Winnington Park 14-33 Crewe & Nantwich
A very strong performance by everybody resulted in what had been expected by the coaches over the past few games.
Winnington are a strong outfit which meant that all players on the pitch had to work hard and with some great handling and true aggression we put the loose referring and sometimes dangerous play behind us and scored team tries.
Strong support play and quick ball meant that we were always going forward which is what we have been training for over the past months.
The next steps are to work on defensive positions and the need to re-act as quickly as possible at penalty breakdowns.
If the team continue with the same aggression and passion, it will be a good second half of the season.
Crewe & Nantwich v Stoke
The first game could have gone Crewe’s way as the ball was going from team to team through some great rucking,passing and defence. 2-1 in favour of the opposition could have easily been 3-2 to Crewe with one or two possible tries being taken that little bit to far rather than passed down the line.
The backs worked very well, with the ball being won at the rucks and passed out through virtually all hands to make a lot of ground. Improvements can be made in the follow up support to change the direction of play and get the ball around the opposition.
A big step up by all.
The second game started well with fresh legs on Crewe’s side which saw the the ball being moved across the pitch followed by the passer. Its good to see that we have many players who can play in multiple positions which is very important due to, as we saw, a lot of players going down injured.
But with Stoke still fielding their strongest side and Crewe playing a lot of players out of their regular positions, 5 tries by the opponents seems fair but what makes me very pleased is that nobody stopped but carried on fighting to the end, which shows how grown up all the players are and what dedication they all have.
What is needed now is all players to get a bit more aggressive when carrying the ball and build on that never give up spirit.
Well done all.
Bowden v Crewe & Nantwich (Win for Bowden)
All players who took to the field can feel cheated out of what should have been an easy win. From the start we attacked Bowden, making them make mistakes and turn over ball easily which was quickly passed down the line, which allowed us to make a lot of ground.
Unfortunately the referee did not seem to like this and penalised Crewe for some unseen infringements.
The poor decision making and very biased calls made by the ref ruined what this sport is all about and that is fairness and learning whilst enjoying.
With a possible 4 tries disallowed or stopped from occurring due to poor refereeing decisions, I would say the game was won by Crewe and we should feel some pride in that.
U11 V Macclesfield 8th November 2009
Crewe & Nantwich 0-42 Macclesfield
The players seemed up for the game and never gave up regardless of the result.
Crewe took the ball into contact too many times and were beaten to the ruck which resulted in a lot of turn over ball which we tried to defend, but due to too many players leaning on behind the ruck, the opponents easily passed the ball down the line and scored.
Positive points from this game came from the fact that the players never gave up and made some good breaks and tackles.
Crewe & Nantwich U11s v Ellesmere Port & Macclesfield 11 October 2009
A grey, overcast and then very wet morning saw us take on Ellesmere Port and Macclesfield at the old Shell Sports Club last Sunday. The change in the weather from last week also brought a change in performances and results...
Falcons v Macclesfield Result: 0-42
The players seemed up for the game and never gave up regardless of how the match was going. Our biggest failing was in taking the ball into contact too many times and constantly being beaten to the ruck. This resulted in a lot of turn over ball. When we tried to defend, we found that too many of our players were leaning on behind the ruck which meant that the opponents could easily pass the ball down the line and score.
Positive points from this game were that the players never gave up and made some good breaks and tackles.
Man of the Match: Nathan Hall
Eagles v Ellesmere Port Result: 7-33
After a good start with plenty of attacking rugby, Crewe looked to be the stronger of the two teams, but again poor positioning at the ruck resulted in a lot of turn over ball and again Crewe were playing defensive rugby. Our only try of the day came from Calum Meakin, converted by Ryan Harman
Some fine tackling by all showed that once we have learnt to support in the ruck and maul areas, we will be a force to reckon with.
After the game Coach Chris said that he wanted to thank everybody for the effort taken in getting the players to Ellesmere Port in the right frame of mind and for their support on the sideline - especially when it rained.
Man of the Match: Kieran Anderson
Crewe & Nantwich U11s v Northwich 4 October 2009
Falcons v Northwich Result: 28-0
The first match of the season had Northwich visit us at the Vagrants. The game started well with Crewe doing wave after wave of attacking. Our first try came after a drive from Crewe which led to a scrum for us near the Northwich line, Ryan Harman touching down and kicking the conversion. Crewe had lots of possession in the first half, but the old habit from last season of taking the ball in rather than passing it out meant that no other tries were scored. At half time we led 7-0.
At the break, Coach Chris gave the players a gentle reminder about what they have been doing in training, such as getting the ball away from contact as quickly as possible. This was taken on board by the players and some very good moves were put together after the forwards had taken the ball in and set up good ruck ball for the backs to use. Rory Ewan ripped the ball from a Northwich player and Nathan Hall went on to score our second try. Our third try came when following quick thinking by Reece Pemberton, he pinched the ball from the opposition side of the scrum and Calum Meakin scored and converted. Our final try came with our winning a scrum against the head and driving for the line, Reece Pemberton scoring on the blind side.
Tries: Harman,Hall,Meakin,Pemberton
Cons: Harman x 3 , Meakin
Eagles v Northwich Result: 66-0
With 5 fresh pairs of legs on the field and a reminder again about what can be achieved when we put into practice what we have learnt, some text book rugby was played which shocked Northwich, the crowd and the Coaching staff. Aggression was used in the tackle and the ruck, great ball was stolen from the rear of the opponents scrum and some great attacking moves resulted in 10 tries and 8 conversions.
The second half saw planned backs moves being abandoned in favour of solo runs when it became clear that attackers were unlikely to be brought to ground.
Tries: Telfor, Meakin x 3, Savage x 3,Nash, Pemberton ,Robinson.
Cons:Harman x 2, Meakin, Pemberton, Savage x 3, Robinson,
Overall a great performance by all old and new with Man of the Match performances by Ryan Harman for the Falcons and Calum Meakin for the Eagles.
Some photos are available to see at: http://gallery.me.com/heathcottage#100187
