This week was billed by Coaches as the most important match of the year so far, our local derby, in the vein of United v City and El Classico!!

We went over to the furthest pitch to play Stockport and had another session focussing on passing and spreading the ball across the whole pitch. During our practice game, we played Turn and Pass, where the boys had to stop and pass after running a short space which helped them to think about their team mates in support.

When the games started, we found that their coaches were being very clear on the rules for offside, knocking on and grounding the ball properly.

Dave's team were :Joe C, Ashwin, Joel, Ethan , Finn and William.
Played 3 won 3 , Won 7-5, 7-3 and 6-4 . Overall won 20-12

It was a joy to coach the boys on Sunday, they concentrated very well and played together as a unit. The first game, our defence was brilliant to see, tagging together and keeping the line which was important as the Stockport referees were fair in punishing both sides for offsides.

The tries were spread throughout the team with all 6 contributing to the tally. It is difficult to single out anyone for the player of the team, Joe and William got the bulk of the scores, with Ashwin covering every blade of grass across the pitch with his mazzy runs. Finn is really improving and a match for anyone in the side with some fine scores ( including three in one match) and defending, Ethan and Joel played intelligently with excellent tagging and frequent scores. I think we only stepped out of play twice in 3 games which is good to see.

Neil's team were: Sam, Harry, Kaya, Sergio, Max and Seb,
Played 3, Won 5-3, Drew 5-5 and Lost 5-7. Overall drew 15-15

We didn’t get off to a great start, managing to run into touch on our first play. But with the Referee picking up on a couple of knock on’s by Stockport, we grew in confidence and put in a good team performance, despite Seb picking up a blow to the nose in the first half. Kaya and Sergio managed to get on the score board, whilst Sam continued his rich vein of try scoring, scoring the first of his 11 try’s on the day!

The second game was a more even affair, with both teams playing some end to end rugby. The good tagging from the first game continued, where we managed to gain our second turnover of the morning, and the passing and support by the lads was really encouraging. Sergio and Max became more involved in the game, whilst Harry also had some good runs.

The final game saw us fall asleep in the first half, where uncharacteristically we managed to knock on, on a couple of occasions whilst the tagging also let us down. However, the incentive of Max playing against his school friends, alongside some inspirational running by Sam saw us turn a 4 -1 deficit at half time to 4-3 early in the second half. Unfortunately, Stockport found an extra gear towards the end of the match, and despite a great individual try by Max, we lost the final match of the day.

All in all, there were some really encouraging play by the team, where in places the tagging, passing and support play was second to none.

The team with the hairy faced coaches were: Noah, Oliver, Ishy, Daoud, Joe K and Alexander
Played 3, Won 6-4, Lost 5-4 and 3-2. Overall Drew -12-12

Our boys played well together and there was one try which featured 10 passes to get to the try line with everyone being involved! Noah was the captain in the first game and was very vocal during the games. Ishy took the lead as the most experienced player, one particular move saw him run from one side of the pitch to the other shouting that he couldn't pass to anyone because they were all offside! He and Oliver made the majority of our passes across the pitch.

Daoud and Alexander are improving each week, both of them made good runs to make ground and move forward. Joe K is developing a habit of strong running with the ball and was unlucky to have a try ruled out for not grounding it.

We were unlucky to lose both of the last two games by tries which were not allowed and despite good tagging, Stockport scored a two breakaway tries in each of the games.

The boys are improving and picking up the habit of passing the ball before they are tagged. However, we were all confused by the Stockport coaches on one pitch calling out to be like pizzas!!

Manchester Rugby Club

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