Trafford MV 2XV Slipped up after loss at Newton Le Willows

Match report courtesy of Phil Simms

The Trafford MV (TMV) 2XV made the journey up the M6 to Newton-le-Willows in the next round of the League Cup competition.

The squad was a true Trafford team with a sprinkling of 1XV players playing down on their rest week and a few 3XV players stepping up to help the 2XV. In predictable Lancashire November fashion, the heavens opened, so Trafford was in for a wet afternoon.

Thank you to everyone who made the journey to support the team and who put on the jersey. As some members of the squad had not played together for a while, we had a slightly extended warm-up. Stretching was led by Hugh, then we split off to perfect the set piece and backs moves.

The energy and positivity were great. Newton’s attitude to warming up was less diligent, with the home team only coming out into the rain 30 minutes before kick-off. Was it arrogance or confidence? Time would tell.

In a frustratingly common experience for the 2XV, it was quickly clear that Newton was a large, heavy squad. Although it was hoped Trafford’s youth and fitness would give them the edge.

Trafford received the kick-off deep into their half. The ball was caught and secured well, with Trafford quickly getting into a good attacking shape on their 10-meter line. Unfortunately, a handling error in the wet weather led to a Newton scrum, which they won comfortably.

It was quickly apparent that Newton’s size meant they were going to be dominant in the set piece. Newton’s 8 picked from the base of the scrum and utilized his rugby league talents to offload in the tackle to a centre who ran a try in under the posts.

The conversion followed. The 2XV then knocked their heads together and generally defended well for the remainder of the first half. Some ill discipline led to Newton receiving two kickable penalties, and it is a testament to Trafford’s defending that Newton opted to kick rather than go for the try. At half-time, the score stood at 13-0.

However, in the second half, the 2XV really struggled. Newton’s height and power nullified Trafford’s scrum and line-out, and the poor weather did not favour Trafford’s signature form of champagne rugby in the backs.

Dropped balls and errors led to Trafford spending most of the half defending, but eventually, Newton would use their weight and crash through a gap in the line, so their score mounted. Tempers, which had already been simmering because of the home team’s rugby league approach to tackling, flared in the second half, leading to punches being thrown by Newton.

The highlight was 17-year-old Charlie Wood engaging with the largest Newton player, resulting in an extended round of handbags. In the final play of the game, a lofty pass from Trafford’s backs that definitely didn’t go 5 metres forward was caught by Lawrence Ryan on the wing, leading to an unconverted try, which were Trafford’s only points of the game.

In short, it was a hard day at the office in conditions that did not favour Trafford. There were some glimmers of hope, with Trafford demonstrating good pod structure and use of the ‘trigger’ formation on the rare occasions we had the ball, but it is fair to say Newton deserved the win.

Final score 37-5 to Newton-le-Willows

Try – Lawrence Ryan. MOM – Charlie Wood.