Saturday 23rd January 2010

On a dull and misty afternoon Vale A set out to try and record a double over Rochdale whom they had beaten 24 – 12 in October.

A bright start saw the Vale pack putting the Rochdale eight under a lot of pressure.
Ten minutes into the game saw them awarded a penalty. Unfortunately it was to be an off day for Price who watched his effort sail outside the posts. Plenty of pressure from the Vale eight with Lin to the fore saw a second penalty awarded after 20 minutes. This time he made no mistake to put the Vale in the lead 3  -  0.  Shortly after another was awarded but again missed.

A couple of minutes later another penalty saw Austin taking over the kicking duties and his kick sailed between the posts.

The Rochdale team couldn’t get out of their own half as the Vale kept them penned in their own 22. Unfortunately after the long enforced layoff a lot of mistakes kept happening and the Vale could not engineer a try that they really deserved.

There were too many attempts at individuality instead of playing as a team which before Christmas had been a hallmark of the Vale’s play.
After half an hour the Vale were awarded another penalty which was duly converted by Austin. There was to be no more scoring and halftime came with  the Vale leading 9  -  0 and Rochdale unable to leave their own half due to the pressure exerted by the Vale.

The 2nd half started, and it became obvious that the Rochdale coach had issued a few stern words. The Rochdale pack started to give the Vale a taste of their own medicine.
It didn’t help when Morrison was substituted. He had been giving the Vale pack a measure of stability which they now seemed to lose, Sutcliffe replacing him. 

Rochdale started to put the Vale under pressure and the Vale pack were being driven backwards and couldn’t escape their own half.

Quarter of an hour into the second half a penalty was given away and the Rochdale centre made no mistake to make it 9  -  3.  A few minutes later and another penalty ensued. Fortunately for the Vale this was missed but all the pressure was coming from Rochdale.

Going into the last quarter Charnley came on for Speight and Vale started to take some lineout ball, taking the ball up into the Rochdale half. However, chances were spurned and 10 minutes from the end Rochdale were back near the Vale line.

A move which shouldn’t have happened took place. The Vale eight produced an enormous shove on a scrum on their own five metre line which took the Rochdale eight back ten metres with the Vale having gained possession. For some unknown reason the referee decided that the scrum should be reset in the original position and possession given back to Rochdale, a strange decision indeed.

From the resultant scrum this time the scrum half took quick ball, went blind and gave the winger a sharp pass for him to go over and round nearer the posts for a touchdown.
The conversion would have put Rochdale in the lead but the Rochdale centre again missed to keep the Vale ahead at 9  -  8.

From the kickoff the Vale pack started to play as they had done in the first half. Sutcliffe was at the fore with some driving runs and after one such drive a quick ball out right left the backs with plenty of men wide and a try begging to be scored. Unfortunately the ball was kicked away and the chance went begging. The Vale had now recovered their momentum and managed to retain their lead to the end without any changes in the scoreline.

Vale “A”

P Jackson, T Smith, A Morrison;  L McCullough, A Thompson;  M Speight, D Lin, D Perry;  O Hughes, K Doyle, (Capt);  R Loch, A Macluskie, G Price, R Bowen; O Austin.

Replacement; B Charnley, A Sutcliffe, S Tate.

Referee: P Edwards

Saturday 12/12/09             

Vale “A”         66      -        7          Blackburn 2nds

On a cold but sunny day Vale A ran up a dozen tries but only managed three conversions.

Against a brave but outgunned Blackburn side, Vale A, who have been in good form in recent weeks showed why they are now becoming one of the favourites for promotion to the extremely competitive Bateman BMW Premier League.

After only four minutes Owen Hughes, out of favour with the 1^st team, made an excellent break from a scrum on the half way and left a few Blackburn players in his wake on the way to the line for the first score. Price missed the conversion on what was to be one of his poorer days for kicking.

Shortly after a kick from Blackburn was caught on the right wing and passed inside to Bryan. He made excellent ground before passing to Bowen who steamed away for the second try.

The 3^rd try after a quarter of an hour was finished off by Charnley after  the ball passed through numerous hands for him to go in on the right hand side. Again the conversion was missed.

Another bout of passing resulted in Bryan going over after 20 minutes.

The Vale pack was in excellent form and giving the Blackburn eight a real workover and this resulted in the next try when from a scrum close in Garnett picked up and went over.

This was followed shortly after when a ruck formed and Danny Lin emerged to go over for the sixth try. Price managed to put this one over.

Vale slackened off and a foray upfield by Blackburn ended with their centre going through a couple of week tackles to score near the posts. The number 10 converted this try.

