Eccles RFC

Eccles u16s welcomed Sefton to Gorton Street hoping for a repeat of the recent Lancashire Cup win and it was the visitors who kicked off to start the game in near perfect rugby playing conditions although Eccles lost the ball from a knock on giving Sefton some early possession from the scrum. When Eccles were penalised for being offside from the subsequent ruck it gave Sefton a line out on the Eccles 10 metre mark but the defence stood firm and turned the ball over allowing Jack C to make a break down the left side and finding Matt H but another loose carry meant the attack petered out.

Sefton stuck to their game plan from the previous game which was to kick at every opportunity and this gave them some good early possession forcing the home side to touch the ball down behind their own try line but some quick thinking from Jack L with a short kick meant Eccles regained the ball and went on the attack and made some good yards , Cael supported well and set the ball back from Leighton who found the always available Jack C who made another great break and seeing his centre outside in support, fed the perfect pass allowing Matt G to romp in , Jack made a tricky kick look easy to take the score to 7-0.

The restart found Lucas who as always beat the first man giving the forwards time to get in support and protect the ball giving Jack C and Jack L time to pile down the middle forcing Sefton into a knock on to prevent a further score. Joe D got the ball from the scrum and tried to cheeky kick through which was only just knocked dead by a scrambling Sefton defence at the last minute.

Eccles looked in the mood now and more strong running from James and Blake was putting more pressure on the visitors defence and it was breached again when the ball moved out to Matt G who sold an outrageous dummy to glide in for his second try of the morning and Jack L increased the lead to 14-0.

Sefton didn’t help themselves by kicking the restart straight out on the full and Eccles had the scrum on the half way line and some great handling by Leighton , Matt G and Jack L allowed Lucas to grab a well deserved try when he blasted through the cover defence to give Eccles back to back tries and Jack obliged with the conversion to make it 21-0.

Sefton got the ball from kick off when Eccles dropped the ball although they didn’t keep it for long as Joe D put a tremendous shot on the Sefton forward (who Joe claims was at least 6’4 and had a full beard although this is yet to be verified), Matt G was the grateful recipient as he picked up the loose ball and galloped in to complete his hat trick before the whistle was blown for half time with the score at 28-0.

Eccles started the second half with a cute kick from the recently introduced Sam D which went short to Jack L who has denied a try by being held up over the line forcing Sefton to drop out, Scott took the ball well on the wing but it was then lost in the next phase and a penalty to Sefton for a high tackle allowed them to move into the Eccles half.

Eccles were defending solidly although some over eagerness meant penalties followed for offside and high tackles forced the ref to speak to the Eccles captain Matt H to get his players back in line. Matt G found himself on the wrong end of the referee's whistle for another high tackle which earnt him a yellow card and a breather on the sidelines. Sefton took the opportunity to get themselves on the scoreboard when their number 10 intercepted a pass and scored under the sticks to make it 28-7.

Sam D went for another short kick but it fell short of the 10 metre mark giving Sefton the scrum which they won but more string defence from Josh and Harry P turned the ball over and Joe went for another kick and chase which he won and set back for Chayse to sidestep his way over from 20 metres out to score a great try and give Jack an easy kick to move it to 35-7.

Sefton kicked off and Harry P made more good yards allowing the backs to kick through again but another high tackle by Eccles gifted Sefton more easy yards although Sam D prevented the kick from going over the touchline and prompted a counter attack. Slick handling moved the ball to Jack L and Matt H who found Jack C splitting the cover defence and the openside flanker touched down for a well deserved try , Jack L added the extras again to make is 42-7.

Eccles were really dominating and James was making yards with every carry only for Eccles to be penalised for offside when chasing another probing kick and again Eccles showed indiscipline when another high tackle was given. Eccles won the ball from the tap taken by Sefton but some hesitant play in the middle gave the Sefton 10 another intercept in an almost carbon copy of their first score to make the game 42-14.

Eccles and Sam kicked off but Sefton were running on fumes now with injuries meaning Finn, Blake and Cael joined the opposition's side with Cael enjoying a stint at centre so it was no surprise that Sefton kicked the ball straight back but when the ball found its wat to Matt H in open space he flew through the Sefton defence and although he could have scored himself he slowed down to draw the fullback and passed the ball to perfection to Jack L who went in under the posts giving himself the easy take to add the 2 points and make the score 49-14.

It was the visitors who ended the scoring with more indiscipline costing Eccles when Chayse was given a yellow card for being offside and the referee sending him to the touchline for the teams accumulation of penalties. Sefton took a quick tap and scored outside to bring the final score to 48- 19 to Eccles.

Report Andy Curran.