Ave it!

In t’middle of t’week got a call off this bloke from Colwyn Bay. Turned out to be Arwel, lovely fella. The sun were shinin’ on t’Sunday morning and t’warm up went well. T’ lads from Bay turned up and I swear one of ‘em were a bouncer from t’Phoenix Club.

Sorry…. I can’t keep writing in Peter Kay language…
The list of absences this week included Donny (puke still?), Dave (mission to Ukraine), Niall (Back), Reece (elbow), Sean (shoulder), Tay (ribs), Louis (sore braces – why doesn’t he use a belt like everyone else?) and a late pull-out from Hensy who had pulled stomach muscles !

Luckily we had another 436 players to choose from. We didn’t have any idea about what to expect from Bay and they looked to have some giants amongst their squad. Due to the difference in Continuums in England and Wales we agreed to contested scrums but uncontested line-outs. The starting line was Big-G, Skips and Stef on the front row, Macrz and Matty on the second row, Morgs, Harv and Greggo on the back row, G-man at 9, Will at 10, Joe and Woodsy in the centres, Jamie and Conor on the wings and Ste at full back.

Having enjoyed the odd Rola Cola in the clubhouse on Sunday afternoon watching England trounce Wales my detailed recollection of the game has become a distant memory but I think it’s fair to say that most of the first half was played in Bay’s half and Wirral were on top. Wirral’s forwards dominated the breakdown, Morgs having an absolute stormer of a game, great distribution from G-man and intelligent kicking from Will, great hole-punching from Joe and excellent play from the back three.

Will managed to score two in the corners from breaks created from dominance at the breakdown and scrum and Ste scored a great try from a run-back from catching the high ball. There were a few other opportunities that didn’t quite come off including a 5 metre line out which Skips threw to Stef who did the right thing and forced his way over the line and then forced his way to the deck only to lose the ball forward in the grapple.

At half time there was a change of personnel, Jacko and Arrold joining the Skips on the front row, Slasher and Nults in the second row, Karl on the back row, Twigs at 9, Ben on the Wing and Sauna at full back.

Bay came back stronger in the second half and the tide turned with the majority of play in the Wirral half. Holes began to appear in the Wirral line and some strong running from Bay players allowed them through on three occasions, one converted. Bay also suffered a ball knocked forward over the line by a front rower as Wirral had done earlier.

From a penalty 10 metres out on the left wing Wirral took the ball into contact, drawing defenders in and then passed the ball out to Will and then all the way out to Ben on the right wing who dotted it down on the corner. Greggo made some crunching tackles, Karlos likewise and Tom had a great half at full back.

So, all in all, a really close game played in a fantastic spirit by both teams in excellent conditions. Thanks to Moggy for reffing ( I think we’ll buy you a calculator & notebook) and a big thanks to Arwel from Bay along with his fellow coaches, players and parents who were a joy to host.

I asked Arwel to give me 3 rings when he got home just to make sure he was safe.