Bowdon suffer in first match

Wilmslow were extremely quick out of the blocks, scoring three unanswered tries in quick succession in the first quarter. Bowdon were often the cause of their own problems, feeble attempts at grabbing shirts being easily brushed aside and proving no substitute for genuine 'round the legs, man to ground' tackling.

Although Bowdon became slightly more competitive as the match wore on, Wilmslow continued to dominate, and probably could/should have scored several more times than they did. Bowdon's defence often looked like they were strangers to each other, rarely moving up to defend as a line. Of even greater note was the fact that players were not taking responsibility for covering their direct opposite number, resulting in Wilmslow seemingly being able to generate overlaps and try scoring opportunities almost at will, even from first phase possession. Bowdon were guilty of losing their own ball in ruck situations on several occasions, with support players holding back a yard or two rather than being on hand to drive first line defenders off the ball. However, it was the ability and willingness (both of which we seemed to lack) of Wilmslow to pass the ball through numerous pairs of hands that highlighted their superiority.

It was not all doom and gloom, with a number of positives to come out of the match. For large parts of the game the scrum held it's own. Dan Thompson also looked like a very useful addition to the squad, marking his debut with a breakaway try (the Bowdon tactic of having one of our players wearing a jersey the same colour as the opposition's finally paying off). There were some trademark barnstorming runs by Robbie Agnew, and some excellent last ditch covering tackles by Harry Briscoe, who also scored Bowdon's second try. However, there is clearly lots for the players to work on, as individuals and as a team, if they are to turn their undoubted potential into match winning performances.