Saturday saw Chapel travel the 40 plus miles up to Tarleton where we faced their 2nd XV squad in the 2nd round of the cup. Both teams sat in similar league positions so Chapel knew the game would be tough.

Chapel started the game well, controlling some tight possession with some strong carries from the forwards. However, a turn over saw tarelton break quickly, only for a try saving Jed Wragg tackle to stop the first points being scored. The boys in blue and gold continued in the same vein with big props Jim Hamilton and Will Mitchell carrying hard in the midfield. Chapel were keeping the game tight in the opening few minutes, using powerful inside centre Jim Moss as a steady platform to recycle the ball off. Another good turn over by the home side saw them break from their own 22 to score the first try of the afternoon. This was quickly followed by another 2 similar tries as Chapel were caught on the outside by Tarelton's pacey backs. An extremely harsh decision 10 minutes into the game saw scrum half Andy Davies sent from the field for a "punch" on the opposition number 9. Considering the class of the opposition, we knew the afternoon just got a whole lot tougher. Chapel didn't give up and responded with some excellently structured play that saw second row Makka power over for a score. With their pace and man advantage, Tarleton threatened every time with the ball in hand and managed to score another couple before the break.

The lads in blue and gold were determined not to give up easily and started the second half much as we had the first. Some good line out work and some quick thinking from Alex Gormley led to winger Luke Day scoring in the corner. The threat from the home sides backs was present all day and they were able to make the most of the man advantage and scored some well worked tries around the outside. Chapel continued to compete at all areas on the pitch, Nath Stewart running some excellent lines to test the tarelton defence. This resilience was evident right up to the last, when a lovely interception saw Makka race under the posts for his second and chapels 4th try of the afternoon. The game finished 66-22. Congratulations to the home side who fully deserved their victory.

Chapel can come out of this fixture with their heads held high, knowing that if 15 men had of been on the pitch that this game could have been a real spectacle. Both sides played some great stuff in a great manner. MoM went to Mike Lightfoot for a very controlled game in the number 10 shirt.