Close, but no cigar for the 3s. Match report and an instructive bit of algebra from skipper and teacher Geraint Morris below.
Bloody cold, bloody wet and a bloody draw.
We travelled up the A57 through the snow to discover an arctic temperature and a pitch with more water than grass. Given that this was the third attempt at the fixture both teams were keen to get it played. With the university students driving around Ashton somewhere we started with the MGS back row of Hall, Pacey and Lloyd. Sister 1 clearly didn’t fancy taking his waterproofs off and kindly offered to sit on the bench so Alex Sherwood started at tighthead.
The conditions caused mistakes by both sides and with the Burnage scrum faltering we were at a disadvantage as we failed to secure ball. Glossop mauled well and set up a blind side move that allowed the winger to crash through some weak tackling and give the opposition a 7 point lead. Shaun made a break in midfield and fed Lloydy who cut a line and with only the fullback to beat showed a turn of pace and a goose step that Serevi would have been proud of to touch down under the sticks. To be fair to the Glossop fullback the following statement holds:
Let x = Tim Lloyd’s age.
Let y = Glossop Fullback age
Then 2x < y < 3x
At 7 points all and on the ascendancy we thought we had the game in the bag. Some poor defending around the fringes and we allowed ourselves to go 14 7 down.
We were against the wind in the second half but still felt we could win the game. The back five were hammering the opposition defence but we couldn’t find a way over the line. We set up phase after phase but eventually resorted to kicking the three to keep the score ticking over. The game continued with much Burnage possession and Pacey managed to get over the line and we were all square at 17 all.
Pacey soon crashed over again but it was called held up and the Glossop 10 missed a drop goal (at this level!) the ref called last play with a Burnage scrum in the opposition half. Again we set up phase after phase and had a 4 on 2 on the left hand side. The Glossop defence rushed up and were caught 10 yards offside as the Burnage fly half caught the ball caught the ball 10 yards from the line in front of the sticks. The referee gave a Burnage scrum but decided no time was left and that a draw was a fair result. The captain uncharacteristically gave the referee his opinion of the final decision thinking that even Levey could have kicked the penalty.
The Burnage back five (all six of them) worked tirelessly and are awarded the men of the match.
Next weekend there is a 3rd team night out after the game, starting at the club, moving on to Didsbury and plans are fluid, if not lucid, from there.