Third at Wilmslow Festival

Following a couple of late cry-offs, the format of the festival was changed from the normal group arrangement to a straight round-robin league system. Our first match was against Chester, though a very different (and far weaker) Chester side to that we met in the Cheshire Cup. First half tries for Benjy Jones, Robbie Agnew, and Harry Martin gave Bowdon a comfortable position at the interval, and then a second try for Harry Martin completed a 4-0 win.

Bowdon’s second match was against Broughton Park, where we failed repeatedly to deal with their biggest and strongest player, high tackles not surprisingly proving wholly ineffective. Although Will Nicholson came up with a trademark breakaway try, it was not enough to prevent a 2-1 defeat.

Next up were Macclesfield, who were obviously gunning for revenge following our victory over them at the Stoke Festival. In the first half Macclesfield were notably hungrier at the breakdown, consistently counter-rucking Bowdon off the ball, our forwards guilty of not committing in sufficient numbers. A 3-0 half-time deficit was the net effect, with things looking ominous at that stage for a humiliating defeat. Bowdon rallied to a certain extent in the second-half, scoring the only try of the period. This was arguably our best try of the festival, Will Nicholson drawing in the defenders from the Macclesfield midfield before releasing Harry Briscoe on the wing, for once with space to exploit his speed.

Our fourth game was against the hosts, who appeared to have had the stuffing knocked out of them following defeat by local rivals Macclesfield. First half tries for Harry Briscoe and Max Biddlecombe gave Bowdon a 2-0 half-time lead, and then a try for Jed MacKenzie and a brace for Will Nicholson completed a 5-1 rout.

Bowdon’s final match was against Ilkley, who were clearly showing the effects of having to play three matches back-to-back. Bowdon quickly gained superiority, with tries for Oliver Meredith, debutant Will Bannister, Robbie Agnew, a brace for Lewis Littler, and a hat trick for the flying Harry Briscoe completing an 8-0 victory. A victory by Broughton Park over Wilmslow in the final match would probably have meant second place overall, but it wasn't to be, Bowdon finishing third behind winners Macclesfield and runners-up Broughton Park.