Vale retaliated and a kick from Austin resulted in Bryan swooping on it to record Vale’s seventh try on the stroke of half time.  

Very comfortable for the “A” team with a 37  -  7 lead to take into the second half.

Andy Thoms, the Blackburn coach, certainly seemed to have done his job at half time because the Blackburn team came out and started to tackle anything in sight.

They kept the “A” team out until the last quarter when they started to tire and Vale upped the ante. Darwen, who had replaced Charnley shortly after half time picked up at the base of a scrum and went over with a few bodies hanging on.

The next score was the result of a good handling move with Austin joining the line and going through for a score. Skipper Doyle had now taken over the kicking duties but he missed this one and the next one scored by winger Loch after a typical bullocking run from him.

Tagg had now replaced Garnett but it was a simple pickup and go from Darwen that laid the next try on a plate for Hughes. Austin now replaced Doyle attempting to convert the try and he was successful with this one from wide out right.

Tony Bolsover replaced Morrison for the last few minutes keeping the Vale pack well on top. Not something that has been happening with the “A” team recently.

The final try on the stroke of time was created by Fergusson with a typically aggressive charge from him that ended up with him going over under the posts. With Austin again converting referee Sandy Woods brought the game to a close on a very entertaining match.  

Sandy also had an excellent game giving both teams the chance to play some decent rugby by playing the advantage rule well. 

All in all a very satisfying afternoon for coach Tony Gilmour and his right hand man Lee Jones. They have now got the lads working for each other and constantly grafting hard.

The test will come next week at Fylde where they will play the team that gave them their worst defeat at Powderhouse Lane. They will be working hard to reverse that result.

All the pack worked hard but again Danny Lin stood out, being voted “Man of the Match” to receive the Pat Atkinson award in memory of Peter, her late husband, and a hard working Secretary.

“A” Team:      J Fergusson, D Schulyer, A Morrison;  L McCullough, A Thompson;  B Charnley, D Lin, A Garnett;  O Hughes, K Doyle (Capt);  R Loch, G Price, R Bowen, J Bryan;  O Austin.

Replacements:     S Tagg, G Darwen, T Bolsover.

Referee:  Sandy Woods

RR

Wilmslow 2nds    15  -  17    Vale “A”

05/12/09

On a murky afternoon in South Manchester Vale 2nds fought a tremendous 2^nd half rearguard action to bring home the points from Wilmslow and climb another place up the League.

Vale started brightly and in an early attack went in front. Skipper Doyle chipped a ball towards the left wing which Loch caught on the full with his boot sending it towards the Wilmslow line.

Unfortunately for the Wilmslow fullback he made a hash of trying to catch it leaving Loch a simple flop onto the ball for the try wide out left. Austin’s attempt at goal was missed.

The Vale were keeping Wilmslow on the back foot with a mixture of good forward play with Danny Lin to the forefront at all times and excellent handling in the backs.

The next score after 17 minutes was the result of the Vale running it from their own line, going through at least ten pairs of hands. Rhodri Bowen started it off with a beautiful break out and ending up finishing it under the opposition posts. The best try I’ve seen for many a season. Austin converted to give a good looking score of 12  –  0 to Vale.

The Vale pack were having a tough time of it with the Wilmslow eight but were holding their own. They conceded a penalty in front of their own sticks to give the Wilmslow 10 an easy 3 points.

Shortly after that the Vale shifted it out to Richards who made a good break inside and out and flanker Charnley took it from him on the right wing to show an excellent turn of pace to go over for another unconverted try.

17 – 3 to Vale and looking good. Unfortunately then the injury jinx struck. Garnett playing at Number 8 had been holding the scrum together well but had to go off with a back injury sustained in a nothing tackle. Morrison came on and went to prop with Fergusson moving to the back row.

Vale were still playing well, young Josh Whyke made a couple of excellent breaks from his own half and the half finished after an extra nine minutes.

The second half started with Wilmslow coming out of the blocks on all cylinders.

In the 45^th minute Lin received a yellow card for  repeated Vale offences and then in the 52^nd minute Vale lost Morrison, again with a back injury. No more subs and now the Vale pack started to crumble. Tagg had come on for Morrison, going to prop and the pressure was felt. Repeated drives at the Vale line were repelled but in the 60^th minute a drive by the Wilmslow forwards saw them score. Fortunately for Vale the Number 10 hit the post.

More pressure was being exerted by the Wilmslow forwards with Vale being shunted backwards off their own ball in the scrums. More pressure led to another maul and a try for the Wilmslow forwards. With the successful conversion from the Wilmslow 10 it was now 15 -17 and ten minutes to last out. The Vale swapped Fergusson to front row and this helped the cause with the pack easing some of the pressure. A break upfield led to a penalty for the Vale but Austin screwed the kick wide. Again another eight minutes of injury time but the battling spirit of the Vale showed with all 15 tackling like demons to keep the Wilmslow pack from scoring again.    

