The unique Phil Bennett, in a pre-match talk before facing England once said:

“Look what these bastards have done to Wales. They’ve taken our coal, our water, our steel. They buy our houses, and they only live in them for a fortnight every 12 months. What have they given us?  Absolutely nothing! We’ve been exploited, raped, controlled and punished by the English – and that’s who you are playing this afternoon.”

If only our wise and omnipotent leader had read that quote before last week’s game, and made it relevant to the Knutsford match! As it happens, it wouldn’t have been needed anyway, but some inspiration was needed today at table-topping Macclesfield, and the WingCo was left lacking.

It’s not often that we manage to turn out 21 (with no ringers) at 3^rd team level, so we were obliged to feel a ripple of confidence – at least in our ability to compete for the full match. However, some crucial injuries put paid to that. Turners, Charlie and Max offered apologies for their absence before Friday, otherwise we would have needed a mini-bus for the subs bench. Great, innit!?

Moor took to the field with a good-looking team, and so it proved. A referee of sorts finally turned up and the match commenced. With the ‘Holy Trinity’ one short of a Tiny, the forwards began well in the tight, and competed in all areas with gusto. The first scrum was a giggle – both sets of forwards looking to gain an early advantage and the ref standing there watching… until somebody prompted him for the ‘crouch, touch, pause, engage’ command! He later admitted in the bar that he hadn’t picked up the whistle in over 2 years – and perhaps it showed.

There was little between the teams for the first half hour. Moor, playing into the breeze, sun and slope, were acquitting themselves well, albeit largely in defence. The tackling could hardly be faulted and Beggy was back to his brutal, surgical best – his first three tackles nearly demanded a coroner’s presence. His efforts were being backed up by DB9, Inga, Chabal and the Chuckle Brothers in the centre – it was clear that Macc were really going to have to work hard to get anything out of the match. Even Big Rob Coates covered ground to make a telling hit to outwit an overlap!

Then disaster struck. Rambo had already been off for blood; Matt had damaged a leg whilst clearing his lines, and Macc were on the attack.  A series of predictable pick or peel and drives saw them closing in on Moor’s try line. Beggy lined up an exocet to prevent a score and was promptly taken out by Dave Nolan who had wandered in off his wing to avert the danger. Beggy ended up with a 7 stitch gash on his forehead, Nolan with a 7 cm golf ball on his, and Macc with 7 points in the bag!

Losing Euan was a big blow.  What a great sight though, when your fly-half ‘bounces’ an opponent (and the Macc lads weren’t nippers – they were sizeable units), everyone had to smile, including the amiable Inga resplendent in the No 10 shirt. Moor turned around 7-0 in arrears at the half, but were quite happy with that scoreline.

Although the ref admitted ‘playing to the shout’, DB9 really did turn over an incredible amount of ball that he had no right to be anywhere near. His skill at playing the ball on the ground was unsurpassed, and certainly baffled the bloke in the green shirt. I reckon DB9 has discovered the existence of space/time warp wormholes and has learnt how to harness their power. He pops up in the most unlikely of places, generally accompanied by the ball! Chabal was injured out of the game on more or less his first serious trundle – a major blow to the visitors’ hopes of sneaking a win.

Moor predictably ran out of steam in the last 20 minutes, when Macc’s forwards commanded possession almost at will and broke with speed to effect three more converted tries – one rounded off by their backs with superb flowing support.

Moor had been forced to make many changes, and the lads got on without complaint and did their best throughout. Lee Harris scored a personal hat-trick by playing in the 1, 2 and 3 positions at some stage during the match! The ever-competitive terrier, Jaz, worked hard all the way through and was denied what looked like an excellent scoring chance from his own chip as he was adjudged to have unfairly barged an opponent (bollocks!).

If there was one disappointment today, it was probably the ‘nil’. Moor launched enough attacks to have merited a score, but the Macc defence held strong and repelled any attack almost immediately. It is no wonder that they top the league. The rather late introduction of the injured WingCo did have a positive affect, but in the end Macc deserved the spoils.

On a very positive note, all 21 players managed to take to the park, and the game was tough but thoroughly enjoyed by all who took part.

In the clubhouse after the game, SAS Steve was tucking into his stew (with real beef chunks) and he handed a crust to his lad with the wise advice, “Just dip yer bread, lad”. It wer straight aht o’ an ‘ovis advert.

Moor will reconvene for a home fixture against Congleton 2s next Saturday.