For many, a trip away to Buxton conjures memories of ice and wind. Graced with weather matched only by the setting, the sun blazed on this January afternoon as Knutsford arrived for a replay of their season opener (having been abandoned at 55 minutes due to circumstances) in what will go down as a classic in the club's lore.

Taking 17 men away, Jim Southall had his hand on the tiller as the whistle went. Despite a strong chase on the kick and subsequent turnover, a fumble gifted Buxton a scrum in their 22. Buxton's well-structured, determined attack quickly saw the visitors pushed back and ultimately conceding in the first 10 minutes.

At the restart, Knutsford again found themselves under pressure as Buxton turned up the heat. A well-fought defensive penalty earned Knutsford a respite, and strong forwards play from Chris Isherwood and Jake Barnes allowed Knutsford to work out of their twenty-two. Giles Robertson led the charge and, after sucking in three defenders to slow him, managed a pop to Noah Martin, who got the chip away to Alex Fielding, who found Gianluca Edwards on a 3 against 2. Putting his foot on the gas, Edwards crossed the line to bring Knutsford onto the scoreboard.

As the first half closed, Knutsford, having settled into the game, found themselves evenly matched against Buxton, with both sides showing good flourishing attack and courageous defence.

At the restart, sloppy defensive positioning allowed Buxton's centre to pick and go through the ruck and cross between the posts. A sublime restart from Fergus Greives found the ball bounce into touch. Sam Greives stole the ball in the air at the line-out, and a kick pop to James Clemper saw him break through, beating 4 defenders in a 30-yard dash to return the score.

For the next 30 minutes, both teams were locked in a dead-even match. With Knutsford failing to convert, a try was needed. A penalty through the posts would seal it for Buxton. In the dying minutes of the game, the centre combination of Southall and Chris Edmonds saw Knutsford’s efforts finally rewarded, bringing them one point ahead of Buxton. With 90 seconds on the clock, Buxton threw everything they could at the visitors, with a knock-on eventually bringing the game to a close. Any game against Buxton is always a hard-fought, tight game, and this was no exception, with a nail-biting ending for both teams.

Next week, Knutsford travel to Liverpool University Vets.

Final Score: Buxton 14 (2T, 2C) Knutsford 15 (3T)
MoM: Sam Greives

Knutsford Rugby Club