Eccles RFC

Eccles welcomed Liverpool Collegiate to a bright and breezy Gorton Street following Southport’s late withdrawal from the original Lancashire Cup fixture, with the visitors struggling to field a full side there were some team changes to allow both sides to field 14 players.

Joe got the game started off and Liverpool showed their intent early by moving the ball well across the pitch and the attack only stopped when the visitor's winger was forced into touch on the half way line to give Eccles the first line out which didn’t come to anything when Eccles were penalised in the ruck. Liverpool found touch and took the line out on the Eccles 40 but not for the last time this game , Eccles won the ball on the visitor's throw and Chayse made good ground before the ball was ripped from his grasp. A crunching tackle from Raff soon stopped the counter attack and won a penalty giving Eccles the scrum feed on their own 40 metre line.

Eccles won the ball from the set piece and set it back well although another ball steal gave the away side attacking advantage again. Some good defending from Joe bundled the Liverpool centre over the touchline on the half way line. Matt G got the ball from Joe but lost possession in contact which gave Liverpool the chance to clear their lines by kicking deep. Sam D was well postioned to take the ball well and side stepped the chasing defenders and then fed Scott on the wing who kicked through and although the Liverpool cover got back, they were isolated which allowed Scott to win the ball and touch down just inside the touchline and open the scoring although the angle proved too tight for Joe who pushed his kick across the posts keeping the score 5-0.

Leighton collected the restart well but was met with a strong defensive line and when Liverpool won the penalty they took the line out to the Eccles 10 metre line and moved the ball across the pitch again and some over eager Eccles defenders shot out of the line giving the Liverpool forward clear ground to score next to the post to take the lead 7-5 with the successful conversion.

Eccles responded well to the set back with Lucas again setting the tone in defence with a big shot and Liverpool seemed flustered when the full-back sliced the kick into touch giving Eccles the scrum. A handling error gave Liverpool the feed but Eccles solid pack pushed Liverpool off the ball and Joe found himself in space to draw the defence and find Scott on the outside who showed his pace by drifting inside but then beating the fullback on the outside to score his and Eccles second try, again just too far out for the extras. Eccles were back in front after a shaky start and begigin to play with confidence. 10-7. 

Chayse took the restart and set it back for Cael to power forward and form a platform for Sam and Matt G to test the visitor's tackling. Although a penalty followed against Eccles for not releasing but this just gave Raff another opportunity to put a great hit on his opposite number and win another penalty which Matt G tapped quickly and with Joe in support Eccles flew forwards, and Leighton kicked through with only the touchline stopping Scott completing his hat trick as the ball bounced out of play on the 10 metre line.

Liverpool dropped the ball after a short line out with more good play from Harry P and Cael setting the ball back giving the Eccles backs good ball and this time Raff showed his strength in attack by ploughing through the defence although the kick and chase bobbled into touch. Matt H again caused havoc in the line out and won the ball for Eccles and some excellent running from Lucas almost allowed him to break clear with Harry P in support. Even when Liverpool turned posession over Joe D was there to dislodge the ball with a ferocious tackle. Joe was next to touchdown with a lovely little chip and chase following another good break from Matt G and this time the kick was successful from Matt H to move the score to 17-7.

Ollie, returning to the team after lengthy recovery from injury, bravely took the kick off and swallowed up the ground to make a good 20 yards into the Liverpool half and put Eccles on the front foot. Abe crashed through the next set and then Lucas drew the defence to hand the ball onto Sam who sold a wonderful dummy and swerved his way over to score under the posts to give Matt H the simplest of kicks to take the score to 24-7 at half time.

 Joe got the second half underway but Eccles were penalised in the tackle to give Liverpool some early possession which was soon snuffed out by a punishing tackle by Ollie and with both sides exchanging kicks Max and Cael then settled the ball down with good drives. When Joe saw a gap down the blind side he angled his run expertly to draw the full back to give Raff the opportunity to fly in out wide , Matt adding the 2 points to move the score to 31-7.

Max pouched the ball expertly after his first half in Liverpool colours and made an immediate impact although Eccles were penalised again shortly after for not releasing. Matt H again won the ball back in the next tackle to start the counter attack when Raff romped down the touchline and was stopped only yards from the try line, Raff passed the ball back on the inside and Lucas dived on the ball but Liverpool’s scrambling defence won the penalty and took the line out on their own 20 metre line.

Liverpool contributed to the next Eccles try with some loose play at the line out and when the ball bounced , the ever present Harry P was the quickest to react to touch down out on the right touchline although Matt shaved the outside of the post so the score was now 36-7.

The restart didn’t travel the required 10 metre so Eccles had the scrum on half way. With loaned players exchaged at the break, a contested scrum could be maintained and two sets of Eccles Front Row forwards found themslves facing each other.  With the ball in hand, Eccles were really punishing their opponents now with some excellent running rugby with Joe and Harry P combining to give Jake the next try in the corner, again too far out for Matt to convert leaving the scrum at 41-7.

Again, the kick off didn’t travel the required 10 metres so Eccles had another scrum on half way with Leighton making a break with Matt G in support, Cael showing some good handling to move the ball to Lucas with Leighton then supporting well and spotting no full back, with a precise kick through to pounce on the ball himself and score under the posts. Matt H added the extras to make the score 48-7.

Eccles were in the ascendency now and kept piling forwards although Harry P forgot Josh was playing for the visitors when he passed the ball directly to him after a break but Harry soon won the ball back and Raff again went close but was held up just short. When the visitors penalty kick didn’t find touch the final score came from Raff catching the kick to touch and moving the ball to Joe who had Leighton on his inside who broke the line and found an overlap out wide with Sam giving Evan the decisive pass to charge in and score in the corner to take the final score to 53-7.

Eccles produced an excellent all-round performance and scored some great tries with flowing handling off the back of a strong forwards platform which should give the team confidence for the rest of the season.

Report Andy Curran.

Our appreciation to Liverpool Collegiate who travelled with low numbers to get the game on and to the referee James Wright for stepping in at the last minute. Full credit to the Liverpool Collegiate players who began with great purpose and belief and remained determined until the end. Full credit to the Eccles lads who were loaned to ensure a balanced contest, and who played in the right spirit with a full heart regardless of the shirt they were wearing. Excellent discipline throughout from both teams. Eccles listened and responded after a hesitant opening, found their feet and shape, and went on to play confident rugby.  Very pleased to see the forwards work rate increase to provide an attacking platform, very pleased to see us play expansively and get the ball through hands, and very pleased to see some new names on the score sheet. Despite the missing players, unfamiliar positions and the amount of cancelled fixtures since the new year the lads played some lovely fluid rugby. The best all around team performance of the season so far - CG