problems for the home side. Chapel needed to return to the simple game-plan that had been so successful for half an hour, but were guilty of running slow possession and this gave the Sunlight defence the opportunity to make some strong tackles in midfield. Right on the stroke of half time, scrappy possession from a ruck in Chapel's own half led to a handling error and gifted 7 points to the visitors. The Sunlight centre hacked the loose ball through to the try-line and touched down for a converted try, which made the half time score 13-7.

During the break, Chapel stressed the need to regain control of the game. The lineout continued to function well and hooker Neil Almond was taking advantage of his opposite number's inexperience at that position by stealing the majority of Sunlight's ball as well as securing his own. Despite this, it was the away side who scored first with a long-range penalty sailing through the sticks to make the score 13-10, putting more pressure on Chapel as their lead was gradually fading away. Disaster then struck with 15 minutes of the second half played as, again, the home side were guilty of being too adventurous in their own territory as an attempted pass was intercepted for a simple run under the posts. The conversion was a formality and brought the score to 17-13 in favour of Port Sunlight. Things could have got even worse for Chapel as Sunlight attempted another difficult shot at goal. The kicker easily had the distance but the attempt drifted inches wide of the upright to keep the gap at 4 points. Faced with their first real challenge of the season, Chapel forgot about the errors already made and concentrated on regaining the lead. Returning to the effective strategy of playing for territory, they set up camp in the Sunlight half. Almond continued to hit his lineout jumpers and win ball at the scrum, giving Chapel the platform to attack the Sunlight line. Several chances were wasted but Chapel stayed calm and kept taking the ball through the phases to tie in as many defenders as possible. Meyrick then produced a terrific sidestep to take him through the defensive line and score to put Chapel back ahead. The conversion was missed meaning the advantage was a single point, so it was vital to keep looking for another try. With 5 minutes to go, more controlled play from the pack gave Matt Bowden the opportunity to deliver a scoring pass to extend the lead. The missed conversion made the score 23-17 so Sunlight still had the opportunity to snatch victory, however the Chapel forwards kept things tight to see out the remainder of the match with no further scares.

While the performance was far from perfect, Chapel will take heart from the fact that they came through under pressure, something the team have become increasingly good at in recent seasons. Nevertheless, this was a useful reminder that no team in this league will be a pushover and improved concentration and decision making will be required if Chapel are to mount a promotion challenge. Neil Almond was named as Man of the Match for his impressive display at the set piece.

This Saturday brings a very tough fixture at Ramsey in the Isle of Man so Chapel will need to ensure they do not make as many errors if they want to defeat one of the likely contenders for the Championship.

Saturday also sees the start of the 2nd XV season at Station Road with Garry Cottam's men taking on Bowden, kick off 3pm with all spectators welcome.

Holmes Chapel RUFC would like to thank Wymans Ltd and Hopeweiser Ltd for their continued support.