Under 14s into the fifth round
ROCHDALE RUFC under 14s were drawn away at Blackburn for the fourth round of the Lancashire Junior Rugby Challenge – a tough fixture against a strong team with a winning record in the competition.
Rochdale, although having played well in the competition so far, had lost games narrowly and were hoping to turn a good performance into a positive result this week.
Blackburn have strong running backs and some combative forwards so it was imperative Rochdale started well if they were to be competitive.
So, when Blackburn caught the initial kick off and raced around the edge of a lacklustre chase to score under the posts, Rochdale knew it would also be a test of character.
However, this turned out to be the spark that Rochdale required – to a man they competed for every ball, every yard of turf and every tackle.
This was exemplified by Garrett Myers, Taylor Hartley and Chris McConnell who devoured the yards like men possessed.
They were backed up by James O’Connell, Ben Sunderland, Paddy Kershaw and Kai Potter, clearing rucks and providing more opportunities to attack.
Rochdale worked out that, with Blackburn’s hard tackling centres, the easier yardage could be made close to the rucks and mauls, and time after time they exploited the soft edges.
The visitors won a penalty ten metres from the home line after some good play. Hartley blasted a hole in the defence and, after quick ruck ball, McConnell powered over.
The conversion was missed but this didn’t matter, Rochdale’s direct approach was paying dividends. From the kick off they were straight back on the offence with direct and powerful running.
The ball found its way to Will Simmons in the centre, who glided past several defenders before another quick ruck fed Myers who had plenty to do but powered through, and over a plethora of defenders, on his way to the try line.
Rochdale were now in the ascendancy and were sticking to what was working – making the hard yards and tiring out the defence.
It was a credit to Blackburn that they managed to get back into the game with so little good ball, but they are a quality side and only needed a sniff of the try line to score right on the half-time whistle.
Rochdale turned 12-10 behind, but the foundations had been laid and every player knew if they stuck to the plan and did their jobs the game was there for the taking.
A moment of inspiration was provided by Mitchell Holt who, with the defence forcing quick passes, intercepted and raced a full 80 metres, pursued by a quick wing that he managed to shake off, before going under the posts.
The conversion was successful and Rochdale led 12-17.
Blackburn’s discipline, or rather lack of it, began to tell, with a couple of yellow cards and numerous penalties.
This gave Rochdale good field position and, after a tap penalty, Hartley charged through some weak tackling to score Rochdale’s final try.
It gave them a 10-point lead with very little time left. Rochdale, thinking they had done enough, switched off for the restart handing possession straight back to Blackburn, who got the ball wide and out flanked the Rochdale defence for a converted try, making it 19-22.
A quickly taken conversion meant there was just time for the restart, but a clever kick pinned the catcher to the touch line and allowed the defence to bundle him into touch and end the game in Rochdale’s favour.
A fantastic match, especially considering the heavy defeat that Rochdale suffered in the same fixture last year.
It was great to see the Rochdale players work out the best way to approach the game and implement their plan to perfection.
The backs played their part with some excellent defence and making the most of the space created by the forwards when attacking.
A great team performance and all involved should be proud of their achievements.