Sandbach made the short trip to Moss Farm on Saturday to face local rivals Northwich. With heavy rain throughout the match, playing conditions were far from straightforward. It was a scrappy and slippery opening with penalties conceded by both sides. There were plenty of handling errors and scrums were reset, as players tried to adjust to the conditions.

There was some early territory kicking and also some fierce defending, with Sandbach props Archie Lea and Max Beadle showing their strength with a dual crunching tackle to dismantle Northwich’s attack. However, Northwich opened the scoring with an interception on halfway. A Sandbach lineout looked to move the ball wide, but Northwich’s Byron Read stole the pass and ran through unopposed to take the lead.

Sandbach’s full-back Harry Leese made a positive run when he took a catch and sidestepped a tackle before speeding off down the wing into Northwich’s half. Sandbach were threatening and George Cole made a nice run with ball in hand. Second row Ben Jones got close and it took several defenders to bring him down. When Sandbach picked up a penalty within kicking distance, they made the decision to go for the posts and Matt Randle took the points.

Northwich got close to the tryline again before half-time. From a lineout in Sandbach’s twenty-two, Northwich’s maul formed and slowly moved forwards. Sandbach’s solid defence stood firm, but the hosts picked up another penalty and went for the lineout, this time 10m out. They edged closer but they conceded a penalty and the referee ended the half.

Sandbach got the second half underway and put early pressure on Northwich when they picked up a penalty and kicked to touch. From the lineout the maul formed and drove forwards, however the ball was knocked on, giving Northwich some respite. Moments later and Sandbach earned another penalty and opted for the posts. Randle slotted the kick and kept Sandbach in contention.

Northwich’s restart didn’t make it 10m and a kick by scrum-half Laurie Essenhigh from the base of the scrum got Sandbach chasing. They earned another penalty and again they took the points. Randle was now three for three and Sandbach were leading 7-9.

Northwich would apply pressure of their own as they pushed themselves up field, towards the tryline. Sandbach’s Jones fantastically ripped the ball from Northwich’s attacker denying a try scoring opportunity. From there Sandbach played the ball out from their own line. Elliot Morris made a darting run on the wing, but the attack came to nothing when a penalty was conceded.

Shortly after and Northwich were attacking on the wing. As they pressed closer, Sandbach impeded play and a penalty try was awarded, with ten minutes in the sin bin for Essenhigh.

Sandbach’s response was immediate and they quickly picked up another penalty in Northwich’s half. The aim was to stay in the game and another three points were kicked by Randle.

With an extra man advantage, Northwich scored another try to increase their lead. Sandbach, however, gained another kickable penalty to keep the pressure on. This was a difficult distance kick, but Randle stepped up to secure the points and Sandbach were now six points behind.

Several minutes later there was another penalty for Sandbach and with time still to play, they went for the points once more. Randle’s sixth successful kick, which earned him the player of the match award, ensured that this game would go down to the wire.

In the final stages, Sandbach applied a huge amount of pressure, but Northwich stood strong and fended off every attack. From a Sandbach lineout, the forwards went through multiple phases before sending the ball out wide. Cole made a great catch before offloading to Leese. The full-back ran for the line but Northwich defended and the ball was eventually knocked on. Sandbach had one more opportunity, but a penalty was given to Northwich and they kicked it out to end the game 21-18.

With the conditions as they were, this match could have gone either way and despite the result, Sandbach remain in second place thanks to a losing bonus point. Sandbach kept themselves in contention with intelligent game management and it almost paid off in the closing minutes.

Match report by Rhys Fullerton

Next match:
Sandbach 1st XV Vs Birkenhead Park 1st XV
Saturday 4th October – Kick-off 3.00pm
Bradwall Road, Sandbach