Mavericks 55 - 5 Sefton

Mavericks 55 – 5 Sefton RFC
All in the Spirit of Rugby…

Malone Field welcomed Sefton for the return fixture this season. Sefton arrived with only 11 players, so to allow the game to go ahead, 4 Mavericks pulled on the red & white shirts of Sefton to play the match.
Against the slope, the Mavericks kicked off, and it was evident early on that they would have a good game. Through a combination of line speed & pressure at the breakdown, they secured plenty of possession, which they used to good effect. Sefton had opportunities with ball in hand, but failed early on to make much impact on the Mavericks back line.
The first scrum was, for 2 players, a rather unusual situation. Father & son, Steve & Luke Williams found themselves both playing hooker, but on opposite sides. It was to be an easier day for the younger with the might of the Mavericks pack behind him. The line-out was also a rather one-sided affair, with Chris Wildman winning most of his, and a lot of Seftons’ ball.
It’s a pleasure to see the young Jacks (Woolley & Williams) growing into their roles as well. The Mavericks is the springboard for all the younger players to go on to greater levels.
It was the Mavericks who struck first. Forward pressure led to the ball going out to the backs, who broke the line for Harry Burnett to go over after 5 minutes. Conversion complete, 7-0. Possession was shared for a short while, but it was the Mavericks who put the ball to better use. Gordon Rogers finished off a great move to score, & a second by Harry gave a half-time score-line of 19-0.
At this point Sefton were still in the game, but playing up the hill, fitness started to tell.
The second half continued much as the first, with Mavericks putting pressure on anything Sefton tried to do. This in turn forced mistakes, & turnovers starved Sefton of any real possession. Great play led to the Mavericks working their way down field & Del Alderson, the flying full back, came into the line to take a great pass 25 yards out from Phil & race over to score. He was followed shortly after by Andy Smith who finished off a nice passage of play from 20 yards out, 29-0.
Now the phrases ‘Back Row player’ & ‘sidestep’ are not usually used in the same sentence, but after 50 minutes the ball came to veteran back-rower Les Wildman in open play. From the Sefton 22, he threw a dummy pass, side stepped off his right foot & ran in to score what you would think would be the ‘try of the match’. So stunned were his team-mates, they all stood & watched as Les grounded the ball. However, minutes later the ball was passed to Nev Pickard on his own 10m line, and after breaking a tackle he headed off down the pitch, hotly persued by Matt Moscrop playing for Sefton. 20m out, Matt gave up the ghost, sank to his knees & watched as the pseudo Welsh Wizard crossed the line & went under the posts. Walking back for the re-start, Matt was heard to comment “I need to go to the gym! How can I have been beaten by Nev?” 60 minutes gone, and the Mavericks were leading 43-0.
The Mavericks kept the pressure on, forcing Sefton back at every scrum, & using the ball to good effect. Gordon crossed for his second, before Luke Williams finished off a good passage of play to go under the posts, 55-0.
Then Sefton awoke, and through a combination of sheer determination, and no small amount of ill-discipline from Mavericks, earned themselves several penalties close to the Mavericks line. Determination, & quick thinking led to Matt Moscrop tapping & going, and crossing the line for Sefton’s only score of the day. Final whistle, Mavericks 55-5 Sefton.

Notables this week:
Neil Brookes, Graeme Keen, Matt Moscrop & Steve Williams all playing for Sefton to ensure the game went ahead.
Matt Moscrop playing loose-head prop magnificently for Sefton.
The rucking by Mavericks forwards & backs was outstanding.

Scorers:
Harry Burnett (2), Gordon Rogers (2), Del Alderson, Andy Smith, Les Wildman, Nev Pickard, Luke Williams. Gordon Rogers 5 cons.

Thank you to Sefton for coming over to play the match.
Thanks also to Damian for officiating the game manfully.
Good luck to Sefton for the remainder of the season.