Colne and Nelson RUFC are fighting for promotion this weekend in their match against Chorley RUFC. It is a going to be a highly competitive game as Corley RUFC needs a win if they are to be promoted. This is a 2nd vs. 3rd showdown.

The previous game between these two sides was hosted at Chorley RUFC where they came out victorious over Colne and Nelson RUFC. This was the first game of the season and Colne had a new squad that were still building relationships and developing an understanding of each other’s strengths. It seems fitting that the final game of the season and promotion battle is how the season started, except this time Colne and Nelson RUFC will be victorious.

How did they do it?

02/09/2017 – Chorley RUFC vs. Colne & Nelson RUFC : 45 – 7
• After losing some influential players to other clubs and injuries Colne where building their squad into a winning side. However, during this first game they hadn’t managed to develop a strong understanding of each other game play.

09/09/2017 – Colne & Nelson RUFC vs. Ormskirk RUFC : 71 – 7
• Colne finally managed to get on winning ways during the second game of the season scoring multiple tries and enjoying their rugby. This is what they thought was going to be a successful season; however Ormskirk are currently at the bottom of the table with over 900 points scored past them. This victory helped to integrate important personal, the Bullock three, into the team.

23/09/2017 – Colne & Nelson RUFC vs. Burnley RUFC : 61 – 5
• The first showdown of the season against local rivals Burnley saw Colne and Nelson come out victorious. With another huge victory Colne realised that they could do well in this league if they put their minds and bodies to the test.

30/09/2017 – Tyldesley RUFC vs. Colne & Nelson RUFC : 22 – 0
• Colne travelled away to undefeated in over a year Tyldesley, hoping to knock them off the top. However, this is not what happened, instead Colne & Nelson where defeated for the second time away from home. This meant that they hadn’t managed to win away from home, something they needed to fix if they wanted to succeed.

07/10/2017 – Trafford MV RUFC vs. Colne & Nelson RUFC : 16 – 26
• With Colne struggling away from home, this game was a big one to keep them on track to be a part of the promotion battle. Colne started playing well but the ball could not stick when in the red zone, which made it difficult to score. However, with constant pressure some passes managed to stick meaning Colne managed to score enough tries to seal the victory.

21/10/2017 – Colne & Nelson RUFC vs. Preston Grasshoppers : 27 – 13
• After having a week off Colne were keen to get back playing and started off strong, scoring most of their points in the first half. But with a substantial lead going into half time, Colne seemed to take the foot off the peddle and allowed Preston back into the game. Digging deep Colne managed to keep the lead and win the game.

28/10/2017 – Crosby St Mary’s RUFC vs. Colne & Nelson RUFC : 21 – 29
• With old friend Jordan Sunderland returning for a one off game whilst over from Canada, Colne were wanting to show him their winning ways. Taking the lead early on, Colne though that a win was in the bag, but an always fierce Crosby had other plans giving Colne one of the hardest wins of the season. A win always feels better after a fight.

11/11/2017 – Broughton RUFC vs. Colne & Nelson RUFC : 25 – 13
• Easily the most disappointing games of the season. Colne started off superb scoring two tries within 10minutes; however both got disallowed. Heads dropping and the referee against Colne Broughton ran in three barely legal tries; the only reason these were legal is because the referees decision is final. Colne managed to fight back two tries but not enough to claim the win. Colne’s third loss of the season.

02/12/2017 – Upper Eden RUFC vs. Colne & Nelson RUFC : 5 – 27
• After the loss to Broughton and having missed a couple of weeks due to bad weather, Colne were keen to get back on winning ways. Unfortunately for Upper Eden that is exactly what they did. Even after the long trip up Cumbria, Colne managed to maintain in the a constant level of pressure to ensure a good win.

16/25/2017 – Ormskirk RUFC vs. Colne & Nelson RUFC : 44 – 12
• Being the last game before Christmas Colne were wanting a big win, similar to the previous fixture where the score was 71 – 7 in favour of Colne. However, Ormskirk’s first team got cancelled that morning and they used this to their advantage, winning their only game of the season to date. The only memorable thing that happened for Colne was Luke Edwards breaking his only player’s nose.

