Quarter Final v Bury

A break from the league fixtures provided the opportunity for The Mavs to get their teeth into some cup action with our quarter final tie against the unknown Bury 3’s. A bit of intel. gathering suggested that this was going to be a comparative fixture with both teams at Div 5 level. The Mavs benefitting from the slightly elevated position in the relevant league and as a result the Gaffer was cautious in his pre match planning. Once again The Mavs we’re able to draw on a strong squad with some exciting additions to the ranks. It’s a great position to be in when everyone wants a piece of the opposition and new players are joining in their droves. The Gaffer had all the usual regulars fit and raring to go. In addition special mention starts with our debutants and in particular the ‘Young Guns’ starting their first of many senior games for the Anselmian Rugby family. A new addition to the ranks of the Dads ‘n’ Lads army with Gabe (son of chris) Ford starting on the wing, secondly, Allan McLeod another highly promising winger who started on the bench and performed well when he came on in the second half our final youngster Jack Archer starting the second half in the back row on the blind side and all three performing admirably and with no sign of their lack of experience at this level.
Our final two debutants this week provided some experience with Sean Ellis joining us from New Brighton and Eric joining us from Ellesmere Port. Both of whom had impressive first outings as Mavericks.
With a strong squad and a great mix of youth and experience The Gaffer was confident of a good showing today and anticipation was high for a memorable quarter final. Bury arrived to the sight of an organised and structured warm up being orchestrated by Dan Jenner ably assisting The Mavs. Captain fantastic and Dan J led the group through the warm up phase and the team were ready to go.
Due to the excessive rain fall the pitch looked as though it could benefit from a week in the south of France but alas this was not to be and the mud was the winner today.
The game started at a frantic pace with Bury receiving the kick off. As anticipated the Mavs hit the opposition with everything they possess and quickly secured possession in the opponents half. Now many of The Mavericks this week showed some of their exemplary skills when it came to their second jobs this week. I’ll refer to it only as ‘The Curse of the Billy Smart Jugglers’ (showing my age now ). Wet Ball + Wet Hands + Muddy Conditions = Lost opportunities.
When the ball did eventually stick the Mavs played some excellent rugby and it wasn’t long until Clint Van Fluffy had the ball in his hands out wide scampering over for the Mavs first try. The try was duly converted from the every reliable Gordon Rogers.
The Mavs next try brought us the moment of the match. The ball coming through the backs once again after being secured by the forwards after some excellent rucking.
The ball comes from Matt, past Andy and Jack and pops into the hand of our debutant Gabe Ford who turns on the afterburners and out paces the covering Bury back line to score his first (of many we hope) try under the sticks. Well done Gabe always good to start with a confident outing.
The conversion, a formality for Gordon ‘The boot’ Rogers whose resurgence and return to The Mavs ranks is a welcome addition and some of his kicking today was superb and allowed for some excellent field positions and also assisted us with our exits from some very tricky situations.
Our third and final try involved one of our forwards getting in on the attack with a well taken tackle busting drive over the line. The ever effective Ricky Evans continues to be a menace from either back row or second row and his try sealed the deal. Gordon stepped up with the conversion. A final penalty late on from Gordon in the half provide the mavs with 24 points for the day.
A word about Bury. Our opposition who were missing some of their squad due to the curse of the travelling distance provided stern opposition. They brought an effective pack who were one of the few clubs this season to cope with our front row. Their scrum was strong and their runners provided some stern tests to our defensive line. The oppositions 10 and 12 combination created gaps and this subsequently led to two tries being scored with one being converted. The final score of 24-15 was a fair reflection and allowed The Mavs to march into the semi finals at home against Wythenshaw on the 26 February.
The Mavs performance was great today but could be better. We are still letting ourselves down with our internal discipline and, on occasion, decision making. Our variety of attacking options will need to be utilised if we are to compete at higher levels, the really frustrating thing is everyone on the pitch is aware of these two areas yet we still appear to be failing in key areas.
To secure or league and cup success we must improve in these key areas as we have the skill sets and we have the fitness and abilities all over the field. Let’s reflect individually and apply what we know to the fixture next week against what will be a strong Mossley Hill team.
Performances of note this week go to several people. Firstly as stated earlier the future of rugby at Anselmians looks very promising if the quality of upcoming players on display today is anything to go by. Gabe, Jack and Allan performed brilliantly and I’m looking forward to seeing them play again over the next few weeks.
A huge performance from Tom Hutchinson in the second row both as a solid grafting forward in the old school way. Getting in the face of opposition, never taking a backwards step in the contact area and providing a solid base in the set piece.
From the backs this weeks star performer was Gordon Rogers who kicked 9 points and his tactical kicking was excellent particularly when the Mavs found themselves in need of a speedy exit or a touch finding penalty. Well done to all involved for a fantastic game of rugby.
Finally to our man of the match as voted for by both the Mavs management and in particular by the Bury team describing him as a “Right pain in the f**##%g arse” stand up to our new debutant Sean Ellis. A constant attacking threat and a real aggressive tackler around the set piece. Sean launched the backs and managed the fringes effectively. Overall a great performance from the first whistle until the last.
As a final general note from The Gaffer we play the game of rugby as a family as a single unit of individual abilities and strengths, this has got us to the position we find ourselves in at the moment. In a tussle for champions of the league with one point separating the top two teams and a semi-final place in the cup competition. All this as a family of Mavericks, it is with this thought in mind that we remind ourselves of the true nature and true meeting of family as we remember that todays game was played ‘In Memoriam’ of Pete McGowan, father of our very own Chris who sadly passed at the end of January and who’s funeral is this Friday.
R.I.P. Pete
Semel a Mavericus Semper a Mavericus
The Gaffer