Fourths out-gun Valley

MACCLESFIELD 4s welcomed Hope

Valley 1s to Priory

Park on a blustery January Saturday and enjoyed victory in an entertaining clash ending 33-24.

Hope Valley arrived very keen for a ‘W’ having lost the previous week to Marple and found themselves at 4th in the table below Macc in 3rd. Macc were equally keen for a win having suffered a heavy defeat at Hope early in the season.

The 4s fielded a strong team but were missing some big names who had sacrificed themselves to play for the 3s.

Craig Price pulled on the green and played a full game for Hope to make up the numbers. Leadership for the day was in the safe hands of Captain Nick Smith who didn’t take his eyes off the prize for a second.

At the whistle Macc experienced the full force and skill of Hope 1s who were switched-on.

Soon Macc found themselves several points down, despite some good defence work.

Two factors contributed to this less desirable start: Firstly, Macc have a tendency to take 15 or 20 minutes to warm up before their heads are fully in the game, and team-play starts to develop.

And secondly, the Referee saw fit to show seven yellow cards, six to Macclesfield – not a reflection of the excellent rugby all lads on the pitch were playing.

Despite being down in numbers, Macc reacted well, kept calm and aligned their sights to the end of the pitch. This exceptional attitude was shown by all 15 and the skill, aggression and support for the fellow man was to be largely unanswered.

A solid pack secured the ball. With such power Hope struggled to match the forwards’ rolling mall. This solid forwards play allowed excellent backs work from Nick Smith (2) and the excellent Matt Bowden among others.