Colne record first win

A tough win against resilient Leigh

Colne unveiled the first of 3 new sponsors in the first home game of the season. The new shirts have been sponsored by Tom Davies of Janitorial UK.

Colne’s opening home game of the season ended in a narrow win over Leigh RUFC, on travelled the back of a 31-21 opening win against Tarleton. With the rain not showing any intent on budging, the game proved to be a test of handling and patience.

With scrums bound to be a plenty on the greasy surface, Colne were hit before the kickoff as Leigh opted for uncontested scrums. With the contested scrums a platform of Colnes, the Colne Coaches shuffled things around to give them a more dynamic option around the field. Adam Padgett, Alex Wood and Zack Bullock were first to don the new kit in the front row, with Lewis Hesketh and Brad Collins slotting in behind at Second Row. The back row consisted of Gary Kenyon moving in from the wing to Partner Nick Martin at Wing forward with the returning James Finucane coming into 8.

Half backs were the familiar Kyle Hargreaves with Coach Matt Tindall partnering. Centres were Jamie Gane and Connor Kinnane and the back 3 of Andy Bullock, Ernest Tino and Tom Davies completing the Team Sheet.

With the Colne team in high spirits, the game kicked off. The forwards making big runs with Brad Collins and Lewis Hesketh breaking the gain line on numerous occasions. Backed up by Gary Kenyon and Zack Bullock, Colne looked to hit Leigh through the centre with the strong running Connor Kinnane. With the first half pretty much even, it was Leigh who looked to break the deadlock first. A loose ball that should have been cleaned up by Colne, was hacked through by the Leigh centre. It was a foot race between the Leigh winger and the covering Matt Tindall. Luckily for Colne, the ref deemed Tindall to have grounded the ball and gave Colne the 22 drop out.

On another day, the penalty count would have been significantly higher for the opposition, but the referee opted for the scrums instead, which made life hard work for Colne to get on the front foot. The drift defence from Leigh thwarted much of Colne’s attack. It was until Colne had a period of possession in the Leigh half did the deadlock get broken. A scrum on Leigh 5metre line after the ball was deemed held up, did Ernest Tino get chance to go 1v1 against his opposition winger. Kayle Hargreaves picked up from the base of the scrum, fed Tino on the wing who muscled his way over for Colne’s opening score. Conversion missed by Tindall, Colne went into the break 5-0 up.

The second half had a similar feel to the first. Leigh made good use of the uncontested scrums and gave their very useless backs chance to stretch their legs. On another day, Colne could have conceded a couple more tries but the final pass from Leigh just wouldn’t stick. The possession and territory from the visitors did eventually pay off, as they numbered up against a napping Colne defence to level the scoring on the 50-minute mark.

The score from the visitors seemed to spur them on with only some excellent defending from Colne keeping the score lines level. As Colne weathered the Leigh storm, a few stray passes from the visitors gifted Colne possession. One such error from Leigh proved costly, as the ball landed in the calm and composed hands of James Finucane. A burst of pace put Colne on the front foot and a wizard of a pass put Jamie Gane through a gap. With only the Fullback to beat and forward momentum on his side, Gane rounded the defended to dot the ball down over the whitewash. Conversion good, Colne led 12-5.

The final few minutes of the match were all Leigh. Colne’s penalty count was racking up and the Leigh contingency were on the march towards the Colne try line. Slick hands from a quick penalty tap allowed the visitors to finish the match with an uncovered try.
On another day, the score line could have been much different. Leigh will be kicking themselves with the final pass not quite sticking; speaking of kicking, if Tindall had brought his kicking boots with him Colne could have also added another dozen or so points.
Final score Colne 12- Leigh 10.

Once again thankyou to Tom Davies (fullback for the day) of Janitorial UK for the new kit.

Watch this space for further sponsorship announcements in the coming weeks.

Next up for Colne. The 1sts travel to Southport whilst the 2nds entertain Garstang.