Sandbach’s opposition on Saturday were second place Bowdon, who had won their opening two matches. After amassing over a hundred points against both Eccles and Vale of Lune, Bowdon weren’t going to shy away from attacking rugby.

Sandbach wanted to follow up last week’s impressive result with back-to-back wins. The Bach made a string of changes with Ed Vitta replacing the injured Elliott Morris on the wing, Mike Egglestone returned to the second row and Ali Burton was added to the bench.

Sandbach kicked off and had plenty of possession and hands on the ball in the opening minutes but equally they were forced to make strong tackles as Bowdon took their chances to run with the ball.

After 15 minutes Sandbach finally found space as they moved the ball wide and kicked forward to find winger Matthew Randle. He raced through and ran over half the length of the pitch to finish off a superb try and take the opening five points.

A constant theme for both teams was the struggle with the lineout. As Sandbach edged up the field, a lineout 5m out was the perfect opportunity to get it working again. Jack Seddon took the ball and the maul formed. Scrum-half Laurie Essenhigh received it and found Seddon again who went into contact. Essenhigh picked up and made a run of his own but was brought down. The Bach went once more and it was Essenhigh who eventually sailed over to for the try. Henry Mitchell comfortably converted giving Sandbach a 12-0lead after 24 minutes.

A few minutes later and Bowdon were attacking. Sandbach missed a tackle on the wing and with a man spare Bowdon sped through to score under the posts, narrowing Sandbach’s lead.

Bowdon like to run with the ball and at every opportunity they were trying to move the ball and attack the Sandbach line. However, a clutch of penalties against them resulted in a yellow card for repeat offending and they were reduced to 14 men.

As the first half came to a close, Sandbach found themselves with a lineout just past the 22m line. The maul moved the ball closer to the try line and it found its way to Matt Davies who crossed over to extend the lead. The half ended 17-7.

Sandbach would be pleased to be leading but early in the second half Bowdon took the points from a penalty and 5 minutes later their attack got through the defensive line to level the match. Bowdon looked sharper after the break and the Bach had to focus.

Sandbach found themselves 22m out with a lineout from a penalty kick. Another penalty was awarded and Essenhigh took the quick tap and go. A further penalty was given and a second yellow card was shown to Bowdon. The kick to the posts was called for and Mitchell slotted it to put them back in the lead.

Sandbach appeared to be in control again as they applied the pressure from a penalty in Bowdon’s half. The maul from the lineout splintered but kept on moving forward. The forwards were in control as they worked the phases and eventually the referee gave another penalty. Mitchell made the short kick for a Sandbach lineout 5m out. A maul was formed and was momentarily pushed back before being propelled forward. Essenhigh retrieved the ball, made a quick dummy and shimmied through the defence to score his second try of the day.

Full-back Harry Leese thought he’d made a try saving tap tackle as he brought down his opposite number however, the ball stayed in Bowdon’s possession and their winger went on to score on the wing. The scores narrowed to 27-24 after a successful conversion with 12 minutes remaining.

In the closing stages, Bowdon had a run of sustained pressure, but their attack was repelled by a robust Sandbach defence. Every player gave it their all and there was relief when Bowdon were penalised and the Bach had a chance to clear their lines. But the clearance failed to find touch and Bowdon were on the attack once more. More strong defending was required and with minutes left Sandbach thought they’d regained the ball only for the referee to award a penalty to Bowdon. They opted for the kick to level thematch but missed and Sandbach had the chance to clear once again.

The clearance went straight into Bowdon’s hands and they attacked. Egglestone made the tackle and got himself over the ball, eventually winning the penalty and securing the win for Sandbach. The match ended 27-24 and Matthew Randle deservedly picked up the player of the match award. It was a hard-fought victory and the Bach showed resilience whilst under pressure in the dying minutes to secure the win.

Match report by Rhys Fullerton

Next match:

Crewe & Nantwich 1st XV Vs Sandbach 1st XV

Saturday 28th September – Kick-off 3.00pm

Newcastle Road, Nantwich