13/01/2018 – Burnley RUFC vs. Colne & Nelson RUFC : 10 – 44
• Wanting to get back on track and with a decision being made to ensure everyone enjoys their rugby, Colne won the first game of 2018 against local rivals Burnley.

20/01/2018 – Colne & Nelson RUFC vs. Tyldesley RUFC : 10 - 3
• Having lost this fixture earlier in the season and playing a team unbeaten in a league fixture for nearly two and a half years, Colne knew it would be a tough game. With bad weather and pitch conditions, this game turned into a battle of heart and will. Colne players have never lacked in that area and with every player putting in 110% they managed to win. Tyldesley have won the league and it was a great feeling to beat this team.

27/01/2018 – Colne & Nelson RUFC vs. Trafford MV RUFC : 34 – 7
• During this fixture Colne took the lead within the first 4 minutes of the game and kept the pressure on ensuring the victory was a definite. Wanting to keep a clean sheet Colne defence fought for long periods of time with often success, stopping Trafford from crossing the line. However, in the end the build up of pressure Trafford applied allowed them to get a consolation try.

03/02/2018 – Preston Grasshoppers RUFC vs. Colne & Nelson RUFC : 5 – 36
• With Colne winning three games on the bounce for the first time since October, they wanted to travel away to Preston looking for another win. Missing a few player due to injury and Antony Minshull pulling up before the game with a hamstring injury, Colne had to make do with 15 players. These 15 players worked hard throughout the game and even when tiring put in extra work to seal a good win away from home.

17/02/2018 – Colne & Nelson RUFC vs. Crosby St Mary’s RUFC : 17 – 5
• This game was close to the heart of everyone playing and supporting Colne and Nelson RUFC as the loss of former club captain Stewart Wilkin was echoing in people’s minds. The game started with Colne taking an early lead and right at the end of the game. However, for 70minutes the game was high competitive.

24/02/2018 – Colne & Nelson RUFC vs. Oldham RUFC : 35 – 24
• When Oldham travelled to Holt House they took Colne by surprise going 17 points up within the first 10 minutes which was unusual for Colne & Nelson in 2018. The team had to dig deep for the remainder of the match and slowly earn the right to win this game. This game saw the return of player/coach Matty Tindall who scored the final try of the game.

10/03/2018 – Colne & Nelson RUFC vs. Broughton RUFC : W – L
• With Colne losing to Broughton earlier in the year, the squad was wanting to get a win on the cards. However, Broughton did not want to face the unbeaten team of 2018 and cried off.

17/03/2018 – Colne & Nelson RUFC vs. Rossendale RUFC : 66 – 10
• At the start of this game the Colne team was still in the changing rooms which allowed Rossendale to take the lead within the first 5 minutes. However, this was not the theme of the game; Colne took total control of the game. This was a needed to win as they were travelling to Rossendale the following week.

24/03/2018 – Rossendale RUFC vs. Colne & Nelson RUFC : 0 – 88
• This was the biggest score of the season for Colne & Nelson RUFC, which was a huge success since it was away from home. I could try and list the try scorers but it would take a while.

07/04/2018 – Colne & Nelson RUFC vs. Upper Eden RUFC : 64 – 5
• A fun game to play in. Big respect to Upper Eden who travelled far to play us with only 10 men; as a club we gave them 3 players to make this an enjoyable game. Lewis Hesketh, Nick Martin and James Finucane all played for the opposition. The most memorial part of the game was Lewis Hesketh making his only tackle of the year, but it was a good one on player/coach Matty Tindall.

14/04/2018 – Oldham RUFC vs. Colne & Nelson RUFC : 5 – 44
• A must win to earn promotion and with Oldham beating the top of the league at home the previous week the Colne player travelled away slightly nervous. However, from the whistle the squad played superb, putting in the best performance as a team.