Garstang 16 Chorley 0

Injuries take toll on aggressive Chorley

The worst thing about coaching I find, is not being involved in the actual game, you can’t tackle, pass the ball or make a decision. Yeah, you get to put a game plan together, how we are going to play etc, but you can’t tackle. As the coach you sometimes don’t feel a part of it, half time is usually the time for me, you look around and everyone is sweating, getting something taped up, taking on water or just chatting about what just happened or what they should do next. I say to the lads lots about enjoying every part of a match, the warm up, tackling, everything, because you definitely miss it when it stops, especially if you are standing in the middle of it as the coach. The one thing I miss about rugby most is tackling.

I sat and looked at some old team photos Friday evening and remembered some great games I’d played in and some big hits I’d given out and obviously received, the funniest being when I got absolutely smashed by Tal Viapuna, a Tongan prop, as I got up to play the ball (this was Rugby League) I said “is that all you got Tal”? literally as the word, Tal left my mouth, my legs went from under me and I collapsed to the floor in a heap with the ball bobbling away. Don’t know who laughed more, the opposition or my own team mates, I'm still reminded of that day now and again, happy days lol. So, as I stood and watched the lads for 80 minutes yesterday tackle their hearts out in blistering heat against a very young Garstang team, I wanted to be out there with them, hurt with them and be absolutely giving everything I had with them, yesterday is the most I’ve ever missed playing rugby.

We’d lost key players in prop Simon Frost and utility backs Ryan Berry and Tom Halstead to illness on Friday and with Hamish Rendall on holiday, Sam Norris work commitments and Kieran Blaydes at a wedding, but we have a strong squad now and we know whoever steps in will give absolutely everything.

The intensity which we started with was great, clearing out rucks and some big hits from Cal Gale, Micheal Jessiman and Stuart Hammond set the tone. 4 minutes in, Mick Richardson as powerful as ever, smashed through a tackle on our own 40 but was finally brought down on the half way line, captain Chris Highton then fed Andy Swales who again smashed into contact with Connor Parsons and Dom Anderson in support. The ball was spun wide but the final ball just couldn’t be executed. Garstang were constantly pushing forward but our defence just would not break. In the last match V Ormskirk, our defence out wide let us down, this time though it was the complete opposite, we looked so organised and they just couldn’t get round us, they also couldn’t get through us up the middle and they were becoming very frustrated. Arguing between themselves and trying to force things that were never on and if they were the execution was lacking. But saying that, it was Garstang who were doing most of the attacking and us who were tackling. Ellery Hodson, who had a great game at 10, constantly cleared our lines, but Garstang would attack again only to hit the brick wall of our defence. 15 minutes in Mick Richardson went into contact in what seemed a very innocuous collision, he clashed knees with another player and we instantly knew it was serious. Some players never show they are hurt, but when they do you know it's serious. Mick is definitely one of those players. Dom Roberts then came on for his debut instantly making an impact. Within seconds he was into contact in attack and viciously, but fairly cleared out a ruck, seeing the Garstang number 8 flying out the ruck so quickly must have shocked the referee as she gave a penalty to Garstang, that unfortunately was a frustration that would build for the afternoon. Minutes later we won a penalty and Ellery Hodson put in a great kick to clear the lines, the winger caught it with both feet quite clearly over the line but carried on, the flag went up but the referee totally ignored it and the game continued, thankfully good defence from James Fisher stopped a certain try.

Jake Peake who has started the season exactly where he left last season made a great break after Gwil Jones found space out wide but good Garstang defence stopped the attack. Unfortunately, though that was one of only a few times we managed to sit ourselves in the Garstang 30. That was until the 36th minute, Micheal Jessiman made a great run into the Garstang 40, Chris Highton fed Ellery Hodson who gave Sam Hodkin a brilliantly timed pass, Sam as usual hit it at such pace he made 15 meters carrying 2 defenders with him. We were now camped in the Garstang 10 metre area and it was Garstang who were doing the defending. Gwil Jones nearly went over under the posts but was lifted in the air backwards. The ball was spun wide and Marcus O’Donohoe looked to go over but was halted by some great defence. A minute later we had a penalty 40 metres out and Ellery Hodson decided to have a go, which was definitely in his range, but it missed by about an inch.

From the kick off we either switched off or our heads were still on the sidelines. The ball went straight to the number 10 he fed the centre and they scored in the corner, only a great effort from Gwil Jones and James Fisher stopped the try under the posts, conversion missed and within seconds we were 5-0 down. 3 minutes later the referee gave a penalty for not rolling away 25 meters from the posts, the Garstang No10 who was having a better second half than he did 1st slotted it over to make it 8-0. We finally managed to get our hands on the ball after 55 minutes with Sam Hodkin smashed through a gap and as he looked to offload to Gwil Jones the referee blew up for a forward pass. Some things in our team are just great to watch from the side lines, Mick Richardson running on to the ball at the angles he does, Sam Hodkin hitting the ball at pace, Chris Highton getting into the oppositions heads and Cal Gale putting in some huge hits. I'll tell you about Cal first, as the big centre crashed onto the ball, Cal timed his tackle perfectly as usual and the ball just shot into the air, if it was on camera, I’d be sharing it just like my Tal Viapuna one! So, then we come to Chris. Chris will give everything for the team and I do mean everything, body on the line, stick up for his mates anything. But what is great to see is when he truly gets into the opposition’s heads, I won’t say too much, but this is the chat I had with the opposition 9 as they started to set for a lineout.

“your @$£%^&* 9 IS DOING MY HEAD IN!! HE NEVER STOPS, HE’S AN ANNOYING *&@£ EH” I said to him “I know, just think you’ve got another 35 minutes of him left to enjoy” he just shook his head, walked away. Literally a minute later, the Garstang 9 was out in the centres and an old wise head came on to give him a rest. Absolutely brilliant!

With Dom Roberts, Sam Hodkin and front row Connor Parsons having to come off injured, we were now having to move everyone into different positions. Lachlan Mclean came on for his last ever game after 32 years of playing rugby and 7 years of playing at Chorley, another person it’s been nice getting to know. On 68 minutes Garstang again scored, well deserved try to the right of the posts, with the conversion missed it was 13-0, but we were still in the game and getting chances, but the last pass let us down. Jake Peake made a great run beating 3 defenders and as he looked to put in James Fisher on the half way line, the ball was put in to touch. From the lineout Garstang pushed forward but still Stuart Hammond and Cal Gale were putting in ferocious tackles. Another injury saw a clash of heads between team mates Matt Lago and Stuart Hammond, with Matt having to come off with concussion.

3 minutes from the end Garstang got another penalty to make it 16-0. It was a cup defeat but for me, we couldn’t have wished for two better games for a pre-season.

We had a great first half, though we defended for most of it, we were good in parts, really good. Ellery Hodson put in a stellar performance at 10 with some good out of hands kicking and manoeuvring us around the pitch, Dom Anderson was all over the pitch and never stopped working. Cal Gale and Stuart Hammond were so aggressive in defence with Micheal Jessiman, they constantly pushed the Garstang attack back.

The man of the match was Sam Hodkin, bulldozing runs and some great defence, him and Gwil Jones just seem to click in those positions and they both always play well when alongside each other.

A big thank you to everyone who braved that mad traffic on the M6 to come and watch the lads and also to our great match day team. Bev, Lily, Charlie and Asa do a fantastic job for the lads and yesterday they were so busy with the water due to the heat.

This Saturday we kick off the league season with a trip to Blackpool, 3pm kick off.

Craney