Not at the Races

Littleborough 34 Heaton Moor 8

Moor played Littleborough at their Rakewood ground on Saturday for the first time in six seasons and seeking to continue their recent run of victories. Although dry at the start, the surface underfoot was quite soft and with an overcast sky, a biting wind blowing from the valley above and the every-present motorway viaduct looming over proceedings, it provided a somewhat daunting setting for the Moor side, most of whom were playing there for the first time.

The home side won the toss and unsurprisingly, chose to play up their famous slope, allowing the visitors to kick-off. With the wind to their backs, Moor immediately had ‘Boro on the back-foot and opened the scoring with their first attack of the game, when the ball found its way to left-winger Trevor Chappell, who scored an unconverted try in the corner. Any thoughts that this might be the start of regular scoring for Moor, especially playing downhill with the wind, were soon dispelled as, from the restart, they had a clearance kick charged down, one of a number in the game, which ‘Boro pounced on and recycled first one way and then the other, resulting in their left winger scoring in the corner.

Not long afterwards Moor lost a lineout, enabling ‘Boro to again attack up the slope and were rewarded with a penalty in front of the posts, which was kicked, putting them into the lead on only their second foray into their visitor’s 22. Moor then did manage to edge the game in both position and possession up until the interval but, unable to come to terms with and take advantage of the conditions, coupled with the home side's solid defence and a pack who prevented Moor from taking their usual control of the forward battle, the visitors were limited to just a penalty before the break, making the score 8-8 at half-time.

As expected, ‘Boro then made full use of the situation in the second half, keeping Moor pinned down with intelligent kicking and close forward play, resulting in the game being played almost entirely in the visitor’s half, with a fair chunk of it within the last third. The home side extended their lead immediately following the restart when, from a lineout, their forwards produced a series of drives, ending up with one of their number going over in the corner. Another try followed at the end of the third quarter, arguably the best of the afternoon, when the ball was quickly moved along the line and one of their backs made a dummy pass and sprinted clear to score under the crossbar, providing a simple conversion.

Try as they might, Moor were unable to break out and impose any sort of authority on the game and with a steady, freezing drizzle now descending from the leadened sky, making the going even more miserable for the visitors, ‘Boro secured a bonus-point when they scored two tries in the last 5 minutes. The first of these came following a series of forward drives which sucked in the Moor defence, producing an overlap and a try in the corner, excellently converted from the touchline and the second, on the stroke of full-time, from a delicate chip over the advancing defence by their scrum-half, providing a simple run through for their centre to collect and score under the sticks.

The final score of 34-8 to the home side was very disappointing for Moor, given their recent good form, but was well-deserved for ‘Boro as they out-thought and out-muscled their opponents for much of the game and belies their lowly position in the division.

Next week, Moor host league-leaders West Park (St. Helens), at Green Lane, k.o. 2:15 p.m.

David Todd