Referee Ian Mackenzie officiated an excellent game of rugby in a quiet but firm manner that was much appreciated by both sides. He informed me that he had reffed the corresponding game the previous season when the Vale had taken a bit of a battering. Always up with play and accepting no nonsense from the players.

There is no doubt that Tony Gilmour and his relatively new apprentice Lee Jones, have instilled a real team spirit in that they all play for each other and enjoy the game. Even the players down from the 1^st team could feel the eagerness of the 2^nd XV.

Easily man of the match for Vale was Danny Lin. His movement all over the field was backed up by the rest of the Vale team, who now all want to play for skipper Doyle and Manager Gilmour.

Vale  “A” Team:     P Jackson, D Schuyler, J Fergusson; L McCullough, M Speight; B Charnley, D Lin, A Garnett: J Whyke, K Doyle (Capt); R Loch, M Stevens R Bowen, A Richards: O Austin:

Replacements:     A Morrison, S Tagg     

Miller Homes Division 1

Vale “A”  10  -  5  Lymm 2

14/11/09

After very heavy rain the Vale pitch was in excellent order for this eagerly looked forward to battle with League leaders Lymm 2.

Lymm’s pack started well and put the Vale under heavy pressure with their scrummaging. Vale A knuckled down to a bruising encounter and matched up well with some driving runs from the forwards with Darwen and Thompson to the fore..

The Lymm half backs and fullback whenever they received the ball were content to put boot to ball and gain huge lumps of territory.

A very even game with the Vale backs looking to have the edge whenever they received good enough ball to be able to run at their opponents.

No penalty shots at goal ensued in the first half, something of a record, but late in injury time in the first half a chip through enabled the Lymm backs to score a try. This was not converted and the Vale went in 0  -  5 down.

The Vale came storming out of the blocks for the 2^nd half but the Lymm defence was up to the task of repelling the Vale attacks.

The Vale backs were not helped by Austin repeatedly kicking the ball away when overlaps were beckoning.

After ten minutes of the half Vale were awarded a penalty but unfortunately Price missed but was rewarded five minutes later when another penalty was given and he sent it soaring between the posts, 3  -  5 and game on.

Another penalty a few minutes later, on the ten metre line was taken by Austin but this went the wrong side of the posts.

Tom Varnstone was replaced by Luke Birchall and he went straight down the wing to attack the opposition.

Vale were now starting to wear their opponents down and it came as no surprise when the Lymm No 6 was sent to the sin bin for repeatedly being on the wrong side. This gave the Vale all the lift they needed and after much pressure by the forwards near the Lymm line the ball was slipped out to Austin who went over the line close to the posts. Price converted and the Vale were in the lead for the first time with about ten minutes to go.

The Lymm No 6 returned with about five minutes to go and the Lymm side moved into the Vale 22 but the Vale defence was up to it and the final whistle went to a burst of cheering from the Vale.

An excellent game with Charnley again very effective in the lines. Wharton again led from the front with Speight round the fringes and the whole Vale pack had a massive game. Darwen however, was undoubtedly the man of the match.

The game was excellently refereed by Tom Park from Oldham brooking no nonsense from either side and gaining full respect from both teams.

Vale “A” Team:            P Jackson, W Wharton, O Cowie;  L McCullough, A Thompson;  B Charnley,

M Speight, G Darwen;  M Huntington, K Doyle (Capt);  R Lock, M Stevens, O Austin, T Varnstone; 

G Price:

Replacements:  I Van Morik, S Tagg, L Birchall.    

R. R.

Final Score Wigan 2nds  14 – 34  Vale “A”

07/11/09 

On a cold and bleak damp day at Wigan, Vale “A” battled hard and came away with a deserved, hard fought victory.

Always in control it took some time to take the lead against the slope and the wind. This came with a penalty after 14 minutes and was converted by Price who had an excellent days kicking in a swirling wind.

This was followed by excellent breakaway by the Vale backs with a terrific turn of speed from Rhodri Bowen who unfortunately pulled a hamstring whilst racing 70 metres uphill to score. That was his last play of the game, we hope he will soon recover. Price converted this try.

Bowen was replaced by Loch and then 5 minutes later saw a lovely break and dummy from skipper Doyle and a try under the posts. Again Price was successful with the kick.

