Blues sunk by Hartpury stars

NATIONAL LEAGUE 1

THIS was top, already crowned champions, versus bottom, already relegated Macclesfield – so in some senses an end of season dead rubber.

Macclesfield’s recent impressive form came to a crashing end as the home side ran in fourteen tries, including a late nine-minute hat-trick for leagueleading scorer Jonas Mikalcius.

With Gloucester on A-League duty, there was minimal representation from the Premiership club, meaning some new faces in the home line-up.

The scoring started in the eighth minute when centre Steve Leonard hit a popped pass midfield and carried straight on to the posts.

The lead was shortlived, however, as a break by Lewis Barker and then a kick and chase put the home defence under pressure and led to a fivemetre scrum which the Blues pack took two penalties from before referee Chivers took them under the posts.

Hartpury were starting to build a head of steam and it was no great shock when the breakthrough came, Joe Dancer finishing well from 25 metres.

Hartpury started to shift through the gears. When a Macclesfield lineout, deep in their own half, misfired, quick ball into the midfield gave Luke Eves the chance to produce a muscular touchdown.

And 10 minutes later, Mikalcius came off his wing to carve a path through the heart of the Blues defence. His welltimed pass found Harry Cochrane on the right and there was a run-in for the speedy Channel Islander.

Joe Batley soon made it a scoring double for the second row. He picked a good line through the increasingly stretched visiting rearguard and had the pace to go all the way from long range.

On the stroke of halftime, Holden capped a good first 40 minutes of National League rugby with a well-taken try and Hastings, maintaining a 100 per cent kicking record in the first half, made it 42-7 at the break.

Blues’ heads must have been dropping but there was still the four-try bonus point to fight for and the lads must be disappointed that they didn’t add to their points tally in the second period.

The second half started with more heavy Hartpury pressure but Macclesfield, having re-grouped at half time, were defending well.

They appeared to have survived a series of near squeaks in the 55th minute when a penalty, for holding on, allowed them to clear their lines.

Once again, though, the Blues’ lineout was untidy and flanker Mat Gilbert was able to pounce on the loose ball and drive to the try-line. That score seemed to knock the stuffing out of the visitors and they had to endure a torrid 25 minutes until the close.

Hartpury ran the ball straight back from the restart and, when Mikalcius popped the ball inside, Leonard was on hand to score. Holden was the next player to grab a double and then Forrester was on hand to score before Mikalcius was at it again.

The Blues’ poor luck with officials, this season, wasn’t about to change in game 29. Loose head prop Tom Mantell was penalised for back chat and then a switch kick to the corner didn’t appear to be caught and put down legally but was allowed to stand.

Tom Eaton was rightly yellow carded for kicking the ball out the hands of the Hartpury 9 when returning from an offside position.

The floodgates opened from there on in, with Mikalcius grabbing two more before the end and there was also time in a crazy last 10 minutes for him to turn provider and allow Eves to get a second for himself.

It’s Esher at home for the last fixture of a long and difficult season for Macclesfield and it will be ladies day, raising money for the Macclesfield Breast Cancer Unit, when the lads’ will be sporting a new pink kit that will be auctioned off afterwards.

It may have been a tough season but the boys will be better players for it and well-conditioned for National 2 next season.

Holden ( Tries 40, 59), Cochrane ( Try 34), Leonard ( Tries 8, 57), Eves ( Tries 23, 74), Mikalcius ( Tries 71, 78, 80), Hastings (Cons 9, 20, 24, 35, 38, 40, 58, 65, 70, 79, 80), Chapman; Flook, Tanner, Ibuanokpe, Batley ( Try 37), Dancer ( Try 20), Polledri, Gilbert ( Try 55), Oakley. Replacements: Stephenson, Barron, Gibson, Chan, Forrester ( Try 69)

(Penalty Try, 10) Lomax, Hall, Brierley, Barker (Con, 11), King, Eaton, Allsop; Mantell, Millea, Millar-Mills, Parkison, Marwick, Barker, Parkitt, Parkinson. Replacements: Langdon, Robinson, Finnemore, Smith, Broster.

HARTPURY: MACCLESFIELD: