Eccles RFC

Eccles Colts took a break from their league campaign to take on Sedgley Park Senior Colts in the first round of the Lancashire Cup in what would prove to be a tough test against a genuine under 18’s outfit places 2 divisions above.

Eccles kicked off and were immediately on the front foot when we gathered the ball with Joe M driving strongly and winning the penalty to give the home side the line out early on which Eccles won followed by a good drive by Matt H although the ball was knocked forward in the next phase although the referee called for an Eccles penalty for an earlier infringement – this went nowhere as Eccles were then penalised for not releasing the ball.

Sedgley didn’t find touch with the kick and Joe D collected the ball and returned to half way and won yet another penalty which proved to be a familiar outcome for the rest of the match with the visitors conceding numerous penalties throughout the match. Eccles took a quick tap and the ball moved out to Finn on the wing who made good yards giving Joe D the chance to kick through which the away side did well to clear to half way with a booming kick.

Eccles won the subsequent line out but lost the ruck and conceded a penalty which led to the opening score when the Sedgley number 12 ran in unopposed from half way to make the score 0-5 against the run of play.

Eccles restarted the game and more strong defence meant the away side made little ground forcing the kick to Lucas who, not for the last time, gathered and returned the ball strongly for his best game so far this season. Another knock on from Eccles meant Sedgley had the scrum but Eccles were holding their own with Max leading the pack and managed to force the visitors in to touch when they attempted a maul.

Eccles won the scrum but a poor pass from the back of the scrum resulted in another dropped ball and this led to Sedgley’s second try when a penalty followed and the away sides prop forward held off defenders to touch down and make the score 0-10.

Eccles found themselves 2 tries down despite having most of the possession but lacking a real cutting edge with some poor distribution to blame. Eccles responded to the set back by keeping  the ball and more good running from Tom K and Tom W kept the away side honest with more penalties against Sedgley for a late tackle, plus offside, but another forward pass stopped Eccles from another promising position.

Eccles continued to apply pressure, winning the scrum insde the 22 but another penalty followed and the referee took action and sent the Sedgley man to the sin bin for repeated foul play which was almost followed by an Eccles try but James lost possession reaching out to plant the ball down and the penalty was brought back for Eccles.

Matt R got caught up in trying to take a quick tap and overthrew his pass into touch. Sedgley number 12 again broke from the scrum and went 90 metres to score and make the score 0-17 with all the tries coming from Eccles mistakes. The final note of interest in the first half saw Josh decide to charge a kick down with his face which meant he had to leave the field as half time approached.

The second half brought the usual raft of changes in the forwards with them facing an uphill battle to progress to the next round of the cup, Sedgley kicked off and found touch giving Eccles the line out on their own 22 which was lost and further handling errors on both sides meant no real threats came from either side. Eccles won the latest scrum and some good running from Cael and Harry G kept the ball and yet another penalty was given following a high tackle in midfield followed by another lost line out meaning Eccles gave up good field position once again.

The Eccles pack were still holding their own and winning scrums but more poor slow distribution meant the defensive line were in the Eccles faces straight away giving the back line no real room to play and forces passes often went to ground.

Sedgley seemed content to protect their lead and often kicked to Lucas who repeatedly ran the ball back hard to put Eccles on the front foot whilst more good running from Joe M , Ollie , Cael and Chase meant Eccles were playing on the front foot for long periods whilst Matt H put a big hit on the Sedgley number 1 which resulted in the prop dropping the ball and Matt damaging his rugged good looks by collecting a light black eye which I believe has now developed into a story about Matt fighting off hoards of Viking invaders!

James made an excellent break from the scrum and opted to kick through with the full back to beat only to see the ball roll agonisingly dead at the last moment but quick thinking from Sedgley meant a short restart was taken to give them possession leaving Lucas to make a one on one tackle to keep the second half scoreless.

Eccles were ending the game the stronger team and playing really quick rugby with Sedgley penalised for having too many in the lineout but Eccles rushed and took the tap from the wrong place meaning the referee then gave the visitors the scrum , an error which was further compounded when the referee penalised Eccles for something that was said in frustration.

Eccles had the majority of the territory and the ball for the rest of the game but were always chasing the game which led to errors from knock-ons but never gave up and another Sedgley player sat down for 10 minutes for repeated penalties again which highlighted the pressure Eccles were putting on the away side.

The second half ended scoreless meaning Eccles were out of the Cup at the first hurdle. The home side displayed a lot of heart but lacked the flair and precision to breach the Sedgley line which is something that will need to improve if Eccles want to continue their unbeaten start to the league.

Report AC.