On a day and a pitch better suited to Hippo`s Della entertained Aldwinians, The Della pitch has taken quite a beating in recent weeks and only due to tremendous work from the back room team was it deemed playable. Della were keen to get this game on to avoid any further backlog of games in an already congested season. Winnies turned out their traditional pack of big forwards complimented by a very young back division, Della for their part were once again missing some key personell and drafted in teenage winger Cameron Baker , on the plus side captain and stand off Ben Wheeler returned after a lengthy lay off following arm surgery . Winnies took the initiative from the kick off when Della knocked on the first of many from both sides due to the conditions, a solid scrum from Winnies and they had the momentum to drive into the Della twenty two where they put pressure on the home defence and won a second scrum on the five , they must have been confident after the first but Della struck against the head and cleared the danger. Winnies with a stiff wind at their backs were on top in the opening period and were knocking on the Della door but the Della defence was holding firm and with no way through they had to settle for a kick at goal which missedand gave Della the chance to break out and apply pressure of their own . Della were mixing up the attacks with Wheeler bringing in the centres when ever possible but with conditions as they were the wide backs were not seeing a lot of the ball in this first half. Della`s attacking intent gifted two penalties which Chris Petrou slotted to give Della the lead 6-0. By the time thirty minutes had passed the middle third of the pitch had become a morass and yet Della were still trying to open up the game with running rugby , on the other hand Winnies were using the conditions and the wind to their advantage with telling kicks pinning Della back and although in the main Della were coping well with the attacking intentions Winnies exploited a mistake by the Della centres when they both came out of the line together with the flank exposed Winnies accepted the space for a try which went unconverted 6-5. And the game petered to half time time
The Della coaches were more than happy with the first half performance and the score line and with a solid game plan for the second half were confident that Della could get the result they wanted.
Now with the stiff wind at their backs Della began to probe the Winnies defensive line with a mix of solid forward drives and some great carries from Sam Pitt ,Chris Petrou and Adam Massey deep into the final third where the backs with a firmer surface came into their own with centres Lee McCormick and Jamie Phillips asking all the right questions of the Winnies line it was inevitable Della would score and it came following solid work from forwards Ryan Worthington, Lee Salisbury and Liam Watson which created the space for scrum half Ben Riley to snatch Della`s first try Petrou was unable to add the extras 11-5. Della now were taking full advantage of the wind and pushing deep into the final third where the better conditions allowed Della to open up and play rugby that belied the conditions . A great line from McCormick with full back Nick Petrou on his shoulder carved open the Winnies defence and yet they managed to bring the attack to ground where the Della forwards took over the front row of Clayton , Salisbury and Brooks battered at the line with tight head Stevie Brooks diving over the ruck to score this time Petrou slotted a difficult conversion 18-5. Della had been full of confidence from the get go and with a game plan to suit the conditions they moved into the final quarter with a change of tactics any advantage from line outs scrums and penalties in the Winnies half would be run and the tactics were begging to bear fruit with the Winnies defence being pulled this way and that ,it was a mistake in the Winnies backline that Della in for the third try a dropped ball in the tackle out on the Della right thirty yards out a fly hack from young wing Cameron Baker who backed himself in a race to the line and won to touch down for a debut try which Petrou once again slotted the conversion 25-5. Della were looking for the killer bonus point try and Winnies were tiring especially some of their young backs who were having to defend against a della back three of Baker , Nick Petrou and Kieran Cooper. It would be Petrou and Cooper who would undo the defence with a superb break from Cooper who slipped inside where Petrou was sprinting in support with Nick sidestepping through the line his elder brother Chris appeared on his shoulder a slip pass and Chris had a clear run to the line for the bonus point a try which he almost converted with the ball coming back off the post 30-5 for the final whistle.
This was a great result for Della given the weather and the condition of the pitch ,a surface which is not compatible with the Della style of play and yet Della overcame these obstacles to record a fine win. For their part Aldwinians gave everything and perhaps they had selection problems given the age of their back three, but never the less it was Della`s day and the man of the match for Della was fullback Nick Petrou pushed very close by scrum half Ben Riley.
