The afternoon proved to be a challenging one in many ways.

The afternoon proved to be a challenging one in many ways. There was a warm welcome received at Anselmians but by contrast the weather was less than hospitable. There were several enforced changes to the Northwich team due to the absence of Logan Mitchell, Sam Patterson and the unfortunate pre-match injury to Tom Husbands who was stretchered off the pitch prior to kick-off. On a positive note, the blacks welcomed back Liam Batt and Charlie Bancroft to the fold. With the weather so bad most of the support were pleased to be able to watch from the shelter of the balcony and anticipate the match to come.

It didn’t take long for the score board to come into action when the blacks were caught offside, and the home side took advantage with a penalty kick after just five minutes. The next ten minutes set the pattern for the match. The home side had a clear game plan of keeping possession tight and attempting to wear the resilient Northwich defence down. By contrast the visitors tried to play an expensive game but failed to look after possession effectively. Nevertheless, it was the black who registered the first try. An error by the home side gave the blacks possession and a counterattack resulted in the ball being fed to Austin Fernandez who scored a fine try. Harry Naylor added the extras and the faithful had something to cheer about. Fifteen minutes later Anselmians restored their lead. A series of penalties gave the home side the opportunity to set up attacking lineouts. Despite the committed defending Anselmians eventually gained the momentum needed to peel from a maul to score an unconverted try. This proved to be the last score of the half with the home side leading 8-7 at the break.

This was not a day for the faint hearted but both sides showed real character in trying to break the deadlock. The pattern continued with Anselmians controlling possession and Northwich surrendering possession too easily. The match turned when Jordan Clarke was forced to leave the pitch with a hip injury. This resulted in Charlie Bancroft stepping into the unfamiliar roll of tight-head prop. With the scrum now under pressure Northwich were unable to create the platform needed to make any significant attack. With 25 minutes remaining an injury to one of the Anselmians team required an ambulance. This unfortunate situation meant the remainder of the match was played on an adjacent pitch. When the match resumed Northwich were pinned in their own half and could not shake off this stranglehold. On the 60-minute mark a home side scrum close to the Northwich line proved impossible to stop with the result being a converted try to Anselmians. The remainder of the match was all about Northwich trying to break out of their half with little success and Anselmians controlling possession. The final score came on the 80th minute with Anselmians kicking a penalty when Northwich were adjudged offside.

Final score Anselmians 18 Northwich 7
Despite the defeat there was a lot to take from the match particularly with the Fire and Heat Man of the Match Zac Richardson and his centre partner Boitumelo Tsatsane both resilient in defence and ambitious in attack. The blacks will return to Moss Farm and lick their wounds in preparation for next Saturday against Kendal.
Northwich Team
15 Taylor Haugh
14 Austin Fernandez
13 Boitumelo Tsatsane
12 Zac Richardson
11 Eli Brizendine
10 Liam Batt
9 Harry Naylor
1 Jordan Clarke
2 Eon Du Preez
3 Rory Leijdekkers (Capt)
4 Patrick Douglas
5 Tom Clark
6 Jonny Pym
7 Joe Christian
8 Richard Dale
Replacements
16 Andre Nell
17 Charlie Bancroft