Northwich and Manchester produced an enthralling contest that proved to be nail biting right to the final whistle.

Sadly, this was a match too many people may have missed. The kick-off time clashed with the Italy v England match, and it appeared that some usual suspects preferred to watch the Six-Nations. For the stalwarts, Northwich and Manchester produced an enthralling contest that proved to be nail biting right to the final whistle. With the visitors sitting 4th in the table and the blacks struggling to find consistency Manchester certainly started the day as favourites. There was a re-shuffle in the Northwich lie-up which included the return of 1st XV coach Sam Naylor as well as the previously injured Jack Owens. With the pitch in splendid condition all was set for a great match.

The contest began well for Northwich as they applied a lot of pressure on Manchester. They were rewarded on the 7th minute when a penalty was awarded, and Tom Husbands kicked the goal. Although the blacks enjoyed plenty of possession it was mostly in the mid-field and didn’t offer too much of a threat to Manchester. With 20 minutes gone it was the visitors turn to mount an attack producing multiple phases for the Northwich defence to deal with. After sustaining about 5 minutes of constant pressure the visitors floated a long pass towards the wing which Taylor Haugh deftly intercepted and sprinted 70 metres to score an opportunist try that Husbands converted. Ten minutes later the visitors got on the scoreboard when from a lineout a gap appeared, and a converted try was the result. As the halftime whistle approached there was a moment of controversy when a break from the blacks was finished with a neat one-handed back-pass released Husbands to score. However, the referee deemed the pass to be forwards and disallowed the score, much to the dismay of the home and the relief of the visiting supporters. The break came with the match delicately balanced in favour of Northwich 10-7.

There was no further score in the contest until the 80th minute. Nevertheless, this was an exciting contest with Manchester enjoying most of the possession and territory. For Northwich the half was more about what you do without the ball than what you do with it. The defence was superb with bodies on the line throughout the half. The visitors threatened the line on numerous occasions only to be thwarted by a black wall which refused to crumble. With the end of the match in sight Manchester had at least three opportunities to kick for goal but declined in favour of a scrums. With stoppage time approaching and Zac Richardson confined to the sin-bin another choice to scrummage looked ominous for Northwich. When Manchester moved the ball wide and that man Taylor Haugh collected an interception with one hand and once again raced the length of the pitch to score under the posts. Husbands added the extras, and the blacks were able to play out the final moments to record a valiant win.

It was inevitable the Fire and Heat Man of the Match went to Taylor Haugh for his try-scoring contribution, but this was a team effort. To a man this was a demonstration of excellent tackling, organisation, and commitment. There is still a way to go but the blacks will be buoyed and deservedly satisfied by this result. Final score Northwich 17 Manchester 7
Next Week Northwich entertain Leek KO 2.15 pm.
Northwich Team
15 Taylor Haugh
14 Tom Husbands
13 Zac Richardson
12 Richard Dale
11 Jack Owens
10 Logan Mitchell
9 Austin Fernandez
1 Callum Hulbert
2 Eon Du Preez
3 Rory Leijdekkers (Capt)
4 Sam Naylor
5 Patrich Douglas
6 Sam Patterson
7 Joe Christian
8 Jonny Pym
Replacements
16 Anthony Keller
17 Noah Mitchell
18 Liam Batt