or if the recent rise in Cadbury’s share price was due to the Under 9s alone. Certainly the pre-match warm up suggested a sluggishness brought about by overindulging in chocolate eggs!
The first of two games started with defences dominant. The game against The Saints in November resulted in a 10-3 thrashing by Old Anselmians as their tackling was superior. However Hoylake have made great progress in recent weeks and it showed this fine blustery Spring morning. Neither side was able to break through strong defending until some fine passing down the line by Hoylake ended with James collecting a pass in a bit of space and snuck into the corner to open the scoring. The Saints showed that they weren’t just about great tackling though as one of their faster runners sprinted down the line with nobody able to catch up and tackle so scores were levelled immediately. Leon was conspicuous in his strong tackling as was James in the early exchanges before a carbon copy try from him put Hoylake’s noses in front. As the wind strengthened it didn’t put the boys off slinging some ambitious passes to their team mates in a bid to “get the ball away from the tackle area” but sadly few went to hand and another period of dominant defence ensued from both sides. Leon was outstanding again as The Saints looked like breaking away to score before he transformed into a flying brick wall before my rheumy old eyes and demolished his opponent into touch! Hoylake couldn’t capitalise on the resulting possession and another try by Annies similar to their first brought the scores level before the referee decided to switch his hearing aid off and so allowed the game to continue despite 25 people politely informing him it was half time – at the same time, very loudly! This turned out to be favourable to Hoylake though because it allowed Sam to turn his hard work and commitment into a fine try in the corner.
So the Hoylake boys turned round at half time 3 tries to 2 ahead with “more of the same please” ringing in their ears. The second half was busier as both teams were in full stride. Hoylake progressed up the pitch from the free pass and with Reece now on the pitch his strength was vital as it took 3 or 4 opponents to bring him down but had the skill and presence of mind to offload the ball to the supporting Archie who touched down for a great team try. It was like something out of the All Blacks training manual but sadly James was away this weekend so couldn’t confirm! Annies pulled a try back through sheer hard work rather than weak Hoylake defence with Sam and Luca in particular a constant thorn in The Saints’ side. Once again good strong running from Hoylake thanks to George, Liam and Charlie made sure that Reece received the ball in a bit of space and just as he was making shapes to score, an Anselmians player swung round his neck and caused poor Reece to unsurprisingly drop the ball. What was surprising though was the referee’s decision to allow play to continue (he watches a lot of rugby league where a high tackle is defined as above the teeth) so as The Saints collected the dropped ball on their own goal line they moved the ball up the broken field with ease to score.
Ever obliging, The Hoylake Faithful didn’t complain, merely clapped the terrific all round rugby on show and waited for the next passage of exciting running rugby. They didn’t have to wait long although it looked like they would be clapping another Annies try as a clever pass put their flyer through the “Hoylake wall” with only Charlie to beat before scoring. However Charlie conjured up a tackle like Paul Daniels producing an ace of hearts from a rabbits ear to stop a certain try! This visibly lifted Hoylake, as from the resulting Hoylake attack Archie then Liam moved the ball up the park before Leon got his mitts on the pill and beat a couple of tacklers before scoring a fantastic try in the far corner………….only for it to be disallowed! My rheumy old rum-soaked eyes could not see why but Leon was hurt in the process and had to leave the field to appreciative applause from the whole crowd. It gave the Saints a chance to score and eventually they did as tiredness was creeping into Hoylake’s muscles but not before a final push from Hoylake saw Sam collect a long pass and powered his way over in the corner to score and level the game at 5 tries each. It was as if the rugby gods were watching because as the game drew to a close neither side could break through and so the final whistle blew with rugby the winner by a comfortable margin.
The boys and girls from both teams were eager for another game to see if any one side could come out on top, so after a breather for both the teams and the crowd, another game began with captain John being advised by his team mates to start with the free pass. Hoylake started brightly, some good weaving by Charlie saw him hauled down just inches from the line but the ball found Archie and he was never going to fail from close range – well done Arch! The break hadn’t dulled either side’s ability to stop a strong attack and a period of cut and thrust without an end result endured before a scrappy bit of play by Hoylake ended when John intelligently drew almost the whole of The Saints team to him before passing to James who broke for the corner and scored! Although The Saints scored twice, another Hoylake team effort saw George, Archie and Sam instrumental in keeping the play going forward and when the busy Charlie found himself close to the try line he was once more unlucky not to score himself but had the presence of mind to offload the ball in the tackle to James who gladly dotted down for his fourth of the morning and no less than his support play deserved.
A third try by Anselmians brought the games level before a welcome sight returned to Hoylake – a young George Jones with some space to gallop into! And gallop he did, right down the length of the touch line, straight as an arrow, graceful as a gazelle, unperturbed by the covering defence to score Hoylake’s fourth try of the match to ensure his team went into the half time team talk 4-3 up!
The youngsters were playing so well that an unusually brief and quiet team talk from Si and Kev meant the second half got under way quickly although it was Annies who came out of the traps the better for the brief interval. Take note coaches, never rest on your laurels! The Saints scored 3 unanswered tries before Hoylake saw the danger and began to ask the ref what the score was. “Never you mind” was the officious official’s response! Clearly James felt it was up to him to turn the tide on his own because he then produced a hat-trick of tries to put Hoylake back in front. Of course it wasn’t just James - he was very ably assisted by his team mates, particularly Luca, Reece and Archie. The second of James’ second half hat-trick spell was particularly memorable because it was exactly what Coach Si has been yelling all season at the youngsters after they’ve been tackled: “get the ball away quickly!” After Sam had been tackled, a quick witted Archie swiftly picked the ball up and sharply passed it to James lurking as ever on the touchline and he crossed the try line before the Anselmian’s defence knew what was happening. (Reports of Si walking dreamily around the streets of Hoylake in the rain with a fixed grin on his face have yet to be substantiated).
Although, just as the Hoylake Faithful could be forgiven for thinking an unlikely win was on the cards, The Saints dug deep and scored not just once but twice to edge themselves into the lead before Liam rounded off a fine sweeping move by Hoylake to score at the final whistle and save the day – nice work Liam! So the teams drew again: 8-8 this time but once again it was a very entertaining game of rugby played in a great spirit by both sides and with some fine skills evident after a long season of learning how to play rugby rather than “tag”.
Next week, the Hoylake Faithful are taking their tents (and exposure suits) up the M6 to Windermere RFC who are hosting an International Mini Rugby Tournament. I, as your fearless correspondent, will be there to cover the event although if you think I am staying in a tent in the Lake District in April you must be mad…….?