Ramsey 36 - 17 Holmes Chapel

Holmes Chapel 1st XV suffered their first defeat of the season last Saturday when they played at Ramsey in South Lancashire and Cheshire 3. Isle of Man sides are always very tough to beat away from home; however Chapel had travelled with a strong side and were hoping to continue their winning start to the new season. Giles Pearson started in the back row, with Lee Cagna moving to full back as Chapel tried to keep changes to a minimum from the side that beat Port Sunlight the previous week. With the sun shining and the wind not too much of a factor, it was a great setting for both sides to play their preferred attacking style of rugby.

The first 10 minutes were extremely hard work for Chapel with Ramsey immediately setting up camp in their half of the field. The home side were throwing everything into the attack and testing the Chapel defence but were unable to make an early breakthrough. The sustained pressure was taking its toll on the visitors however, and they wasted several chances to clear their lines. Eventually Ramsey managed to take the lead with an unconverted try after a lineout only metres from the Chapel line. Not long later, the lead was stretched to 12-0 as the Chapel defence was breached again, with a try scored near the posts to leave a straight-forward conversion. There was little argument that Ramsey deserved their lead, however Chapel kick-started their performance in the last 15 minutes of the half and began to take the game to the home side. After a few near misses, the deficit was narrowed when Ed O'Hare scored his second try of the season. Cagna had fielded a clearance kick and ran the ball with purpose back at the Ramsey defence. Some crisp passing allowed O'Hare the chance to out-pace his opposite number and touch down in the corner. Cagna was unable to add the extras but the score had given Chapel renewed confidence. They kept up the pressure and just before half time drove a lineout towards the Ramsey line. The forwards created enough space for scrum half Ed Meyrick to scramble over for a try in the corner. This time Cagna made no mistake and levelled the scores at 12-12 to give Chapel a great chance in the second half.

Unfortunately for the visitors, a crazy 10 minutes allowed their hosts to pull away after the break. Firstly, a penalty for offside put Ramsey back in the lead and settled their nerves again after letting their lead slip in the first half. This was followed by two tries in quick succession, both the result of some strong running from the Ramsey attackers, although they were helped somewhat by Chapel's temporary inability to make a decent tackle. With the score at 29-12, the visitors again woke up and looked to get back into the match. They continued to run the ball with pace and a 'professional foul' by the home side led to them being reduced to 14 men for 10 minutes. Chapel were able to take advantage of this when Jim Ainsworth forced an error at the front of the Ramsey lineout and hooker Neil Almond pounced to ground the ball. Cagna was unable to convert from the corner but Chapel had been given a glimmer of hope with the score at 29-17. Ramsey then showed why they are likely to be promotion contenders as they shut up shop and looked to see out the match. A change in the home side's front row led to the Chapel scrum being put under pressure after it had coped extremely well all game and this disrupted possession enough to starve them of scoring chances. In the final seconds of the game a bout of fisticuffs broke out, which went unspotted by the referee and Ramsey took advantage to add some gloss to the score-line with a converted try beneath the posts.

Any bad blood was swiftly put aside after the game as Chapel enjoyed the traditional hospitality of the Isle of Man sides. Ramsey look likely to be one of the stronger teams in the league, however Chapel will look forward to having the chance of revenge when the two sides meet at Station Road later in the season. Lee Cagna was nominated as Chapel's man of the match by the Ramsey captain after a fine performance. Disappointment at the defeat was also partly lessened by news of the 2nd XV's magnificent 70-0 victory over Bowden. After all the problems faced by the 2s last season, the club is hoping for more stability and some improved results, whilst maintaining the 'never say die' attitude that got them through a difficult campaign in 08/09.

Unfortunately, there will be no rugby at Station Road this weekend, with the 1st XV away at Parkonians in the Cheshire Plate as they look to bounce back from this defeat, while the 2nd XV try and continue their good start away to Wilmslow.

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