BLANK DAY, ALL ROUND, DOWN ON THE FARM

NORTHWICH  20  VALE OF LUNE  5
NORTH TWO WEST

Once again The Wheatsheaf in Garstang proved to be the perfect venue to recover after the events at Northwich, a plate of fish and chips, pints of Black Sheep, and the World Cup on the telly.
Suddenly the peace was shattered. Almost from nowhere a family dispute erupted. It began at low level, but voices soon became raised, the effing and jeffing began in earnest, parental responsibility was questioned, as was communal sex life or lack of it.....

 This was Jerry Springer territory, lights, camera action!
The New Zealand, France game took second billing, but it did appear that the All Blacks were booking their place in the semis, so full attention could be given to the family at war, but with a few parting acrimonious exchanges the trio disappeared into the night.

What to do? The game on the telly looked like a foregone conclusion but Cumpst provided the ideal lift to the preceedings when he whipped a set of quiz questions out of his wallet, no money there of course. What year did Columbus discover Jamaica? Please repeat the question; this from Gilly, and soon it was time to wander back to the coach.

In the meantime France had stormed back into the game behind the Alies backs, so they were met at the coach by Gerald clutching his mobile which was full of text messages from the players, who were ensconced in The Crown, pleading for the coach to be delayed until the game had ended.
Driver, Jamie, a true professional, agreed not only to wait a little longer, but he would drive round the one way system to pick up the players! On the way to Northwich he displayed balletic driving skills when he performed a three point turn in the centre of Northwich; feet dancing on the pedals; his hand caressing the gear leaver, poetry in motion and far removed from the antics of Clarkson.

Vale of Lune, on their first visit, arrived with time to spare at the Moss Farm Leisure Complex. Steve Wood, writing in the programme, noted that when they visited their neighbours over the hedge, Winnington Park, they were offered a play on the bouncy castle. There was nothing as frivolous at Moss Farm, a burger van, hockey match in full swing and the England game on the plasma in a cosy bar.

In the eighteenth and twenty fifth minutes a compact Northwich side rattled in two tries from winger Andy Chubb. There was no carping from the Vale, but Northwich put another prize catch in their keep net when stand off Gary Bell, a player who had vaulted the wire from Park, dropped a goal with three minutes remaining.
Early in the second half, centre Steve Campbell, coddled the visitors when he skated through a shoal of would be tacklers for a try converted by Richard Dale. With news about England's surge in the second half beginning to grab the attention the spectators concentration started to wander.

Gradually the Vale achieved a level of momentum that allowed them to put pressure on Northwich, but their attacks needed an extra application on a carborundum block if they were going to slice open the home side. Eventually Vale's electric eel, James Hodder, went over in the corner for an unconverted try with a minute of proper time remaining.
Splendid historic oak trees are dotted around the ground, their leaves gently cascading to the floor throughout the afternoon. It was all very tranquill, but the reverie was interrupted when one of the Vale's stalwarts, prop Phil Jackson, went to ground, felled by a hard blow to the leg. More Grecian 2000, Mark?

VALE OF LUNE:  S.Warrington, J.Hodder, A.Garnett, I.Bird (Capt), A.Richards, A.Miller, M.Huntington, P.Jackson (Rep A Macluskie), D.Schuyler, D.Halliwell, L.Acton, D.Perry, J.Clarkson, L.Ford (Rep M.Whittaker 40, rep G.Barton 52). M.Fowler.