Trafford MV still fighting following a close 26 – 28 defeat against De La Salle

By Wilf Dooley

In great rugby conditions and on a perfect pitch Trafford MV’s opening game was not one for the purists to savour.

De La Salle, a club with a history, brought an intimidating style of play to MacPherson Park which enabled them to take the win.

Trafford had a late team change with the late omission of Pat Eccles at scrum half with Joe Best coming into the team at short notice.

Concerted early TMV pressure had the visitors pinned on their own line and eventually forced De La Salle to concede a penalty try which also resulted in their No 8 being  yellow carded for throwing a punch 7 – 0.

The visiting side showed their aggression and physicality from the early stages and their confrontational style soon led to a red card for dangerous use of the head ! It looked as if TMV were getting to grips with the game as they worked a very good switch move on the fly half which saw inside centre Jamie Kingdon stride over to the right of the posts, the conversion was missed leaving TMV 12 – 0 ahead.

Trafford were continually getting drawn in to forward confrontations when the answers were surely out wide. De La Salle came back into the game as poor tackles allowed a try which went unconverted 12 – 5.

There still seemed to be enough in Traffords game as full back Eanna Glynn ran an excellent line which saw him take the ball and slice through the oncoming defence to touch down. Stand Off Luke O’Shea put the conversion over 19-5.

Trafford were getting drawn into scuffles in response to the visitors style of play and the inexperienced referee was under a great deal of pressure. Approaching half time De La Salle scored and brought themselves right back into the game with the conversion making it 19 – 12 at the break.

The game was thrown wide open early in the second period when De La Salle struck again this time with a try under the posts and converting it to level the scores at 19-19.

Trafford were failing to make use of the extra man and the numbers were soon levelled for a period of time as MV wing got yellow card for a desperation trip. Trafford were now really under pressure and conceded a penalty in front of posts which was easily slotted over for De La Salle to go ahead for the first time in the game 19 – 22.

Trafford were showing poor game management with poor exits from their defensive position and weak first time tackles, this pressure soon brought a further penalty for the away side 19 – 25. This was followed by a third consecutive penalty for the opposition 19 – 28.

With time running out the gap in points was going to prove to be too much. Trafford upped the intensity which brought a try for prop Jack Gobbett converted by Luke O’Shea 26 – 28 which proved to be the final score.

Trafford MV are very disappointed with the result but should have known the type of game to expect and how to counter the particular style of play. Strong refereeing is essential in some games and this was one that required it.

Trafford did however come out of the game with 2 points as reward for scoring 4 tries and keeping a close scoreline in defeat. Trafford MV remain top by 6 points as 2nd placed Sefton beat 3rd placed Southport 29 – 20.

Trafford will travel to Southport this coming weekend for what will be a decisive game with potentially a couple of changes to the starting XV.

Trafford MV’s Womens team had a great start to their New Year with an emphatic 76 – 12 win over Littleborough to maintain their top spot with a 4 point gap ahead of Preston Grasshoppers.

Trafford MV Rugby Club are busy recruiting on all fronts and with the Six Nations Championship starting in just a few weeks time interest in the game will be at a high. New players are very welcome to join our ranks, we have great facilities and a good rugby ethos which we encourage across all age groups. For any info on joining or playing for Trafford MV drop us a message at wilfdooley@virginmedia,com

This Saturday we will have Trafford MV 2nd XV kicking off at 2.15pm against Aldwinians and the 3rd XV also at home against Glossop again at 2.15pm at MacPherson Park, M33 6LR.