U13s heroic fightback just falls short

The home team came out of the blocks by far the quicker of the two, and their mixture of direct running, accurate passing and inventiveness was too much for Bowdon's less experienced backline to deal with. Despite worthy efforts all round, and feisty rucking by the pack, Bowdon struggled to gain a foothold in the game, conceding four tries in the process to end the first quarter 22-0 down.

With the slope in Bowdon's favour after the turnaround, and with some of their more experienced players added to the mix, the second quarter was a much more even contest. Bowdon probably had more territory and possession, but failed to take advantage of try scoring opportunities on several occasions, allowing Macclesfield to clear their lines (not always legally mind) with some adept kicking from hand. It was from one such clearance that the home team launched an attack, a smart running angle bursting through the Bowdon defence for the quarter's only score.

The third quarter was a fairly even contest, with neither team able to build any continued pressure. Bowdon's best moment came from a mazy diagonal run by Harry Briscoe from one corner to the opposite corner, halted only by a scrambling defence.

And so we entered the final quarter with Bowdon 29-0 down, but belief was still high, not least because of the sterling efforts of the Bowdon pack. With the home team seeming to tire, Bowdon ramped up the pressure, finally converting an overlap with Oliver Meredith going over for our first score. A trademark breakaway try by Harry Briscoe soon followed, and then Robbie Agnew burst through the line to give the visitors a glimmer of hope. Time eventually ran out, however, with a second try for Harry Briscoe bringing the game to a close with Bowdon agonisingly close to securing a famous win.

Harry Briscoe was once again the most eye catching player on the pitch, but this week your writer's MOTM award goes to the entire Bowdon pack. No matter which combinations were on the field, they were fiercely committed at every ruck, rarely taking a backward step, and often driving their opponents off the ball (in effect, translating the hard work on the training ground into on-field performance). Well done to all. And should we meet Macc again this season, the four unanswered tries in the final quarter should still be fresh in the memory.