Dominant Stockport Inflict a Heavy Defeat on a Depleted Colts Side

I had hoped that our injury crisis was over and that the squad would be near to full strength for the rest of the season. How wrong I was! With four players in the county U20’s squad and a host of other players injured or ill, we found ourselves with just thirteen players available for this game – one of those was full of cold and barely fit to play and only three of them were backs! Knowing that we would be up against a strong Stockport side, it would have been easy to cry off but, having already not played two fixtures this season when the opposition cried off, the lads were happy to try and fulfil the fixture.

In accordance with the league rules, Stockport could only field fourteen players but they did have a full complement of substitutes and accordingly were able to bring fresh legs on at regular intervals. We felt that our only chance was to try and disrupt Stockport’s game and hope that they might just be a little over confident. That was certainly not the case. Stockport totally dominated the first half and, due to some excellent running and handling combined with good support play, they ripped through our defence to touch down at regular intervals. The second half was, however, a much closer affair. Our lads dug in deep and were able to play a large part of the game in the Stockport half. Two tries duly followed courtesy of Tom Spriggs and Jamie Baxter. Indeed, with only minutes of the second half remaining, we had scored as many points in the half as Stockport. In the last few minutes, however, Stockport’s fresh legs were decisive and they were able to run in two more tries.

Well played to Stockport. Their tactics on the day were perfect and they made full use of their extra player. Our lads did, however, put in a spirited performance and could leave the pitch with their heads held high. I do not normally single players out for praise but Tom Spriggs does deserve a special mention. He was clearly unwell and should have been home in bed rather than playing rugby. He never, however, stopped battling and was rewarded in the second half with a fine individual try.