On Sunday 16 May, our age-grade teams enjoyed thier third week of competitive rugby as we welcomed Tyldesley, Stockport and Crewe to the sunny, busy pitches of Eccles.
U8s v Tyldesley (Home)
U9s v Tyldesley (Home)
U10s v Tyldesley (Home)
The first half saw us compete very well in the tackle, committing two and three players to try and stop them in their tracks. For the likes of Leo, Finn and Kai it was their very first game. Leo had taken to the physicality of rugby very quickly and enjoyed himself making tackles. Finn was able to bounce off a couple of players before grounding the ball for a try, whilst Kai is so quick with the ball in hand and always a threat.
Although Tyldesley scored two very quick tries we were able to hit back through Mackenzie’s determination to go through anything that stood in his way to the try line. The first half finished 6.3 to the away team. Mark Plumbridge gave a little advice to the Eccles team at half time. He wanted to see us clearing out in the ruck as opposed to just standing over the ball.
In the second half, we scored two tries from Vincenzo in quick succession, both tries very similar in the way he broke through the defensive line demonstrating good footwork and had the speed to out run the Tyldesley players in a 40m dash to the line. We dominated the whole of the second half and scored 7 tries to Tyldesley 1. Zack Traynor made so many tackles in the game and was so strong in the ruck, his performance was exceptional considering he doesn’t play too often. George, Caleb and Max constantly making tackles and had the ability to off load in tackles to set up more tries. For Jesse it was only his second game and again you couldn’t fault his willingness help his teammates out in tackles and offer support going forward.
Although we took the victory, there was so much more we got out of the game then just winning. We upheld the rugby core values and the game was enjoyed by everyone. A special mention to Mackenzie who demonstrated great sportsmanship and honesty to tell me that Tyldesley had grounded the ball down for a try.
We are looking forward to the next match and hope we can continue to develop.
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U11s v Tyldesley (Home)
Tyldesley's ability to steal the ball at the ruck and offload effectively had the Eccles lads tracking back after breaking the defense, forcing Edward to hit warp speed and stop them gaining a bigger lead.
Tyldesley's coach actually told us that they hadn't been beaten in 2 years and that we were the best they had played, keeping them keen.
U12s v Tyldesley (Home)
Another character building match for Eccles today against a very physical, aggressive and technically skilled Tyldesley- credit to them for a fantastic display of rugby.
U13s v Tyldesley (Away)
Eccles Under 13s boys made the short trip down the A580 and were welcomed by an excellent host in Tyldesley. A rare sun-drenched morning was made even better by an excellent game of rugby in which both teams played their part.
Eccles started brightly, but some great tackling from the opposition meant the first score from Max was more than hard earned. The boys made the opposition work as hard for their score with some excellent defensive efforts from Dom and Theo helping thwart the Tyldesley attack.
It was great to see some familiar faces returning for Eccles with Big Fin (who is smaller now than little Fin) crossing for a try and performing like he had not be away from the game for the last 5 years. Eccles dominated the ruck for periods which allowed scrum half Owen to orchestrate the attack and Eccles produced some excellent back play which was finished off expertly by flying winger Oli.
The game ebbed and flowed and captured the attention of both sets of parents. The first three quarters were a ding-dong battle in which both teams had spells of dominance before the opposition counter-punched with their own purple patch.
Hard earned tries were shared around the team with Little (now big) Fin scoring an acrobatic effort in the corner to round off an excellent move from the visitors and back row Alfie getting on the score sheet.
Going into the final quarter the game was on a knife edge and the coaches set boys the challenge of dominating a full quarter of the game and they certainly stepped up. Led by Captain Mikey the side both attacked and defended as though their lives depended on it. Although the opposition did threaten the Eccles line, the team defended as a unit with back row Ed making a couple of one-on-one try-saving tackles.
Again, Eccles were dominant in the ruck with Flynn performing like Fran Cotton and out rucking the whole opposition pack on his own to set up another try. Excellent kick chase and commitment to the game saw Eccles cross a further two times in the period in which they stopped the opposition from scoring. This seen them home to a hard earned but well-deserved victory.
U14s v Tyldesley (Away)
After days of indifferent weather, we finally had a glorious morning for a game of ruby - away at our local rivals, Tyldesley. Both teams were able to field a full 15 with subs which is always a pleasure to see.
Eccles/Ashton started strong from the kick-off, but it was clear that Tyldesley weren’t going to be a pushover despite this being their first match since the return of competitive friendlies. First onto the score-sheet was Eccles/Ashton with a great try from Sam who danced his way through the Tyldesley defence and managed to ground the ball in the far corner. Unfortunately Sam was unable to convert the try, but the all-important first score was to our boys. Could this just possibly be the opening of the flood gates for a strong Eccles/Ashton away victory?
Tyldesley reacted positively to the first try with some excellent rugby. Quick and strong at the rucks and spraying the ball down the line to exploit the wings which were starting to look like vulnerable areas for us again. To compound matters, the boys were uncharacteristically conceding ground by not pressing the attacking side quickly enough. Tyldesley capitalised quickly on these two areas and scored a series of converted tries to put themselves in a comfortable lead, Leaving the Eccles/Ashton team slightly rocked.
With a few positional tweaks and a some motivational talks from the coaches, the balance of play started to equalise, and out of nowhere, Harry intercepted a seemingly predictable pass from a Tyldesley player to run down the pitch and score under the posts which was duly converted by Sam just before half time. What a great way to finish the first half.
The second half was a far more even game. Some sleepy heads from an early kick off were beginning to fully awaken and threaten the Tyldesley defence. A lovely bit of play sent the ball down the line to Lewis who unleashed some impressive warp speed to get ahead of the chasing defenders and put the ball down in the corner. It was a big-ask for Sam to convert at this distance and his kick drifted slightly left of the posts.
Eccles recovery of form was further confirmed when Reece pounced on a spilled ball from a strong Eccles/Ashton tackle and raced down the pitch to score under the posts for Sam to easily convert.
Credit to Tyldesley, they raised their game and quickly recovered the form that saw them score their series of early tries, which resulted in them having more than the last word on the scoring-front with a couple more converted tries.
Final score: Tyldesley 43 Eccles/Ashton 24
