Trafford MV lose a close game vs Denbigh RFC in North Wales

By Wilf Dooley

Pre-season finally kicked in for Trafford MV Rugby at the weekend as the training pitch was left behind and match play took over. With a number of new additions to the playing group the team headed to Denbigh RFC in North Wales for their first action of the 2026/27 season.

Trafford MV started well and the forwards gave a good platform and the backs did their best with possession but it was the hone side that got the better of the early exchanges. Trafford scored first but then Denbigh hit them with 3 tries to build up a 19-7 lead. Trafford responded with a try down the left flank which brought them back in contention but the home side upped their game to score twice putting them back in the driving seat at 33 -14 at half time.

In true Trafford spirit the heads didn’t drop and the players knuckled down to the task at hand , this increase in effort saw Trafford score 4 second half tries with just a single one coming from the home side in reply. The final score of 40-36 in favour of Denbigh was a good reflection of the game and a good indication of the work that Trafford MV have to put in to become an efficient unit for the League campaign ahead.

Trafford can be happy with the way their forwards played going forward and with the way their tries were taken with debutant Soliu Sonekan scoring twice, Jack Gobbett, Jamie Parker and Oscar Livings all getting on the scoresheet. The extra’s were added by player coach Aaron Booth who was in good form with the boot at this early stage. However much still needs to be done on the defence and ball retention with too much possession being kicked away. 

So it’s back to the training pitch this week ahead of the next pre-season friendly which will see Skibbereen RFC from County Cork, Eire visit Trafford MV’s MacPherson Park in Sale, M33 6LR. The Club are inviting the local Irish Community to come and show their support for the visiting team on Saturday 22nd for a 2.30pm kick off.

The England RFU has made the difficult decision to push back the start of the competitive League season until Sept 21st due to the extreme dry conditions creating exceedingly hard pitches making competitive play potentially dangerous for players.