Linley 13 vs 19 Holmes Chapel

Holmes Chapel 1st XV earned a fantastic win at 4th placed Linley & Kidsgrove last Saturday to keep them in the running for promotion in South Lancashire / Cheshire 3. No other side had defeated Linley at their home ground all season, with promotion rivals Prenton only managing a draw there and leaders Ramsey falling to their only defeat of their campaign there earlier in the season. Chapel were without their influential and experienced centre Matt Bowden, so Danny Kennedy lined up alongside Lee Cagna with Steve Hatton among the replacements and ready to make his first appearance for the 1st XV in 5 years.

There was no 2nd XV game and Chapel took huge support down to North Staffs, with the away supporters outnumbering the home crowd. This provided a massive boost to the players in the squad who would like to thank everyone for their support.

The visitors kicked off and made a good start, which led to a Chapel lineout just inside the opposition half. They immediately laid down the challenge to the much respected Linley pack by driving them backwards at a rapid pace before Ed Meyrick whipped the ball out to the backs. Cagna made a strong burst up the middle of the park before offloading out of the tackle to put Kennedy in space. The youngster showed pace, strength, and an eye for the try-line as he went under the posts for a cracking try after only 3 minutes of play. Kristian Clowes turned it into the best possible start by adding the extras.

Linley began to use their forwards to carry the ball but the threat was being dealt with comfortably by the Chapel defence. The home side were allowed to get back into the game, however, due to a series of harsh penalty decisions going against the visitors. 2 of these were converted to leave Linley only a point behind after 20 minutes and Chapel were grateful that another kick fell short, and also to second row Mark Mcenaney who made a try-saving cover tackle on the excellent Linley scrum half.

Mike Cottam was on his best form in the Chapel back row, making a series of thumping tackles and disrupting Linley’s game plan. Late in the first half he did brilliantly to recycle the ball after Linley had tried to shove the visitors off their own ball at a scrum near the home team’s line. This proved crucial as when Andy Fyffe received the ball at outside half he waltzed through the Linley defence to touch down under the sticks and extend Chapel’s lead (conversion added by Clowes). On the stroke of half time Clowes attempted a long-range penalty but it fell short and the teams turned round with the score at 14-6.

The second half started in deteriorating conditions and both sides were finding it difficult to achieve any fluency in their play. After a period of Chapel pressure they were awarded a penalty near the touchline that Fyffe kicked to the corner. A catch-and-drive followed and Paul Watson bulldozed over for try number 7 of the season. Clowes was unable to add the conversion but at 19-6 Chapel were well on top.

However, 5 minutes later a series of errors gifted Linley a converted try bringing them within 6 points and there was all to play for with 25 minutes remaining. The game was degenerating into a battle with little quality possession for either side. The Chapel tackling remained superb with Watson putting some massive hits on Linley’s big men in the forwards, and the Cagna-Kennedy centre combination letting nothing through in midfield.

The visitors played out the last 5 minutes with 14 men as Ian Lightfoot was sent to the sin-bin, but Linley couldn’t create any clear-cut chances and eventually the final whistle blew to signal a great win for Chapel.

Both Coach and Captain were delighted after the game. Rick Clarke said “This was a hard-fought victory in difficult conditions against a very tough side. It’s a great achievement to end their unbeaten home record”. Captain Meyrick added “The lads were fantastic today and showed we can win against the odds. We now look forward to taking on Ramsey next week”.

On Saturday, Chapel will take on the league leaders at Station Road with the chance to go top of the pile if they can defeat the Isle of Man side. Ramsey ran out winners back in September in the corresponding fixture on the island, but Chapel will be determined to prove themselves against a very good team who have quality in both the forwards and backs. Kick off is 3pm and all spectators are more than welcome.

The 2nd XV are back in action at Holmes Chapel Leisure Centre, taking on Sandbach 4th XV in a local derby that always produces a hard-fought game played in a good spirit. Kick off is 3pm.

Holmes Chapel RUFC would like to thank club sponsors Pochin Construction, Electech, Auto Union Finance, Evadx, Tom Bagley Construction, and AWE Cheshire for their support. Please see the Sponsorship page of our website for more information on our sponsors.

https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/holmeschapel/?primary=theclub&secondary=sponsors