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Winnington Park 10, Crewe and Nantwich 9
Crewe 2nd XV put up a creditable performance against a very strong Winnington Park that bore no resemblance of the side they beat earlier in the season at Vagrants Park. However, the home side proved just too strong on the day.
Winnington started off the brighter of the two sides and their number 8 scored after 12 minutes when he stepped out of some weak tackles to go over near the posts. The conversion was missed.
On 25 minutes captain Mike Parker pulled back 3 points with a well struck penalty following foul play by the Winnington number 8, he was lucky to stay on the pitch for the entire game as he was warned several times for illegal use of his forearm both while tackling and running with the ball. Crewe suffered for this as he scored another try on 27 minutes following a strike against the head from a Crewe scrum. The conversion was again missed.
Crewe struggled to get any meaningful phases going but there were notable performances from Andy Thompson, first at scrum half and then when he moved to stand off following the departure of Parker with a back injury. Thompson it was who closed the gap to a four points with a penalty on 38 minutes.
The weather took a turn for the worse in the second half and the teams had to suffer a strong wind and driving snow which didn’t help the flow of the game. Crewe, however, were much stronger in the second half and managed to put some good passing movements together.
Another penalty from Thompson on 45 minutes put Crewe with in a point as they pressed their advantage home.
On 75 minutes Crewe looked to have sneaked it when a good move down the flank saw Karl Tatlock go over in the corner only for the referee to adjudge that there was a foot in touch earlier in the move. The Crewe players were understandably disappointed as they had deserved to get something from a hard fought game.
Crewe & Nantwich 2nd XV 15, Bowdon 2nd XV 10
A superb second half performance saw Crewe overcome a Bowdon side that was littered with 1st team players and foreign imports, in fact it was difficult to distinguish a British accent amongst the talented back line!
Crewe fell behind after only 5 minutes when one of Bowdon’s South African centres cut through their defence to pop the ball to the supporting player who scored under the posts. The try was converted and Crewe were looking at a heavy home defeat to a side currently in the bottom 2 of this division.
Bowdon continued to cut the Crewe defence to bits and but for some courageous tackling would have conceded further tries. It was a penalty on 20 minutes that gave Bowdon a two score advantage over the home side.
Then a couple of things broke in Crewe’s favour that began to turn the game their way, Firstly the Bowdon Prop was sin binned for a punch and while he was off the field Crewe took full advantage. Secondly Crewe realised that if they starved the Bowdon backs of quality ball then they could cut out any chance of them scoring.
Crewe’s scrum and lineout now began to function with a real purpose and from a line out drive captain Stuart Banks went over for the first of his two tries. The conversion was impossible against the strong wind and Crewe went into the half time break only 5 points adrift and certainly on the up.
Crewe kept up the pressure in the second half and a strong run down the touchline by 3rd team centre, turned 2nd team flanker for the day, Andre Zwijnen saw him go over in the corner to bring the scores level. The conversion was narrowly missed.
The final 20 minutes were very exciting with the Crewe back bossing proceedings. Eventually another strong drive near the line saw Banks cross for the winning points in a well deserved win.
Match Report – 22nd December 2007
Crewe and Nantwich 2nds 15 V Sandbach 2nds 15
A tremendous performance by Crewe’s second string in atrocious conditions saw them advance to the quarter finals of the Halbro Trophy, on try count, against local rivals Sandbach who are currently riding high in the league above Crewe.
Respect goes to both sides for fielding genuine 2nd teams despite the fact both clubs had no first team games, Sandbach were without a league fixture and Crewe’s game against Dukinfield was called off again on Friday night.
Sandbach had the better of the early exchanges and spent most of the initial 15 minute period in and around the Crewe 22. However, it was Crewe that took the lead thanks to some clinical finishing. They broke away from their own line and the ensuing 5 metre scrum saw Mike Parker pick up and drive over. The conversion was missed.
Sandbach hit back immediately when a lapse in concentration allowed a Sandbach forward to take easy line out ball and dive over the line unopposed. This conversion was also missed.
Just before half time Crewe broke out of defence again and a fine run by Karl Tatlock resulted in a line out 10 metres from the visitors line. An excellent catch and drive saw hooker Hugh Lloyd crossing the line.
Half time 10 -5
Sandbach started the second half with the same spirit as the first and after only 5 minutes had an easy switch move going to hand and the sailed in under the posts. The conversion was hit and they took the lead 12-10.
Crewe now had their best patch of the game and the forwards, who had been dominant in the set piece all afternoon, began to take full control in the loose as well. Forwards and backs combined in a move that saw Tim Cowap finish off in the corner. The conversion proved too difficult in the mud but Crewe were now well placed for an upset at 15-12.