Della`s porn industry are to release this years summer blockbuster in a bid to secure funds to lead next years relegation battle. It will be a mix of of vintage horror and saucy caped escapades. The aptly named Count Flapula will feature all the club old favourites , Eric ( The Grunt ) Clarke will dub the voice overs with Pat ( The Butcher ) Tyson in charge of the cinematography , Lee ( Master of Hounds ) Halsall will be in charge of the animals and Liam ( Second favourite son ) Watson will sit in acorner praying to be compared to Pete ( Perpetual motion ) Massey ?
Boffins at the British Museum claim to have found the worlds oldest tattoo on an Egyptian mummy. Della refute this claim and say the oldest tattoo can be found on the arm of Della bar person Sue ( Little legs ) Yendall ?
Occasionally the elders of the club have to meet to resolve individual issues that arise . Never in the history of the club have we had a player deem himself unworthy of being named as a a substitute. Not only is this an act of self righteous and denial , it`s an act of betrayal.
Della`s lost property dept holds all items for ninety days and then they are auctioned off with the profits going to charity. Yesterday it was inundated with a selection of baby`s dummies, rattles,toys and prams . Will the owner please pick their lip off the floor and collect them and stare into the mirror and see if they like what they see ?
Shock horror Nando`s has announced it servs McCains oven chips ?
The reason that airline seats are predominately blue is that physcologically blue is associated with ,trust, efficiency, serenity , coolness, serenity and calm. Della are changing their playing strip ?
Alan ( Serial divorcer ) Graham trudged alonely path home after yesterdays game . Close friends voiced concerns about his current mental state. There is only so much rejection one person can take said club legend Pete ( Perpetual motion ) Massey. The guy`s at rock bottom sniggered Pete ( Does everyone know i played for GB ) Halsall, oh and by the way i`m great.
A finger nail grows back after approx six months , a fact supplied by the Della interrogation committee ?
Lee ( Can i hide behind the committee ) McCormick nearly made a decision by himself yesterday, but alas backed down muddied the waters and hid ?
Astronauts grow approx three inches taller in space , Della is to launch Gavin Clark and Sue Yendall on Monday week ?
Bananas share 60% of their DNA with humans ?
Tom ( Gender neutral ) Halsall`s injury is healing well the club physio said he should be back on his knees in no time ? And his father Pete ( short of an opinion ) Halsall said with a heavy heart his long suffering wife big Ju left him because of his addiction to horse racing. She`s at the gate and she`s off he said through tear filled eyes, and by the way i`m great ?
With Della without a game last week i decided to help out at the church bring and buy sale, and while setting up the clothing stall the head of the ladies committee touched me inappropiately , i obviously complained to the parish council who convenned to discuss the matter, which was well reported in the parish magazine with the headline , Fumble in the Jumble ?
Liverpool has won an award for shortening the Alphabet by two letters , Dey Do Dat don`t Dey ?
Breaking news from Wigan , Diddy Dave aka The Ince Imp went missing last week, he turned up with a traveling theatre group who are in the North West playing to packed house with their rendition of Snow White, Diddy said i`m Happy there ?
Last weeks fixture list was decimated by the weather when Pat ( The Butcher ) Tyson was asked on Della TV for his take on the conditions he said that although the thermometer was at an all time low it was the wind from the Quays blowing up Wease lane that was the problem,The Butcher named it the Beast from Weaste , a throw away comment that was quickly plagerised by the popular media ?
Bird of prey the Red Kite predominately feeds on the after birth of lambs during the spring lambing season , but that is no excuse for letting your team mates down ?
It would take 1.1 million Mosquito`s to drain the human body of blood.
The Della LGBT flower arranging section has had it`s most successful week to date with the advent of Mothering Sunday ?
One last thought , league and cup doubles don`t win themselves ?