Competitors don't wait for chances, they take them.

Winners don't wait for chances, they take them. Last week in a great game against Chester they took the chances and won. This week the Saints were able to wrestle victory from a very good Sandbach team.
With school games, a long away trip and the end of a long hard term of rugby Stockport visited Anselmians with 16 players today. What great competitors they were on and off the pitch. Wed had a quiet word mid week about wanting to make sure everyone got game time. The whole spirit of the game was summed up when with a few minutes to go and after a complete effort from Stockport they had an injury that meant they would go down to 14 men. Morty stepped up, turned his jersey inside out (which was a very good match for the Stockport white strip) and put in a shift for them.
In training we talk dont about practice until you get it right, we talk about practice until you can't get it wrong. In the first 20 mins session, which was the best mix of skills the period ended 5:5. It was good flowing rugby and Stockport were unlucky to knock on over the line in the last play of the session. Saints scored a great team try with Macker romping over from a good few yards, but the thing that stood out to the coach was the lads made very few mistakes which made them a hard team to beat.
Without a few key game breakers Stockport found the second session a bit hard work. The usual Saints suspects punched wholes but the most impressive thing was the lads kept their shape and move the ball wide. With most of the possession we ran out comfortable winners. Stockport never gave up but were out manned in key aspects of the game - they never backed off but often simply ran out of defenders.

With the Saints tails up, what would Stockport bring to the final session?

People don't play sports because its fun all the time, but they couldn't imagine their life with out it. Its part of them, the love/hate relationship. Its what they live for. They live for the practices, matches, tours, cheers, away trips to other clubs, water, Gatorade, & coaches helping them work harder ever day. They live for the way it feels when they beat the other team and when they front up to a stronger outfit but never give in, and knowing those two extra sprints they ran in practice were worth it. They live for the way they become a family with their team, they live for the countless songs they sing in their head while training all those hours. They live for the competition, they live for the friends, the practices, the memories, the pain, its who they are. It's who we are.

Stockport showed true sporting grit, with heavy legs and seeing 8 more fresh Saints onto the pitch they knuckled down and played with spirit and passion. They turned over ball and ran with real direction in phases. When they ran out of players the true spirit of the game was summed up by Morty guesting at full back for them. What more can we say.

OK today we won, with Stockport at full strength I suspect the game would have been more even...we have them away in the New Year and will need to respect their open and tight play. One thing that shone out today was that when you put on that Saints jersey, the name on the front is more important then the name on the back. As already said, winning means you're willing to go longer, work harder, and give more than anyone else on the pitch, and thats why other than Macker who got his first hat-trick, you all got a mention today as a team cos thats how you played.
Thanks to all the players, parents and coaches from Stockport – true ambassadors for sport, club and your families – thanks also to Damian for doing the refs work so well today.
Tues night training down at Anselms RUFC 18.00hrs – this will be out last Tues session until the New Year when we will be going indoors. Next Sunday home to Winnington Park, we beat them by a point at their gaff a few weeks ago – trust me they want a reversal on that...I say Simon their coach on Saturday and hes looking forward to next week and we are looking forward to another great match played in the right spirit.