Crabbie’s Team of the Year Manchester
THERE’S BEEN no lack of hard-luck stories in the pro era but can anything surpass Manchester? One of the world’s oldest clubs, they were in England’s second tier in the early 2000s before disaster struck.
Having put all their eggs in the first-team basket, there was little to prop up the club when demotion saw funding dry up and the semi-pros depart. A dwindling pool of youthful amateurs picked up the slack.
The first season back at level three, 2009-10, began with a 148-0 home loss to Esher and ended with the Surrey club registering some of their own men as opposition players so Manchester could fulfil the return fixture. Esher paid for the bus down and donated proceeds from a raffle. Manchester suffered five straight relegations and hold the longest losing run in English league rugby – 87 defeats, 13 by 100 points-plus. Slowly, however, the green teens became battle-hardened men. In Feb 2016, as Manchester headed towards ninth spot in South Lancs & Cheshire One, DoR James Beane called a meeting as he felt a talented group was underachieving. “Do you really want success?” he asked. The answer was a resounding yes – and this season the squad has delivered in spades. A 15-14 nail-biter v Douglas preceded 13 successive bonus-point wins as Manchester’s fast, fluid rugby brought rewards. Wins v Liverpool St Helens (46-33 and 50-7) proved season defining. “The away game was when we started to believe,” says Beane.
James Brodie and Tom Fantom led from the front, Dean Hogg scored a pile of tries and Doug Day knocked over the kicks. But the title was a squad effort, 47 players contributing to a triumph that meant so much after the pain of recent years.
Next goal? “To be the best amateur club we can be,” Beane says. With the club serving everyone from tots upwards, including a women & girls section and a county cup-winning colts side, they’re already a proud model for the community game.
Manchester are our Team of the Year and win two cases of Crabbie’s and training gear. Over the page we hail others who’ve achieved glory…