A bright morning greeted a near to full strength Sandbach U14 squad of 23 players to Whitby Sports Club. Ellesmere Port had lower squad numbers, but were following on from their excellent win in the Cheshire Plate quarter final versus Marple. The message from the Sandbach coaches was to build on recent successes, but the priority was to quickly clear the breakdown and spread the ball wide to the backs.

The Bradwall boys were quickly out of the blocks, with excellent link play and the aggression to break tackles resulting in three rapidly taken tries - two for the left wing, one for the powerful second row and two conversions for the captain/scrum half. Ellesmere Port did not let this onslaught deter them and they began to compete in the breakdown through their large pack. The Sandbach boys have developed over the last few weeks and learned how to deal with different match situations, so stuck to plan A and more slick passing released the outside centre for his first try of the season, converted by the captain. The larger Sandbach squad allowed the coaches to make changes and keep up the momentum, as the weaving outside half got into the act and added two more tries, one converted. The final score of the half was the result of a thundering run down the left wing, with the second row breaking tackles and dishing out hand-offs, with time to celebrate over the line with what he promises to be his last ever "Ashton-like" swallow dive;-)

Half Time 0 : 43

Further changes to the line up at half time gave all the squad an opportunity to each experience at least 30 minutes of match time. All credit to the squad that the changes did not break the shape or overall commitment of the team, with the replacement scrum half scoring within 2 minutes of the restart. This was rapidly followed by a first try of the season for the fresh-legged left wing. Ellesmere Port then produced their best periods of the game and after sustained pressure inside the Sandbach 22, they scored in the right corner. With the final substitutions pending, the inside centre could feel his match time was up and capped a great game by scoring a try under the posts, converted by the outside half. Once again the Ellesmere Port team fought back with the determination to release their outside half for a fine solo try down the left wing. The final try of the game went to Sandbach, creating a hat trick for the returning left wing and a fifth conversion for the captain.

Full Time 12 : 67

Thank you to Ellesmere Port for your excellent hospitality, to Matthew for excellent refereeing and a morning of rugby played in the great spirit of the game. Best of luck for the remainder of your season.