Knutsford 5 - 24 Holmes Chapel

Holmes Chapel 1st XV made the short trip up the A50 to play Knutsford last Saturday in South Lancashire / Cheshire 3. The two sides had met on the first day of the season and again in October with Chapel running out convincing winners on both occasions, however they were taking nothing for granted as they looked to secure some vital league points. With Knutsford out of the cup and not featuring in the promotion race, Chapel knew they would be determined to record their first ever victory over the men from Station Road and finally gain local bragging rights over their neighbours. Jack Baskerville was brought back into the second row, with Paddy Kennedy making only his third start of the season on the wing. Matt Bowden was also back in the starting line-up following a 2 week absence.

As soon as the game kicked off it was clear that Knutsford were not going to crumble as they had done the last time the sides met when Chapel ran in 60 points. They were trying to play the game at pace and managed to cause the visitors a few problems in the first 10 minutes. However, once Chapel gained some control and precision in their play they were able to put pressure on the Knutsford line, forcing them to concede penalties. The home side were fortunate to keep 15 men on the pitch when Chapel were awarded 2 penalties in quick succession but were unable to play the advantage due to Knutsford players cynically killing the ball. This tactic paid off for Knutsford as Canavan was unable to punish them with the resulting kicks at goal. Despite this, the pressure and territorial advantage soon led to the first try of the game, albeit an opportunistic one. The Knutsford kicker tried to go short with a drop-out but it was picked off by Jon Griffin who hacked through before gathering the ball and popping to Neil Almond in support. Almond then fed Ed O’Hare who had picked a superb line to burst through the cover defence and score near the posts to leave Canavan a straight-forward conversion. This score should have settled Chapel’s nerves, but instead it seemed to inspire their opposition. Knutsford began to use their promising young backs and – aided by some disjointed Chapel defence – created an overlap on the right hand side of the field to score. The conversion narrowly missed leaving the scoreline at 7-5 to Chapel. The visitors were still dominating territory, but with Knutsford competing well at the set-piece, chances to score were not coming easily. They were gifted a penalty near the posts that Canavan put over, but were not moving the ball quickly enough to cause any real problems for the home defence. Knutsford came closest to scoring before half-time but Lee Cagna tracked back well and bundled the winger into touch to preserve Chapel’s lead.

Harsh words from the Chapel coaches at half-time were delivered in response to a performance that was about as bad as they had turned in all season. To make matters worse, Captain Ed Meyrick was forced to leave the field after taking a knock late in the first period. However, it was Meyrick’s replacement Kristian Clowes who would make the break that led to the crucial score 10 minutes into the second half. Following Clowes’s intervention, the ball was fed quickly to Bowden who brushed aside some weak tackling to break the Knutsford line. He used all his experience to draw the full-back and pop the ball to Griffin in support. The home defence scrambled well, but Griffin was able to offload to Andy Fyffe who crossed the whitewash for his first points of the season. Canavan added the conversion and all of a sudden Chapel were back in control at 17-5. Five minutes later, following a succession of penalties, the visiting pack drove the Knutsford forwards back over their own line with Jim Ainsworth touching down. Unfortunately for Chapel the referee failed to see that the ball had been grounded, instead awarding a 5-metre scrum. However, while Ainsworth was still pinned to the floor the Knutsford prop aimed a succession of punches at the Chapel second-row earning himself a red card. Chapel were also temporarily reduced to 14 after Griffin was sin-binned for retaliation. Once Chapel were back up to full strength for the final 15 minutes they started to press home their advantage. Mark Concar had come on as a replacement and, with Knutsford’s regular tight-head sent off, he and Paul Watson were forcing their oppositie numbers backwards at an alarming rate. One scrum was driven nearly half the length of the field before Knutsford illegally prevented any further Chapel progress. It was only a matter of time before the lead was extended further, and the visitors thought they had their third try when Kennedy crossed with 5 minutes remaining, however the try was disallowed for a knock-on that neither set of players seemed to have noticed. From the scrum, Chapel won the ball back and were steadily pushing for the line. The Knutsford back-row broke early in a desperate attempt to prevent the try but Jim Bowbeer was first to react – picking up the ball and diving over the line. Canavan’s successful conversion was the last action of the match and sealed an important win for Chapel.

After the match, Chapel were happy to take the win as they knew they had under-performed. Credit should also go to the home side who showed far more resilience than the last time the sides met. Knutsford will point to the red card being a turning point, but they were only a man down for 15 minutes, with Chapel already 12 points ahead when the card was shown. Chapel also had 2 clear tries ruled out during the match and despite their below-par performance were able to record a comprehensive victory.

The league campaign continues on Saturday when Chapel host Capenhurst at Station Road. Capenhurst defeated Chapel earlier in the season and Meyrick is determined there will be no repeat this weekend. High numbers are expected at training in preparation for a massive game against a side that recorded a very impressive win last weekend and there will be no room for complacency if Chapel want to keep up their promotion challenge. The matchday is being sponsored by C4 Consultancy of Lymm (see website for more details). All spectators are welcome for a 2-15pm kick off.

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