Port Sunlight 2nd XV v Anselmians Mavericks 15th September 2012

Port Sunlight 2nd XV v Anselmians Mavericks – 15th September 2012

The warm weather continued this week-end as the Mavericks took the short journey down the A41 to Port Sunlight. Fixtures between the two sides are common throughout the season, with both clubs being so close to each other, and honours are often shared.
This was almost a dad’s & lads versus Port Sunlight fixture, as the Wildmans’, the Woolleys’ & the Williams’ families all supplied players, old & young.
Missing their captain Tim Woodward, who was pictured relieving himself on a sign saying ‘Welcome to Gibraltar’, it was a strong Mavericks side that took to the field with 20 players available.
The usual mix of youth & experienced was bolstered this week, with the inclusion of Paul Kay at scrum-half for the first, of what we hope will be many appearances for the Mavericks (although the pre-match jog around the pitch did strike fear into some players).
In the first half, the Mavericks showed some great ball retention & distribution, & some excellent running in open play. In the forwards there were a few absent faces & players playing out of position, with Luke Williams starting at Blind-side, then moving to No. 8 & ending up at lock. Chris Wildman was, as usual, excellent at the line-out, taking all his own & spoiling a lot of the opposition ball.
The backs, with the addition of a few new faces – Jack Woolley, Jack Williams & Gordon ‘Bennett’ made excellent use of the ball with some superb handling & blistering runs into the opposition half. The score at half time, 7 – 20 to the Mavericks.
Port Sunlight started the second half strong, trading try for try with the Mavericks in the first 10 minutes. But the superior fitness of the Mavericks started to show, which led to several unanswered tries & a resulting scoreline of 17 – 44.
On the score sheet this week were Paul Kay (2), Luke Williams (2), Craig Brookes, Phil McGunigall, Sean Walsh & Matt Hayes.
This was a good win against a strong Port Sunlight team.
Unfortunately, early on in the first half, one of Port Sunlights players suffered a broken arm after a tackle, which resulted in the game being stopped for a short while. Anselmians Mavericks wish him well for a full recovery.
Thanks to Port Sunlight for a great game, and see you again later in the season.