This was a fine performance by them in which most of their proven match winners contributed. In full back Ben Elliott, they have a player in a rich vein of form, who chipped in with a try and landed seven out of eight kicks at goal. It can’t be long before the likes of National 1 side Macclesfield cast covetous eyes on him. Fly half Will Cargill orchestrated proceedings with an excellent tactical game in which he constantly pegged the Wolves back in their own half with pin point accurate kicking. Sandbach scored six tries, four of them in the last quarter when they seemed to score at will as the floodgates opened. Elsewhere in their back line, there is plenty of pace and they have a robust pack of forwards to win them the ball. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t do well in National 3 North next season.

Nevertheless their task was made easier by a spiritless Wilmslow showing. Coach Giles Heagerty was scathing afterwards, saying that too many of his players had gone awol when it mattered and in coughing up the ball with spilt passes and weak defence, they just made it easier for a side already brimming with confidence. Fourteen tries conceded in the last three games is relegation form. They really will have to pull themselves together in their last four games if they’re to avoid the drop back into the Cheshire and Lancashire leagues. In all their recent games though the Wolves have played well in patches, sometimes extended patches, but their precision on the ball is just flaky and there is a lack of physicality up front. At least half of the Sandbach scores had their origins in mistakes by the Wolves.

The game opened with Sandbach taking control from the outset. The Wolves made a hash of taking the ball at the kick off and the visitors immediately stretched the Wilmslow defence with crisp passing in the backs and probing little kicks from Cargill. It wasn’t long before Elliott had them on the board with a simple penalty kick. Next Wilmslow lost the ball on their own lineout throw, Sandbach spun the ball wide for winger Jack Leech to make a searing break and there was Elliott on his outside for the scoring pass. Ten minutes later Cargill threaded a kick through the Wilmslow defence for a lineout from which Sandbach No. 7 Ali Burton scored. Once again the Wolves had failed to defend a catch and drive.

They now had one of their better patches and on the half hour MacCallum slotted a penalty. A fine break by Matthew King was then spoilt as his scoring pass to Tom Raynor on the left wing was ruled forward. Against the league leaders you have to take these chances. The Wolves continued to press but were held back by a lack of precision in everything they did, which meant that the visitor’s defence was rarely threatened. Early in the second half though it was caught napping as Mike Black burst through a lineout and popped the ball to Hugo Corbett to score but that was as good as it got for them.

Cargill was soon thumping high balls deep into the Wilmslow half where King and Ricky Chadwick were just caught in possession. A ruck offence inevitably followed and Elliott took the points. For a few minutes, Wilmslow managed to take the game to their opponents but when they dropped the ball in midfield, Sandbach won the scrum and Cargill put them into the corner. Wilmslow’s clearing kick from the lineout was taken by Sandbach winger Leech and centre Dan Massey had an easy run in for their third try.
Two long range tries for substitute winger James Beal followed as the Wolves disintegrated and then the final nail in the coffin was hammered home by an exquisite piece of play from Elliott who joined his line at pace, chipped the defence and then picked up his own kick to release his backs. The ball quickly spun through several pairs of hands for Leech to complete the Sandbach scoring.

In the final play, the Wolves took a short penalty from about ten metres out from which Mike Black barged over for their second try but make no mistake, they were outclassed and now face a fearsome fight to retain their league status.