With 5 minutes to go Sandbach were awarded a penalty and opted to take the points rather than go for a match winning try a decision that was to return to haunt them when the final whistle went.
All the players and both sets of supporters celebrated at the final whistle until the referee confirmed that the rules state it isn’t the away side that wins but the team who scores the most tries. On this occasion Crewe had scored 3 to Sandbach’s 2 giving the team from the lower league the victory and passage to another tough fixture in the quarter finals at home to Warrington 2nds also in the league above.
24 November 2007
Crewe and Nantwich 2nds 22 v Sale 2nds 21
Donny signs off Crewe and Nantwich career with the winning try
Crewe put in their best performance of the season so far against a Sale side who are favourites for promotion and have an average winning margin of 40 points plus for their league games and on this performance you could see why.
Crewe’s win was due to a great all round performance but a number of players require particular mention.
When Crewe’s prop cried off at the last moment it seemed Crewe would have to play uncontested scrums and forfeit any league points they won. However an emergency call went out to ex 1st team captain Dave Peters, who at 2.00pm had just settled down to go to bed from the night before. Before Dave turned up Crewe’s hooker Cockhead had valiantly propped for the first 30 minutes without letting anyone down: although he’s vowed never to do it again. Dave Peters turned up with Crewe favourite import Kiwi Donny Ngatai, who was in the middle of his farewell weekend after 6 years in the UK.
Crewe started well but found themselves 6-0 down after 20 minutes due to two silly penalties.
The rest of the first half saw some tremendous play from Crewe both in attack and defence which saw them score two tries from Gammage and Tatlock and a penalty from Parker
Half Time 15 – 6
Sale came back at Crewe in the second half and after Crewe withheld an initial onslaught, they eventually found some holes in the Crewe defence, mainly though their electrifyingly quick full back and scored two tries of their own in quick succession, one of which was converted to give them lead 15-16.
Crewe brought their ‘special team’ players Banks and Cockhead back off the bench (what a good idea this rolling subs rule is) and following a penalty that was kicked to touch, they performed their magic with a trademark move that lead to a score by Donny in the corner and a conversion by Parker.
With 5 minutes left Sale scored a dubious try in the corner but the conversion proved too much for their kicker which still left them one point adrift. Crewe defended bravely to the end to record one of best victories seen at Vagrants Park for many a season.
Cheers Donny. Everyone at the club wishes you well and we look forward to seeing you again someday or at the 2011 World Cup.
Next week
Sefton away.
Stats
Match Report – 13 October 2007
Vale of Lune 3rds 8 v Crewe and Nantwich 2nds 8
Halbro Shield – Cup Match.
Crewe win tie as away team
On the day when England upset France in the World Cup, Crewe 2nds did the same in their own cup match. Vale of Lune 3rds play in the league above Crewe and are one of the favourites for that League, so the result was a marvellous effort by the guys. Particularly as they had to travel all the way to Lancaster for the game.
It was not a pretty game; the ground was more like a field than a rugby pitch, which together with the wet conditions led to many handling errors by both sides. It was also a physical or even brutal game, and the Crewe players showed the utmost of restraint in view of the sledging and cheap shots from the home side and lenient decisions from the referee.
Crewe were surprisingly dominant in the scrums, had the better line out but still failed to produce much flowing rugby. Credit to Vale of Lune defensively whose back line played rush defence and seemed to suffocate most attacks before they started.
Crewe had the better of the opening exchanges and scored an early penalty by Dan Lynch, the kick, seemed that it could have missed, but the posts were so short no one could tell and the referee gave Crewe the benefit of the doubt.
Vale of Lune scored their try mid-way through the first half after a line breaking run from their full back was eventually stopped; the ball was recycled and worked along the line to the big winger to score.
Half time Vale of Lune 5 Crewe 3
The home side scored a penalty early in the second half.
With about 15 minutes left, BOBBY GEORGE found some room on the blind side of a scrum and ran in relatively unopposed for the Crewe score to even the scores.
At this time Crewe’s captain STATO, lived up to his name, and informed the referee that if the score remained level at full time Crewe would win as the away side. The referee disagreed saying extra time was required first, but he did send away a spectator to get the official line. By the time the spectator returned, the referee had already played 10 minutes injury time, anyway he informed the referee that STATO was right. The referee still then found a further 5 minutes to play before blowing the whistle. By this time STATO was nursing a nice ‘shiner’ for his temerity in knowing the rules.
Man of the Match – BOBBY GEORGE
Finally a big thank you and apology to JOSH GRANT, who subbed for Crewe but in such tight a game didn’t get a run out. Next time JOSH !!!
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