Report by Paul Lewis

 

TYLDSLEY 11 NEW BRIGHTON 55

 

Any fans of the late Ray Milland will remember one of his best films ‘The Lost Weekend’. With that in mind you will picture your away match reporter or as Doug calls me ‘the foreign correspondent’, a bundle of notes, two empty pens, the euphoria of running rugby(at last) the hospitality of the hosts and last but far from least  an experience entitled ‘The Beer Festival’.

 

The memory is a funny thing it can be lost totally or partially, sometimes tinged in rose sometimes darker than the real event. And sometimes like a jig saw spilt on the floor it comes back in instalments, but not necessarily in the correct order.

 

For those of you who made the trip down the East Lancs Road will know that this has been a funny old season and if we could only share out a few of the highs from this match amongst some of the more dour encounters of the past eight months we would be much higher up the table. Perhaps one had to precede the other, with no pressure on the result and the added amusement of having no shorts( no room to expand on that here) the team played with greater confidence and abandon than  at any time this season.

 

Somewhere amongst the beer soaked remnants of tasting notes and a half eaten cheese and onion batch lay the minute details of the game; a hundred years from now they may be found by an as yet unborn archaeologist but I doubt if they will mean anything at all to that reader. Suffice to say I have only a fractured memory and the recollections of canvassed players to go on; strangely they all give a slightly different view of the game. For those who travelled, you saw the game and have your own.

 

Sadly Tyldesley will not be with us next year, had the league positions be based on hospitality they would have been at the other end of the table, oddly for some clubs a vice versa position would be the case.

 

I understand that the beer festival proved to be a great success and will be held again next year, good work Guy; I would advise however for those intending to have a look in next year the idea is not necessarily to try ALL of the beers and ciders on offer, unless you are looking to forget…

Northwich 36 New Brighton 6

 

Report by Paul Lewis

The Blues were always going to be up against it in this league and Cheshire Vase semi-final double header, with the home side desperate to stay in the promotion race and the enforced absence of scrum half Alan Hesketh who was cup-tied. A rash of Saturday morning cry-offs led to players being called up at the last minute and others having to play out of position.

If the Blues were already up against it things weren’t helped by the referee suffering a pre-match injury causing the game to be delayed for almost 2 hours; whilst the home side physio organised some light pasta and energy drinks for the home side the visitors were left to bake in the changing rooms, not the best preparation.

The game started well for the Blues and the majority of the opening 20 minutes was spent in the Northwich half, the home side incurring a number of silly penalties; the Blues failed on two early penalty kicks but opened the scoring from a penalty in front of the posts ably stroked home by stand off Birley.

The Blues seemed to be slowly taking control of the game but were undone by two poor line outs, both of which were worthy of a ‘cock up of the season award’ and the home side were gifted 14 points. Unfortunately, lack of practice in key aspects of the game due to the enforced team changes began to show and the home side grew in confidence.

The second half started promisingly and with the home side still leaking penalties the Blues were still just about in the game until some chaotic work at the base of the scrum and then a dropped pass in mid field presented further points.

The home side were far better organised and fully deserved the win, the Blues fought bravely but were undone by the absence of key players. Let’s hope that we can finish the season on a high with the last game away at Tyldesley next week.

Final Score: Northwich 36 – 6 New Brighton

 

New Brighton 13 Leigh 15

 

Report by Doug Thorpe

Team: 15. Nick Aldersey, 14. Ian Ahern (Adam Pitt), 13. Vinnie Dutton, 12. Sean Ellis, 11. Andy Signal, 10. Simione Mafi, 9. Luke Thompson, 1. Paul Lewis 2. Kieran Hibbs, 3. John Williams, 4. Paul Roberts, 5. Loa Tupou, 6. Jack Scott-Sugden (Mark Dorrington), 7. Paea Liku (Mike Gazzola), 8. Kati Tuipulotu.

It was a frustrating and deeply disappointing afternoon for the Blues. Playing well in the first half they should have put the result beyond doubt well before the break only to allow Leigh to haul themselves back, take over the initiative and, in the end, the points.

Leigh rampaged from the kick off. New Brighton lost their first lineout and only a cracking tackle by Ian Ahern saved the New Brighton line in those early exchanges. The Blues took possession at the breakdown, remarkably without interference by the referee, and mounted the counter attack. Liku, Hibbs, Tupou and scrum half Thompson were much involved as the forwards bludgeoned their way up field to force a tottering defence into conceding a penalty. Luke Thompson converted and the Blues were three points in the lead on five minutes and oozing confidence.

Mafi was unlucky to be forced into touch just short of the corner flag after taking a flicked pass from Kati and a few minutes later crossing the line only to be brought back for an earlier infringement, which this correspondent is unable to explain. Again it was Mafi making the play soon after with a nicely weighted chip into the corner for Nick Aldersey to beat the defence to the touch down.

The Blues really needed more points on the board but a couple of attempts at converting penalties failed and a storming run down the left wing by Paul Lewis ended with the final pass going astray.

Having survived thus far the visitors were growing in confidence. A couple of penalty shots at goal, one hitting the upright, failed but at the end of the half and with Kati cooling off in the sin bin they opted for a scrum and trundled over the line for No 8 Calvin Crompton to claim the score. Terence Knapman converted and the New Brighton advantage was down to a single point.

Half Time Score: New Brighton 8 – 7 Leigh

Leigh continued to grow in stature. The New Brighton pack was struggling, giving bad ball for Thompson and Kati at the back or, on occasion, suffering the ignominy of being pushed off their own ball altogether. A penalty goal extended the lead for the visitors but they also missed eminently kickable penalties and also crossed the line on two occasions to have the tries ‘not given’.

The New Brighton defence stood up well under the pressure but the one effective way to get into a scoring position was to kick and chase which Aldersey, Ellis and Dutton employed with some effect. Kati took advantage of such a position on the hour by picking up at the base of the scrum in the visitors 22 moving right then feeding the ball left for Lewis to drive over the line. No conversion but it gave a lift as the Blues were back in front.

Leigh were not to be denied, they were fired up and almost inevitably managed to overwhelm the defence with a good free running attack, rounded off by centre Gareth Jones, to complete the scoring.

Final Score: New Brighton 13 – 15 Leigh

Photos