Back
Saints maintain fine form on the road.
Tony McArdle2 Mar - 13:43
Bonus point victory at Rochdale 26 - 47. The 2's lose 27-5 vs Rochdale 2's
Round 18 saw Saints make the trip to Rochdale Rugby Club, conditions were overcast but luckily the forecast rain did not make an appearance, however the pitch was very heavy, and the touchline was muddy with small patches of water, playable but not a pitch for fast flowing running rugby.
Due to injury the side was shuffled slightly, and from the kick off it was Saints on the front foot, dominant in both the scrum and lineout had Rochdale pinned in defence for the first 15 minutes but were unable to get over the line, with Rochdale throwing everything into defence.
Oscar Crowe broke through the defence shrugging off a couple of defenders and releasing Sam Cotgrave on the wing to stroll over in the corner, with a missed conversion it put the first points of the game on the scoreboard 0-5. With Saints pressing the defence constantly, Joe Sanders collected the ball to drive over under the sticks, this time converted by Baldwin 0-12 to Saints.
With confidence growing Saints threw the ball wide and with Ben Jones breaking through the defensive line before slipping the ball to Dan Woods on the left who sprinted 25m to the try line, with the conversion hitting the crossbar on its way over Saints where cruising at 0-19. However, Rochdale who are 10th in the league where not giving up and managed to run in a try themselves after the ball was fumbled at a line out, pulling the score back to 7-19.
With half time imminent Arthur Lennon picked up the ball near the 22m line, looking up and spotted a gap powered his way through the gap outsprinting the Rochdale defenders to score under the sticks gaining the bonus point try and an easy conversion for Baldwin 7-26 and HT.
Second half, Rochdale scored straight from the kick off with a nice move from their backline converted for a 14-26 scoreline and hope of a comeback.
Unfortunately, the game was stopped as a Rochdale player had a serious leg break, and the game was switched to another pitch. All at Anselmians, players and supporters wish him a speedy recovery. With play restarting, Saints dominance showed, with a brace of tries from the Crowe brothers, first Oscar braking from the back of a maul followed by Harrison smashing through in open play both converted by Baldwin for a 14–40-point lead.
With the game seemingly now won Saints defence switched off for a moment allowing Rochdale an easy score converted 21-40 and the chance of a bonus point. However, with Saints pressing again Kincart slid a kick into the corner for the wingers to chase, however hooker Joe Sanders outsprinted the defence to get his golden hands on the ball second try of the game and 25th of the season, converted again by Baldwin 21-47.
Rochdale however were rewarded with a bonus point after the Saints defence dropped the ball and bring the final score up to 26-47.
Next week its local derby for Saints at home to Wirral 3pm kick off.
Due to injury the side was shuffled slightly, and from the kick off it was Saints on the front foot, dominant in both the scrum and lineout had Rochdale pinned in defence for the first 15 minutes but were unable to get over the line, with Rochdale throwing everything into defence.
Oscar Crowe broke through the defence shrugging off a couple of defenders and releasing Sam Cotgrave on the wing to stroll over in the corner, with a missed conversion it put the first points of the game on the scoreboard 0-5. With Saints pressing the defence constantly, Joe Sanders collected the ball to drive over under the sticks, this time converted by Baldwin 0-12 to Saints.
With confidence growing Saints threw the ball wide and with Ben Jones breaking through the defensive line before slipping the ball to Dan Woods on the left who sprinted 25m to the try line, with the conversion hitting the crossbar on its way over Saints where cruising at 0-19. However, Rochdale who are 10th in the league where not giving up and managed to run in a try themselves after the ball was fumbled at a line out, pulling the score back to 7-19.
With half time imminent Arthur Lennon picked up the ball near the 22m line, looking up and spotted a gap powered his way through the gap outsprinting the Rochdale defenders to score under the sticks gaining the bonus point try and an easy conversion for Baldwin 7-26 and HT.
Second half, Rochdale scored straight from the kick off with a nice move from their backline converted for a 14-26 scoreline and hope of a comeback.
Unfortunately, the game was stopped as a Rochdale player had a serious leg break, and the game was switched to another pitch. All at Anselmians, players and supporters wish him a speedy recovery. With play restarting, Saints dominance showed, with a brace of tries from the Crowe brothers, first Oscar braking from the back of a maul followed by Harrison smashing through in open play both converted by Baldwin for a 14–40-point lead.
With the game seemingly now won Saints defence switched off for a moment allowing Rochdale an easy score converted 21-40 and the chance of a bonus point. However, with Saints pressing again Kincart slid a kick into the corner for the wingers to chase, however hooker Joe Sanders outsprinted the defence to get his golden hands on the ball second try of the game and 25th of the season, converted again by Baldwin 21-47.
Rochdale however were rewarded with a bonus point after the Saints defence dropped the ball and bring the final score up to 26-47.
Next week its local derby for Saints at home to Wirral 3pm kick off.
Further reading