With 5 days’ notice, a preliminary round of the U15s Cheshire Cup was arranged between Bowdon and Wilmslow on Sunday the 9th of October. The two teams have been fierce rivals since the U7 age group, so this only preliminary round fixture certainly raised eye-brows!
The first half started with some strong Wilmslow defence combined with well-rehearsed attacking moves and Bowdon soon found themselves down by two unconverted tries. Bowdon Captain, Ben McBride, rallied the troops and some creative and supportive attacking rugby resulted in centre Thomas Hobson crossing for a Bowdon try that was subsequently converted by Harry Douglas. At halftime, Bowdon 7, Wilmslow 10 and all to play for!
During halftime, Bowdon continued to shuffle the pack to ensure that all 27 players who were available for game played at least 50% of the game. Wilmslow took advantage of the resulting discontinuity and defensive errors to add 3 more tries and with a change of Wilmslow kicker, one was converted. Bowdon again rallied halfway through the second half and with some pressure play forcing multiple Wilmslow penalties, Bowdon camped on the Wilmslow try line. After several phases of play, Charlie Cozens crossed the line to score and this try was converted by Joe Messer.
More player changes from Bowdon resulted in a further three Wilmslow converted tries with the final score Bowdon 14, Wilmslow 48. It was a hard contest with a few knocks and bruises on both sides! Though disappointed, the U15s squad continues to prioritise inclusion of the whole squad and teamwork.
Many thanks to Simon Birch of the Manchester and District Referees Society for refereeing the match at short notice.
