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Sat 15 Nov 2014 · Group 3
Chesterfield 2
2nd XV
33
3
Melbourne lose to Chesterfield
Peter Ilott16 Nov 2014 - 16:05
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Score 33-3 possibly 13 man Melbourne do their very best!! Fine match report by Al Hollingsworth
Melbourne travelled up the A38 (or the M1, depending on your Sat Nav) to Chesterfield this past Saturday looking to build on the good performance last time out against West Bridgford. Although a touch threadbare with a squad of 16 (the lack of numbers resulting from late call-ups to the 1sts and a few drop-outs) Melbourne were able to send out a very competent and youthful full line-up. In the forwards, Belly, Tim Awberry and Sparksy, a welcome sight on his return from injury, made up the front row; Bucko and the very promising, hard-as-nails Alex Birch linked up at lock; and the ever-present Guy Cooper, Josh ‘Pilau’ Rice and our new one-match emergency loan signing (straight off the train from Brighton after a 200 mile trip, great effort), Saul Brennan, made up the back row. In the backs, Will Cress and Al H linked up at half-back; Danny Lawson and Phil Jones formed a hard-tackling centre partnership; and the back three looked very strong in the shape of Kurtis, Sean and Jake Collard. With Dave L in a player-manager role off the bench we went into the game with plenty of promise against a Chesterfield side who looked well-organised but beatable.
As ever, the game started at a frenetic pace as both sides struggled to control the ball at the breakdown. Some ferocious hits were going in from Melbourne, both around the rucks and out wide, and it looked like an even game was in store. Little did Melbourne know we were about to be struck by an injury crisis of near biblical proportions. On his first trundle in midfield, Danny Lawson, having offloaded superbly out of the tackle, landed awkwardly on his shoulder, managing to dislocate it in the process. Player-manager Dave Lowson had to turn to his next guise of team physio, accompanying Danny to the hospital, meaning our original 16 was reduced to 14. Yet Melbourne’s heads did not drop, typified by some excellent motivational words from Bucko (‘our 14 are better than their 15’) and for the next 15 minutes Melbourne played some inspired rugby with a man down, responding superbly to Chesterfield’s opening score through Will Cresswell banging over a well-struck penalty. However, in the build-up to the penalty, Steve Bell, having also offloaded superbly out of the tackle, suffered a nasty ‘stinger’ injury and had to go off and, if your maths is as good as mine, you will have realised this left us with 13 players with around 50 minutes to play. In similar circumstances many lesser teams would have given up and gone home but this Melbourne 2s side is made of sterner stuff and we stuck ably to our task for the rest of the half, putting in some cracking hits to ensure we trailed at the break by a very respectable score of 15-3.
Following a well-earned half-time breather Melbourne came out with renewed vigour for the second half, fully expectant of an onslaught from the home side. From 1 to 13, Melbourne put in a heroic second-half performance, with the work-rate and tackling outstanding from all. Everyone put in a great shift but stand-out performers were Saul in the back-row, who did not back down from any challenge (despite taking a hefty blow to the nose); Alex ‘The Enforcer’ Birch in the second row who, despite being unable to scrummage due to a bad leg injury, hammered everyone who came his way; and Phil Jones in the centres, covering both 12 and 13 despite a gammy leg, tackling hard and keeping morale up within the team. Yes, Chesterfield scored a few tries but they had to work extremely hard for them, and against a team with 12 players by the end of the game, we did expect them to score a few. However Melbourne can be extremely proud of their efforts and the spirit we showed as a team was tremendous. We even managed to nick a try: an audacious cross-field kick from wannabe playmaker Alex Birch fell straight into the hands of Bucko, who passed superbly inside for someone (can’t remember who) to scamper up-field, who was eventually dragged down just short of the line. (‘Just short of the line’ may be an exaggeration but it was definitely in their half.) Main highlight from the second half was a Chesterfield player who came over to play for us for the last few minutes taking out the opposition winger when he was clearly out of play, sending the winger flying into the advertising boards surrounding the ground, and in the process managing to swipe away the legs of the recently returned from hospital Dave L.
Man of the match, a bit easier this week as not that many players to choose from, but going to give it to Saul B who led the pack superbly in the tackle and at the breakdown, even filling in at scrum-half when Will went off. (And he travelled from Brighton to play for us!)
A great effort from those who made the journey, please put pressure on those who don’t like away games to make the effort to travel next time!
We still picked up a point from the match simply for turning up, so thanks to everyone who made the effort!
As ever, the game started at a frenetic pace as both sides struggled to control the ball at the breakdown. Some ferocious hits were going in from Melbourne, both around the rucks and out wide, and it looked like an even game was in store. Little did Melbourne know we were about to be struck by an injury crisis of near biblical proportions. On his first trundle in midfield, Danny Lawson, having offloaded superbly out of the tackle, landed awkwardly on his shoulder, managing to dislocate it in the process. Player-manager Dave Lowson had to turn to his next guise of team physio, accompanying Danny to the hospital, meaning our original 16 was reduced to 14. Yet Melbourne’s heads did not drop, typified by some excellent motivational words from Bucko (‘our 14 are better than their 15’) and for the next 15 minutes Melbourne played some inspired rugby with a man down, responding superbly to Chesterfield’s opening score through Will Cresswell banging over a well-struck penalty. However, in the build-up to the penalty, Steve Bell, having also offloaded superbly out of the tackle, suffered a nasty ‘stinger’ injury and had to go off and, if your maths is as good as mine, you will have realised this left us with 13 players with around 50 minutes to play. In similar circumstances many lesser teams would have given up and gone home but this Melbourne 2s side is made of sterner stuff and we stuck ably to our task for the rest of the half, putting in some cracking hits to ensure we trailed at the break by a very respectable score of 15-3.
Following a well-earned half-time breather Melbourne came out with renewed vigour for the second half, fully expectant of an onslaught from the home side. From 1 to 13, Melbourne put in a heroic second-half performance, with the work-rate and tackling outstanding from all. Everyone put in a great shift but stand-out performers were Saul in the back-row, who did not back down from any challenge (despite taking a hefty blow to the nose); Alex ‘The Enforcer’ Birch in the second row who, despite being unable to scrummage due to a bad leg injury, hammered everyone who came his way; and Phil Jones in the centres, covering both 12 and 13 despite a gammy leg, tackling hard and keeping morale up within the team. Yes, Chesterfield scored a few tries but they had to work extremely hard for them, and against a team with 12 players by the end of the game, we did expect them to score a few. However Melbourne can be extremely proud of their efforts and the spirit we showed as a team was tremendous. We even managed to nick a try: an audacious cross-field kick from wannabe playmaker Alex Birch fell straight into the hands of Bucko, who passed superbly inside for someone (can’t remember who) to scamper up-field, who was eventually dragged down just short of the line. (‘Just short of the line’ may be an exaggeration but it was definitely in their half.) Main highlight from the second half was a Chesterfield player who came over to play for us for the last few minutes taking out the opposition winger when he was clearly out of play, sending the winger flying into the advertising boards surrounding the ground, and in the process managing to swipe away the legs of the recently returned from hospital Dave L.
Man of the match, a bit easier this week as not that many players to choose from, but going to give it to Saul B who led the pack superbly in the tackle and at the breakdown, even filling in at scrum-half when Will went off. (And he travelled from Brighton to play for us!)
A great effort from those who made the journey, please put pressure on those who don’t like away games to make the effort to travel next time!
We still picked up a point from the match simply for turning up, so thanks to everyone who made the effort!
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