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De La Salle 15 - Heaton Moor 34
David Todd21 Oct - 16:51
Hard work
Moor travelled the short distance to Salford last Saturday to face newly promoted De La Salle with a much changed side from the previous week, due mainly to the unavailability of a number of experienced players. Consequently, there was a youthful look to the side with half-a-dozen of the squad having only made two or three first XV appearances and two making their debut and a few players not in their recognised position. As a result, play was somewhat rushed and disjointed at times, but they nonetheless stuck to their task and came away with the spoils, helped by the fact that DLS were unable to field any substitutes which, towards the end, had a bearing on the result.
Although the home side kicked off, Moor failed to secure the ball, enabling DLS to set up an attack and with defenders seemingly unable to cope with the much larger forwards, play was taken to within ten metres of the Moor line, where DLS were awarded a penalty in front of the posts. This was tapped, enabling one of their players to force his way over for a try, which was converted. Although now ahead after only a couple of minutes, it wasn't until just before the interval that DLS were again in the visitor's 22, as Moor immediately rallied and took play deep into their opponent’s territory, where they remained for most of the half. In the next quarter-of-an-hour, repeated assaults on the host’s line were repelled, but in doing so DLS quickly racked up penalties, usually for high tackles, and after the fifth such infringement, they had one of their number sent to the sin-bin. The resultant penalty was kicked to touch on the left and on winning the lineout, Moor shipped the ball along their three-quarter line, which left-winger Will Roe joined at pace to take the final pass and touch down; converted by fly-half Ben Haspell. Moor continued to press and on the half-hour mark, DLS were again penalised ten metres from their line in front of the sticks, receiving another yellow-card and allowing Haspell to kick a penalty goal. A few minutes later, he then kicked deep into the opposition's half and although the ball was cleared by DLS, back-row Roman Elliott collected on the bounce and bulldozed his way over for a try in the corner, converted from the touchline by Haspell. Just before the break, DLS worked their way back up the pitch and despite being a man down, once inside Moor’s 22 they then set up repeated pick and drives, resulting in an unconverted try, to make the half-time score 17-12 to the visitors.
Although Moor again had most of the play in the second half, they had to work hard to break down a stubborn defence, no doubt brought about by some inexperience in their ranks. They did increase their lead soon after the restart when they kicked a penalty to touch and from the lineout, set up a drive some ten metres out and when this broke down, replacement Tom Ireland picked up the loose ball and broke down the blindside to squeeze in at the corner for an unconverted try. DLS did narrow the gap with a penalty goal at the start of the last quarter in only their third visit to the Moor 22, but this was a momentary blip as Moor continued to press. However, they were unable to increase their lead, even though they then had a series of scrums inside the DLS 22, ending with the ball being held up over the line on a couple of occasions. This pressure eventually resulted in DLS losing two players to injuries, followed by another two yellow-cards, and not having any replacements, it meant that they played with only eleven men for most of the last twelve minutes. Despite this, Moor were unable to conjure up a further score until injury time when the sheer weight of numbers resulted in two tries. The first came after DLS had actually made ground with a kick into the Moor half of the field and this was fielded by centre Sam Firth, who then proceeded to weave his way up-field, before passing to Roe, who sprinted in to score his second try, converted by scrum-half Jordan Wynne. The final try came when Elliott broke out of his own half and with not much cover, was able to run down the right touchline and score his second try in the corner; the conversion falling just short. This brought proceedings to an end with what looked like a comfortable 34-15 victory for Moor, but the winning margin could have been a lot more and credit should go to DLS for sticking at it when they could so easily have folded, making life difficult for Moor’s youngsters. In turn, the latter should also take heart that they came through what was a tough afternoon with a bonus-point win.
Moor are away at Mansfield next Saturday in the second round of the RFU Counties 2 Cup competition, k.o. 3:00 p.m.
Although the home side kicked off, Moor failed to secure the ball, enabling DLS to set up an attack and with defenders seemingly unable to cope with the much larger forwards, play was taken to within ten metres of the Moor line, where DLS were awarded a penalty in front of the posts. This was tapped, enabling one of their players to force his way over for a try, which was converted. Although now ahead after only a couple of minutes, it wasn't until just before the interval that DLS were again in the visitor's 22, as Moor immediately rallied and took play deep into their opponent’s territory, where they remained for most of the half. In the next quarter-of-an-hour, repeated assaults on the host’s line were repelled, but in doing so DLS quickly racked up penalties, usually for high tackles, and after the fifth such infringement, they had one of their number sent to the sin-bin. The resultant penalty was kicked to touch on the left and on winning the lineout, Moor shipped the ball along their three-quarter line, which left-winger Will Roe joined at pace to take the final pass and touch down; converted by fly-half Ben Haspell. Moor continued to press and on the half-hour mark, DLS were again penalised ten metres from their line in front of the sticks, receiving another yellow-card and allowing Haspell to kick a penalty goal. A few minutes later, he then kicked deep into the opposition's half and although the ball was cleared by DLS, back-row Roman Elliott collected on the bounce and bulldozed his way over for a try in the corner, converted from the touchline by Haspell. Just before the break, DLS worked their way back up the pitch and despite being a man down, once inside Moor’s 22 they then set up repeated pick and drives, resulting in an unconverted try, to make the half-time score 17-12 to the visitors.
Although Moor again had most of the play in the second half, they had to work hard to break down a stubborn defence, no doubt brought about by some inexperience in their ranks. They did increase their lead soon after the restart when they kicked a penalty to touch and from the lineout, set up a drive some ten metres out and when this broke down, replacement Tom Ireland picked up the loose ball and broke down the blindside to squeeze in at the corner for an unconverted try. DLS did narrow the gap with a penalty goal at the start of the last quarter in only their third visit to the Moor 22, but this was a momentary blip as Moor continued to press. However, they were unable to increase their lead, even though they then had a series of scrums inside the DLS 22, ending with the ball being held up over the line on a couple of occasions. This pressure eventually resulted in DLS losing two players to injuries, followed by another two yellow-cards, and not having any replacements, it meant that they played with only eleven men for most of the last twelve minutes. Despite this, Moor were unable to conjure up a further score until injury time when the sheer weight of numbers resulted in two tries. The first came after DLS had actually made ground with a kick into the Moor half of the field and this was fielded by centre Sam Firth, who then proceeded to weave his way up-field, before passing to Roe, who sprinted in to score his second try, converted by scrum-half Jordan Wynne. The final try came when Elliott broke out of his own half and with not much cover, was able to run down the right touchline and score his second try in the corner; the conversion falling just short. This brought proceedings to an end with what looked like a comfortable 34-15 victory for Moor, but the winning margin could have been a lot more and credit should go to DLS for sticking at it when they could so easily have folded, making life difficult for Moor’s youngsters. In turn, the latter should also take heart that they came through what was a tough afternoon with a bonus-point win.
Moor are away at Mansfield next Saturday in the second round of the RFU Counties 2 Cup competition, k.o. 3:00 p.m.
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