Wallasey friendly against The Mavs

Mavs were in a friendly mood this week in support of our local rivals Wallasey who are currently finding difficulties in fielding teams on a regular basis.
The Gaffer selected from a strong squad this week and arrived at a rather cold and windswept Cross Lane in confident mood.
Wallasey greeted us with news that they had 25 players for the afternoon so if we were short then we could use some, however, that was not necessary as the 20 Mavericks who travelled were well prepared for the afternoons activities. A great mix of forwards and backs promised to provide a strong and competitive game of rugby. We were playing Wallasey’s only side this season and it was clear that they relished the match as much as we did .
Kick off presented the ball to wallasey who kept it within the eight for the first few minutes with little ground being made by either team. Some of the big Wallasey forwards being effectively harnessed by the Mavs excellent defensive tackling and recycling. The main difference between the two teams this week were the backs . The Mavs back line brought their A game and although at times in the first half the backs gave the forwards a little too much to do in relation to covering the ground they were our main attack. Excellent running lines from Dom Neville at 10, Tom Redfearn and Ryan Williams provided a significant challenge to a Wallasey team that were left a few paces behind the play. I feel the score would’ve been more had it not been for the excellent tackling of the Wallasey full back who was rock solid in defence and only came unstuck when faced with speed out wide .
The first try came from The Mavs with some illusive running and combined handling between forwards and backs created an opening for Dom Neville to skip over near to the post and touch down for a 7-0 lead.
Wallasey soon replied and were somewhat ‘gifted’ two tries as a result of some poor handling by the Mavericks. Fortunately for us the Wallasey kicker didn’t bring his kicking boots with him. And both conversions were duly missed. 10-7 and a swift talking to at half time identified that Wallasey had been fortunate in their tries and heads should not drop . That seemed to do the job and the Mavs responded quickly in the second half with a further two quick tries, one of which finished deftly by a salmon like leap to dot down one handed in the corner by Dom Neville.
The Mavericks controlled the game well in the second half scoring four further tries with Wallasey gaining an additional consolation leaving a final score of 31-17 to the Mavs.
The game was played in a positive and dynamic fashion which shows what The Mavericks are capable of when they play together. Players of note this week include Graham Keen who we welcome back to the fold after his brief sojourn into the Ducks. Stocky had a good game doing what stocky does best, punching big holes in defensive lines. Once again Don Neville had a game changing performance and together with Tom and Ryan really put Wallasey to the sword. This weeks man of the match was awarded by Wallasey with the Gaffer in total agreement to Ryan Williams. Ryan was a constant threat whenever he had ball in hands, intimidated the opposition with his speed and put in some pretty impressive tackles. Started on the wing, moved to full back and ended up in the centre. Well done Ryan on a great performance .
Thanks to all the subs who patiently waited for their moment of glory and Phil (aka Pat), Jez, and Ed Byrne all of whole played well when on the pitch. Back to league duties next week with an away fixture against Port Sunlight.
Thanks for a fantastic performance guys ,

Semel a Mavericus, Semper a Mavericus