Lancashire Bowl 1st Round 31/8/13

Birchfield RUFC vs Colne & Nelson RUFC – Lancashire Bowl 1st Round, 31/8/13
Colne & Nelson put to Sword
To kick off the new campaign, Birchfield where given a home tie in the 1st Round of the Lancashire Bowl. The opponents, Colne & Nelson, who play their rugby in the same division as Birchfield, where expected to be tough opposition, however unfortunately for them this didn’t really materialise.
Todays game was kindly hosted by Parklands Club, as Birchfield’s regular pitch is out of use until the League fixtures kick in. The pitch was in good nick, as you would expect and Birchfield’s backs would fancy their chances of a try or 8.
Newly crowned Birchfield skipper Andrew Beswick lost the toss and the Colne skip elected to play into the considerable wind in the first half, a decision that on reflection went a long way to losing them the game. It was mentioned amongst the coaches & players that a bright start to the game could blow Colne & Nelson away, and that is precisely what happened.
Birchfield kicked the game off and immediately there was a knock on from the Colne second row, giving Birchfield a scrum in a good area of the field. The home side just about managed to keep their own ball in the scrum, although the sheer size of the colne tight 5 did put the pressure on Richard Dennett at No. 8. It was from this passage of play that Outside Centre Phil Morgan powered over for the first of his 3 tries.
Not long after, Birchfield where in again on the right hand side, with pacey winger Lee Holland showing neat footwork to evade one tackler, and then simply going straight over the top of his opposite number to touch down.
Loosehead prop Mark Brick then had to leave the field with a broken toe nail, which I can imagine was really hampering his running game. He was replaced by Second Row Forward Craig Cogley, meaning a quick re-shuffle meant Richard Thomasson moved into the front row.
The Birchfield back row of Barrett and Hughes where making life very difficult for Colne and Nelson in the lineout, winning all of their own ball, and the vast majority of the oppositions. Coupled with the wind, Colne would always struggle to release the pressure.
On the 20 minute mark, Colne & Nelson finally had something to shout about, or so they thought as there big loosehead prop took a neat inside ball off the scrumhalf to crash over, only to realise that he was still 5 metres out. Colne where awarded an attacking scrum, and clearly fancied a push over try, but unfortunately for them the Birchfield pack where up to the task and held them out.
After a some what scrappy middle section of the first half, Birchfield then came to life for the last 10 mins, a quick tap from scrumhalf beswick and 50 metre break sent Morgan under the sticks for his second, and a good break in the midfield from fullback Ben Royle then gifted Carl Edwards the chance to open his account for the year.
At Half Time, with the score at 28-0, with Royle having converted all four tries, the Birchfield Coach Paul Findlater knew that the game was won, and and emphasis was put on the nil, knowing that we will no doubt come up against much stronger opposition in the coming months.
Once again, Birchfield flew out of the blocks, scoring 2 quick tries to effectively put Colne to bed. Ben Royle profited from a nice inside ball off Lee Holland following a Beswick box kick, and then the latter crossed for his second of the game. Birchfield No.8 Richard Dennett was by this point running a mock, making 3 consecutive 60 metre breaks straight from kick offs, which I’m sure the Colne outfit will be particularly disappointed with.
On the 50 minute mark, Hughes was replaced in the back row by Pritchard, who had an immediate impact putting in 2 good tackles. This did however disrupt the Birchfield Lineout to a point where they had now lost their dominance, and Colne where securing their own ball. Not long after, Dennett, Hazard, Bebbington and Abbott where replaced by Howarth, Barrett, Clark and Tollitt. Not long after, Neil Barrett went over for a try after a show and go seemed to outwit the defensive line to an extent that they didn’t even put a finger on him.
Colne and Nelson do deserve credit for the way they stuck at the game, and they did eventually get there reward, there prop scoring a pick and go pushover, and there skipper and full back, who was by far their stand out player, had the pace to get over from 30 meters out, although Lee Holland made him work for it.
David Rushton then made an appearance in the front row as Thomasson gave way, and Hughes re emerged for Barrett, who was disappointed not to complete the full 80.
In between the two Colne tries, Morgan completed his hat trick with an interception on our own 30 metre line. He comfortably had the legs on the Colne full back, and cantered over to the delight of the home fans.
Full Time – 56-12
Although Birchfield can be happy with their display, and obviously with the result, there are certainly things to work on before the opening league fixture away to Pendle. That will no doubt be a much sterner test for this young outfit, one which I am certainly looking forward to. Passages of the game where littered with bad decision making and poor presentation of the ball. Had Birchfield a bit more composure, the scoreline could well have been 70+.
Man of the Match was given to No.8 Richard Dennett, for his all round game including multiple breaks and some good handling to boot.
A special mention must go to Liam Clarke for his efforts throughout the summer, to prepare the team for the season, and also to Head Coach and Chief Motivator Paul Findlater, for his words of wisdom throughout!
Report by Paul Hughes.