Ellesmere Port 14 - 22 Holmes Chapel

Holmes Chapel 1st XV travelled to Ellesmere Port last Saturday for a South Lancs / Cheshire 3 League game, as they looked to continue their good start to the season. Captain Ed Meyrick had selected a strong squad and was hoping his team could finally achieve a win at Port’s ground having narrowly lost the three previous clashes there. Wayne Scott was among the replacements and hoping to make his 1st XV debut, while Kristian Clowes made his first start on the wing. Blustery conditions meant that the kicking game would be vital, however Chapel were also determined to attack with ball in hand at every opportunity.

The visitors made a strong start and the mobile second row unit of Mark Mcenaney and Jack Baskerville were causing problems for the opposition. Chapel were putting pressure on the Port lineout and managing to win the majority of possession. After only 8 minutes the breakthrough came when quick lineout ball gave the backs chance to attack. The ball was swiftly passed along the line and Doug Canavan drew the final defender before passing to the prolific Ed O’Hare for the simple run-in. O’Hare touched down the ball beneath the posts and Canavan added the simple conversion for a 7-0 lead. This was the perfect start for Chapel and they were confident of increasing their lead. The backs were punching holes in the Port defence and creating chances for further tries. Lee Cagna, enjoying a great game in the centres, nearly scored when he chased his own grubber kick and just failed to ground the ball. Another opportunity was created when the Chapel scrum drove their opponents off the ball with Paul Watson leading the charge from tighthead prop. Again, Chapel came close to scoring from the position but couldn’t apply the finish. Several other chances went begging due to brilliant last-ditch defence from Port, and a lack of clinical finishing from Chapel. Port’s best chance of a try in the first half came when their winger gathered a bouncing ball and found himself in space. Canavan managed to shepherd him towards touch and although the winger offloaded the ball to a supporing runner, enough defenders had tracked back to snuff out the danger. Any other Port attacks were quickly thwarted by strong tackling from Cagna and Clowes.

At half time, Chapel knew they should have been further ahead and Meyrick rallied the troops for the second half. They began well, with Scott making an immediate impression after coming off the bench. Pressure on the Port forwards following the kick-off led to Chapel being awarded a penalty, however Canavan’s kick drifted wide of the posts. The visitors continued to win their own lineout ball easily, with Neil Almond’s throwing not losing any of its accuracy despite the strong winds. Eventually, the lead was stretched following some good work by the forwards. Watson showed great hands for a prop forward as he put Mcenaney in space and the big second row sidestepped the full back and raced away to score. Canavan knocked over the conversion to make the score 14-0 and it looked like the visitors had the game all but won. However, Port showed why they will be one of the stronger sides in this division by fighting back into the match. They began to use a very effective rolling maul to gain territory and momentum, forcing Chapel back into their own half. With twenty minutes to go this paid off as they scored a converted try and were right back in the contest. Chapel hit back immediately from a scrum after the Port forwards had knocked on from the kick off. Mike Cottam broke from the back of the scrum and fed the ball to Meyrick. He drew two defenders and shot out a pass to O’Hare who finished off the move in the corner. The conversion was missed and the score was 19-7 to Chapel. With 10 minutes to go, Chapel were reduced to 14 men when Cottam was sin-binned. Port took their opportunity and scored another converted try when their number 8 scored beneath the posts. At 19-14, the game could have gone either way but fierce tackling and rucking from the forwards direct from the kick-off gave Canavan the chance to seal the victory with a penalty. He made no mistake and the visitors saw out the remaining few minutes to record a fine away victory.

Mcenaney’s performance earned him the man of the match award for Chapel who travel to Helsby next week in the Cheshire Plate looking to continue their 100% record in that competition.

The 2nd XV just lost out at Whitchurch as they went down 3-0 in a close battle. The 2s will be taking on Oswestry away from home this Saturday.

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