After 25 minutes a dropped ball allowed the Wigan forwards to maul the ball over the line for a try. This was converted and that completed the scoring up to half time. 7 – 17

At half time Coach Tony Gilmour decided to take off McCaw (TJ) who was struggling with a muscle injury and Hodder moved into the centre with Luke Birchall coming onto the wing.

Price knocked over an early penalty and with the wind and slope in their favour it looked as if the Vale could run away with the game but Wigan battled extremely well to stay in the match.

The Vale forwards with Thompson to the fore who formed a good partnership with McCullough in the second row, were making good ground but then icy fingers started to let them down and the knock-ons started occurring.

After 50 minutes Taylor took over from Tagg and it didn’t take long for the prop to announce his entry with a drive for the line which just failed to make a score.

However the Vale pack were not to be denied and WAS Wharton, another product from the Uni who had an excellent game, was driven over by the Vale pack. Again Price added the extras with a kick from the touchline.

The final score came from an excellent threequarter move with Stevens the try scorer. Price once more adding the 2 points.

Not to be outdone Wigan gave a final flourish as Vale left a wide gap for the replacement centre to go through for a converted try.

It was good to see Matty Speight back after a long absence, he will improve with games.

A feature of the Vale play today was the lineout ball gained by Ben Charnley, clean catches every time, but Thompson another product of the University had a tremendous game, in the thick of it all the time, with excellent tackling back, and at the front line whenever the Vale were going forward.

A good result after the last couple of week’s disappointments. The team as a whole grafted and worked for each other.

Another aspect of todays game was the refereeing. Young Euan Tully, controlled the game with an excellent  touch. He was consistent and brooked no nonsense from either team, both teams respected his control.

Vale “A” Team.            P Jackson, Was Wharton, S Tagg:  L McCullough, A Thompson:  M Speight,

B Charnley, G Darwen:  J Whyke, K Doyle (Capt):  R Bowen, T McCaw, M Stevens J Hodder: 

G Price.

Replacements:  L Birchall, R Loch, M Taylor:

Miller Homes Division 1

31/10/09 

Tony Gilmour hit by injuries, as are all the Vale teams, was helped in his selection this week by the inclusion of seven Lancaster University players.

In addition to that he had to play players out of position, i.e.  Tom Smith at hooker,  Isaac Turton at lock and Dave Wrightson, a prop at Number 8, to get a full side out. 

This did not help  the cohesion of the team and from the start Preston’s large pack put the Vale eight under a lot of pressure resulting in them being camped in the Vale half for the first half hour.

The pressure told and after 20 minutes Hoppers scored a converted try.

Right after that Terence McCaw (T J) to all his friends made a lovely break up field but the move broke down and Hoppers returned downfield to the Vale 22.

The tackling was good, much improved on the previous week and Vale kept them out.

During one of the Hoppers attacks the ball was dropped, young Tom Varnstone on the right wing was on it like a flash, picked up and sped away to score a 60 metre try under the posts.

He converted his own try to make the score 7 – 7.  

Another break by Tom Williams (both centres were from the Uni) should have resulted in another try for Vale but unfortunately the ball was dropped with the try line in site.

The half ended with Vale at last starting to match Hoppers and the half time score 7  -  7.

Unfortunately the second half started like the first half with Hoppers scoring within a couple of minutes with another converted try.

Varnstone, who had been injured was replaced by Sher and then skipper Doyle made a blind side break to score which he misself converted. 14  -  14.

Unfortunately Hoppers took the game to Vale again and scored another try by their fly half when the Vale winger Lock completely missed the ball.

A penalty by Doyle saw Vale claw their way back to 17  -  19.

The Vale then made the last 2 changes with Tagg on for Charnley and Thompson on for Birchall but again a lack of tackling enabled the Hoppers replacement to charge through the centre for another converted try.

With their backs to the wall Vale again replied with a sweet movement which ended with Ryan Lock going over for an excellently worked try. Unfortunately the conversion was missed and with time running out Doyle made a lovely break and put the ball out wide which should have resulted in the winning try. However, the ball was dropped, the chance had gone and instead of the 4 points for winning a solitary 1 point was gained.

All in all a much improved performance from Vale “A”, the much changed pack struggled manfully and improved as the game went on. The Uni players, especially the two centres TJ and Tom Williams, put in some terrific tackles. Williams, usually a back row some real rib ticklers.

Hopefully, next week will see the return of some of the Vale regulars, but Tony is indebted to the Uni lads, long may they keep coming to the Vale.

Team:     P Jackson, T Smith, L Jackson;   I Turton, L McCullough;   B Charnley, L Birchall,             D Wrightson;   J Wyke, K Doyle;   R Lock, T McCaw, T Williams, T Varnstone;   P Williamson;

Replacements;   S Tagg, B Sher, N Thompson