Last Saturday marked a momentous achievement in the 25 year history of Holmes Chapel Rugby Club as the 1st XV sealed promotion to South Lancashire / Cheshire 2 by overcoming the challenge of Port Sunlight in their last league match of the season. The result also propelled the Villagers into pole position, with only 2nd placed Prenton, with 1 game remaining, able to catch them. Promotion means that next season, Chapel will compete at their highest level ever.

The match was played in bright, sunny conditions against a Sunlight team that had only collected one win all season, but were looking to end their campaign on a high note. 1st XV Captain Ed Meyrick had to make some tough selection decisions during the week, with so many players having contributed to the successful campaign. Chapel drew first blood after only 2 minutes, Paul Watson grounding the ball after the pack had gradually driven their opponents backwards following a close-range lineout. Kristian Clowes was unable to add the conversion but the visitors had the perfect start.

Sunlight battled back, using runners close to the fringes to try and break through the Chapel defence. They went close with a missed penalty before Watson scored his second try of the afternoon – almost identical to the first – and this time it was converted by Clowes to extend the lead to 12-0. After 25 minutes, tighthead prop Watson completed a remarkable hat-trick when he took a flat pass from Meyrick to burrow his way over the line and move alongside Ed O’Hare on 11 tries for the season. Clowes narrowly missed the conversion but at 17-0, Chapel looked to have set the platform for victory.

However, Sunlight had other ideas and were clearly in no mood to end their season by going down without a fight. They hammered away at the Chapel defence and 5 minutes before half time scored a deserved try (unconverted) to narrow the deficit to 12 points. Then, only a couple of minutes later, the Sunlight forwards combined well to score beneath the posts and this time the extra 2 points were added to pile the pressure on Chapel as the teams went into the second half with only 5 points between them at 17-12.

On the back of a much needed dressing-down from Coach Rick Clarke, Chapel were much more focused after the break. They needed to be, as Sunlight continued to battle hard and – like fellow strugglers Helsby have also done this season – made a mockery of their poor results by providing far sterner opposition than other clubs further up the table. With 20 minutes to go, the home side began to tire in the heat and Lee Cagna burst through in midfield to score under the posts for a try that was converted by Clowes. The Cornish kicker struck the upright with a penalty attempt a few minutes later, before making amends by finishing off a flowing backs move in the corner to settle Chapel’s nerves and put the game beyond the hosts (conversion missed).

With 10 minutes remaining, and Sunlight on the attack, Andy Fyffe intercepted a loose pass and offloaded to Danny Kennedy who outpaced the cover defence to score out wide (conversion missed). Both sides had chances to score before the final whistle – some good work from Dom Moss led to a missed opportunity for the visitors, while the Sunlight outside-centre was only denied by some tenacious defence from Jed Wragg after an impressive break.

Finally, the referee ended proceedings and Chapel were relieved to have finished the job with a 34-12 success. Players and supporters celebrated after the game, but Meyrick was quick to thank Coach Clarke for his tireless work this season that has turned the promotion dream into reality.

Clarke said after the game “I may have been involved with more talented players in my rugby life, but never with a team who have worked so hard over a season. We have got a great, honest, and close group of lads and I’m sure we will do well next season”.

Volcano permitting, the league title will be decided next weekend when Prenton travel to Ramsey on the Isle of Man, with Chapel needing a home win by the Manx men to be crowned Champions. Whatever the result on the Island, however, Chapel should feel proud of their achievements this season and will look forward to new challenges in September.

Before taking a well-earned break over the summer, there are still a few matters to be taken care of with a Tour game scheduled for this Saturday against some old friends from across the Atlantic – The University of Maine, Farmington – who are hoping to touch down in the UK on Thursday (see https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/holmeschapel/?section=clubnews&news_id=128365 for more details). Kick-off is at 1pm and will be the curtain-raiser for the 2nd XV’s match against Wilmslow 3rd XV, who have already secured the Miller Homes Division 5 South Championship. The 2nd XV have had a magnificent season, with skipper Garry Cottam guiding them to 5th position with the chance of moving up to 3rd place if they can topple the league leaders. Kick-off for that game is at 3pm. As always, all spectators are more than welcome.

The 1st XV also have their appearance in the Cheshire Plate final to look forward to. League rivals Prenton have been confirmed as the opposition following their semi-final victory over Ramsey 2 weeks ago so this will be an extremely tough game. The final takes place on Sunday 9 May at New Brighton Rugby Club with an 11:30am kick-off and Chapel will be organising coaches for supporters. More details to follow shortly.

Club training continues on Tuesday nights at 7pm, with Circuit Training at 8pm on Thursdays. Any new players who would like to join Holmes Chapel RUFC should call 07508 540 503.

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.

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