Bury RUFC Senior Colts V Colne & Nelson RUFC Senior Colts
On Sunday our colts made the trip to Bury to play what we knew would be a tough game. Low on numbers with 6 players missing, we travelled with only 13. We never give up though and went knowing we could put in a good performance. We had a quite a few position changes, with Will Garner stepping into 9, Imy Shah at 10 and Jake Saggers at 13. We also welcomed back Angus Stewart to the wing, from his injury hit season last year. Bury were also missing a couple but managed to get 16 for the fixture. So with the game set Colne had it all to do from the starting whistle with a man short.

Despite this the rugby was outstanding by both sides. Colne set the tone with very strong defending. No one missed a tackle, and this helped the boys drift across the field as a unit. With Hard lines being hit by Josh McNaught and Callum Delaney we were breaking the defence and the hard-working Josh Cooke seemed to be able to secure every ruck. We were working well as a pack and giving the backs plenty of space to run some excellent moves. After 10 minutes some clever play by Colne gave us the advantage with a penalty at the breakdown and we chose to take the points. Drew converted to make it 0-3. This was the way the first half went with Drew hitting another penalty making the half time score 0-6.

With a good half time team talk the lads were determined to take this game to the end. Bury were always looking quite dangerous with their running lines but just couldn’t quite find the space between the wall of Colne players. They never gave in though and both teams had to fight for every inch of ground. The connection from 10 to 12 between the brothers of Imy and Ali Shah was effective and deadly and were making ground every time the ball came wide. Sully Butt and Angus Stewart came into their own with some superb runs down the line. Their confidence has really developed and gave Colne more width in the attack. Two more penalties quickly came Colne’s way in the first 15 minutes and we were up 0-12. Obviously being a man down this isn’t a comfortable score line, but then a very dodgy tackle on the wing took out Ali Shah’s ankle and sidelined him for the game. So, two men down Colne had 25 minutes to defend their lead.

Defence clearly wasn’t on Colne’s mind though as they pressed for the advantage at every opportunity. A good tackle from Mitch Sissons deserved a quick scuffle with his opposite number and a yellow card to Bury brought us back to only 1 behind again. Another excellent tackle and a lost ball and Colne stole possession and with some quick feet from Josh McNaught he slipped around the wing and darted over for the only try of the game. Unable to convert from the touchline the score was now 0-17.

10 minutes to play and with the carded player back on the field Colne really had their work cut out. But again excellent defence was the feature of the game and Bury couldn’t find the gap. They drove hard, pushing us into our 22 and with a quick turn of possession from the breakdown again, Colne shipped the ball to Drew Barnes. He toed it down the wing but dodged outside their 15 and just put his foot in touch. It seems only the Colne coach saw this and the ref awarded the try. Unfortunately, Colne’s coach may be a bit too nice and to Drew and the referee’s astonishment the flag remained up. No try and the lineout on the halfway. Sportsmanship was the key and we had faith that honest play and good rugby would win the day. A great steal at the lineout by James Thornton-Smith saw us have one last attack. We worked hard back into the 22 with a great run by Jake Saggers and again won the penalty. With Jake Saggers injured from the hit, Colne’s excellent discipline and maturity in their decision making saw them opt for the final penalty kick at the end of the game. Drew converted, and the whistle blew for the final score 0-20.

An excellent game of rugby from both teams with Colne the deserved winners. A proud day for Colne & Nelson. The future of our club is a bright one and we look forward to a home fixtrure against Clitheroe RUFC This following Sunday.