Eccles RFC

The match got underway in breezy conditions. Eccles were soon in possession of the ball and eager to take the game quickly up field. An Eccles line out on the right wing just outside the Fleetwood 22 gave the opportunity to break quickly across the pitch. Crisp accurate passing from the backs released Gavin Ackers Johnson up the left wing and with the ball in both hands, he swerved to beat two defenders and opened the scoring in the corner with just a few minutes played.  02’ 5-0.  

Straight from the restart, Fleetwood chipped through the complacent Eccles defence. Gav had a nightmare with the bouncing ball between his legs and good work from Fleetwood brought him down just 5m from the goal line where a quickly reacting second attacker jackled for possession and scored on the line to the side of the posts, providing an easy conversation for the extras.  04’ 5-7. 

Determined to correct this catastrophe, Eccles set about setting a platform for an attack and the spectators did not have to wait long for an almost identical break up the left wing which resulted in a second try for Gav, scored right in the corner. The conversion from Speakman into the wind was on target but the ball dropped just short of the bar.  08’ 10-7.

For the next 10 minutes Eccles continued to enjoy good possession and territory but squandered many of these opportunities with careless handling. A very promising break up the blindside by Adam Christey from a line out on the left was tackled short of the goal line and Captain Coey was judged to be offside when he picked up the loose ball. Fleetwood kicked to release the building pressure and once again, Eccles hesitancy in defence with a bobbling ball causes problems resulting in a penalty to the visitors, right in front of the sticks, 20m out, which is kicked to equal the score. 24’ 10-10.

Eccles reacted positively to this set back and attacked from the restart. A centre field penalty was kicked to left corner by Speakman, and from the resulting line out a clean catch from leaping Steve Lillie (marking his 25th Season in the Eccles 1XV) led to an effective driving maul to the line. Reece Walker and Tom Coe spun off from the tail and the Openside claims the try in the corner, taking the flag and a couple of defenders with him.  29’ 15-10. 

Eccles were playing with confidence and a break through the middle by young prop Aspinall has the balcony roaring with delight. The ball was offloaded to the supporting fly-half Speakman who offloaded in the tackle to the supporting James Wright who steamed through the centre and ran it in under the sticks. Homegrown Champagne Rugby. 31’ 22-10.

The free-scoring exploits are halted for the remaining minutes of the half, as a loss of concentration and discipline by Eccles invited the visitors back into the game. On 34’ Centre Harry Candland was sent to the bin for a late tackle on the edge of the 22 and Fleetwood kicked the penalty. A second penalty for the visitors just before the interval is missed and with the game slowing down the spectators hurry inside to warm their hands.   

HT 22-13 

Eccles started the second half a man down but reinvigorated with the wind behind them. Within a minute Fleetwood had lost their advantage when a yellow card was shown to the number 5 and Eccles looked to capitalise immediately, with barn storming line breaks from Christey and Lillie. Another penalty resulted in a Eccles line out in the corner, where the ball was spilled just short of the goal line. The visitors kicked to release the pressure but the ball was caught by Tim Bologun before it made touch and he weaved infield from the right wing back into the 22, where Keiron Reed continued the attack until an accidental crossing penalty prevented process. The penalties continued to disrupt the flow of the game when a quick tap by Fleetwood lead to Simon Donovan receiving a Yellow on 44’ reducing Eccles to 13 men. 

Eccles reorganised their defence to soak up the Fleetwood attack and once possession was regained inside their own half the ball was dispatched to the waiting hands of Wright who launched a swift counter attack, punting a high kick deep into the visitor's territory for the Gavinator to run onto. The winger used his height to good advantage to challenge and win the ball and driving for the line he expertly offloaded in the tackle to the supporting Wright, who kept momentum popping the ball up from the next tackle to the supporting Sam Long who caught the ball in full flight and completed the fluid attack, scoring under the posts to the delight of the home support. Converted, Alex Speakman. 49’ 27-13.

Eccles were now hitting their stride and for the next 20 minutes played really enjoyable rugby with the youthful forward pack dominating possession to allow the backs behind them to fully exploit the range of weapons in their arsenal. Terrific passing across the pitch put the athletic centre George Tyson into space and he powered through a midfield tackle to charge to the line and score.  53’ 36-13.

The game was opening up and the opponents were trading strikes. Wonderful footwork inside the 22 once again from prop Dan Aspinall, set him free to accelerate away from the defenders to score under the posts. 57’ 43-13. Fleetwood responded by working a break of their own, striking clean through middle, to score unopposed under the posts. 59’ 43-20.  Eccles immeadiately responded with a demonstration of their own brand of direct rugby, Tyson exploding through a gap, sitting a defender down before powering through to the line to score his second try. Converted by Alex Speakman. 63’ 50-20.

The best however was yet to come when an exciting break was initiated by Front Row Fin Cox from the tail of a line out inside Eccles territory. Marauding up the field Cox handed off a challenger before offloading to Coe, who flipped the ball out the back door to the Supporting Will Parkinson. The fullback made good yards into Fleetwood territory on the right and a rapid recycle by Sam Long, kept momentumn to send the ball out to left, through JW, into the hands of the advancing Gavinator on the other flank. There was no stopping the winger from crossing the goal line and then scootering in to dot down behind the sticks. Try converted by Speakman. 69’ 57-20.

With the game drawing to its conclusion, Eccles were forced to defend their lines and Tom Coe was shown a yellow card for an infringement at the break down in front of the posts. Fleetwood took the penalty and scored a try on the left with 3 minutes remaining. The final evetns of the match were played in the Fleetwood half with the visitors defending and kicking into touch to bring the game to an end.  

This was a rewarding and entertaining team performance. Coast to coast rugby delivering nine fine tries and a fourth consecutive win for the Eccles 1s to extend their lead to 5 points at the top, with a game in hand. 4 fixtures remaining. 

FT 57-25