Hoylake V Anselmian Mavericks

The Hoylake match report is slightly late and for this The Gaffer offers his most humble of apologies. However, the pressures of management are a constant thorn in the side of normal life.
The game was always going to be intense due to Hoylake beating the Mavs on our previous outing at the beginning of the season and the squad were only too aware that if we were to be considered as title contenders then we needed this game to go in our favour. The gaffer had identified this as a must win fixture and the squad had been selected based upon our strengths as a running, open team. Plenty of dominance in the scrum was an area to develop after the struggles of the previous week against Wirral and the front row obliged with the immensely powerful front row of McGowan, Thomas and Holcroft. The second row combination of big Tom Hutchinson and George Bennet promised to supply an engine room with plenty of mobility and attacking power in the loose. Finally the pack back row of Alan Mountford, Cal Peers and Nev Pickard promised aggression and speed on the front foot attacks.
Behind the scrum the half backs of Andy Smith and Matt Hall promised to launch an impressive speedy back line and the centres of Jack Hancock and Dan Jenner promised the potential of points in the score board. As a final back three Tom Campbell, Sam Bramhall and Gordon Rogers were always going to threaten any opposition with the impenetrable defensive wall. The strong ‘finishers’ of Tom Redfearn, Matt Brookes, Liam Fenners, Mike Potter and Dom Murphy promised strength in depth.
Despite the impressive squad the Mavs made hard work of this game and spoiled what promised to be a high scoring affair with some ill discipline and poor decision making.
The atmosphere in the changing room before the game was booming thanks to the introduction of the speaker and the playlist. With the exception of The Weather Girls ‘It’s raining men’ (we don’t judge) the tunes were a welcome addition to the day.
Kick off came and the forward dominance became evident early on with clear out after clear out at the rucks and complete domination at the scrum which continued for the entire 80 mins. A lot of credit must go to the embattled Hoylake front three who stuck at it without going uncontested as we’ve see so frequently this season when our pack are on song. This made the game a contest and allowed us to build on our strengths.
The first try of the day came from the indomitable Jack Hancock sprinting clear from a solid build up to score, the conversion making it 0-7 with plenty more to come. The second try came from a brilliant piece of open play running originating from a forward breakout and turnover from the 22 with the ball travelling through several pairs of hands before landing with Gordon Rogers on the half way line. Gordon jinked and out sprinted the opposition with a lovely change of direction to wrong foot the despairing last defender and score under the post. 0-14 to The Mavs.
Half time came and went with Hoylake providing some stern tests especially out wide with some great defensive work from Sam Bramhall keeping the biggest threat at bay.
The forward dominance kept the Hoylake team guessing and after the restructure at half time with Dan going to 8 and Dom coming in at 9 with Captain Fantastic reverting to the centres and Tom Redfearn onto the wing. Matt Brookes in at fly half proved critical with a third try scored from 10 yards and a crash ball to touch down the follow up conversion making the score 0-21.
The final score of 0-21 was a little disappointing from the squad perspective as all playing felt a little frustrated that the score could have been greater. We will need to be slicker if we secure promotion with a whole team approach to playing decisions and tactical positioning being prioritised.
The game was played in a strong combative manner with tempers frayed, and frustrations reaching boiling point at times. It is great to see passions at play but essential we maintain our discipline the next few fixtures will be our sternest test and we must hold our nerve. Most importantly we need availability, we will need our biggest squad available for the cup competition on 5th and the Wallasey and Oldershaw games which follow.
Anyway, players of note this week must start with the entire front row Chris, Joe and Jay provided such a solid platform for us to launch our attacks it was a joy to watch the scrum perform at such a high standard. In the backs Sam Bramhall had a great game and his defence stopped Hoylake in their tracks at a time when if they’d scored it could have easily derailed the game and put us in a sticky situation. However this weeks man of the match, voted for by several players and the gaffer strongly agreed, is Cal Peers. Starting and finishing the game at blind side Cal played a solid and highly massively impressive role with his tackling ball handling and scrambling at the ruck. He appeared at every breakdown and appeared to be all over the pitch, rather bizarrely, all at the same time. Great to see him play a full 80 and show some real strength in the contact area. A great performance from a player destined not to be with the Mavs for too much longer instead plying his trade in the second team and onwards to the firsts when training allows. Well done fella.
The next scheduled fixture is 5 Feb at home against Bury 3’s in the cup and a perfect opportunity for us to go for ‘The Double’ so once again big availability call please and a strong Mavs squad can lead to great things.
Semel a Mavericus, Semper a Mavericus
The Gaffer