A View from JJs Bank

1st xv result – Sale Sharks 40 – 7 Caldy

Image – Steve Flynn Photography Sale Sharks 40pts  Tries: Ene 4, 10, 20, 39, Wills 56, McElroy 65. Conversions: Curtis 5, 11, 21, 40, 66 Caldy 7pts  Try: Penalty 49 Match report – Roger Panting, The Rugby Paper. Young winger Obi Ene showed what the Premiership Cup is all about, scoring four tries as Sale put themselves at the top of Pool A. Eni’s quartet of first-half scores were decisive in a dominant Sharks win, with wing Alex Wills and hooker Tadgh McElroy also scoring. Sale skipper Tom Curtis, who kicked 10 points from the tee, told The Rugby Paper: “We’re very pleased. I had three kicks from the same spot by the touch line and was getting some stick from the Caldy fans, but I don’t mind my job being tougher as long as we’re scoring tries.” Match Action On a chilly night in a half-full Salford Community Stadium, it didn’t take Sale long to bite into their Championship opponents. Sale gained ground rapidly in the opening phases before No.9 Gus Warr chipped to the right and after a messy aerial contest 21-year-old Ene regathered and muscled round Mike Cartmill to score. Caldy were on the wrong side of the referee early on, conceding basic penalties for not rolling away and offside. Sale’s scrum laid the platform before they gained a five-metre line-out, and after their driving maul was held up, two quick phases on the short side set up Ene to dive over in the left corner. Things went from bad to worse for the Ravers, with second row Martin Gerrard being carried off on the quarter-hour mark and a great break by Curtis saw the fly-half sidestep past three defenders before outside centre Joe Bedlow whipped the ball right for Ene to slide over in the corner. Caldy’s attack finally got over the halfway line but little further, before pivot Dan Rabbette and Sale centre Sam Bedlow both saw yellow on the half-hour mark for a scrap. Joe Bedlow’s 60 metre break almost set up ex-Caldy lock Tom Burrow to score against his former side but for a Sam Olyott tip tackle. However, two minutes later Sharks took advantage of Ravers narrowing defence, with Curtis, Bedlow and Ene linking up as the flyer scored the bonus-point try. Second Half Caldy got on the ref’s good side after half-time, and after several opportunities, they scored a penalty try after Burrow collapsed a driving maul and was sin-binned. Sale got back on the front foot. Wills quick-footed himself to the try-line before No.8 Rouban Birch handed off several defenders to set up McElroy for the final try. Caldy coach Matt Cairns said: “Half-time was tough for us, but the boys don’t give up, we stick in and that’s one of our character traits we’re pleased about. We got off to a bad start, conceding five penalties in the first eight minutes, and Sale took their opportunities. The scoreline is disappointing but we’ll take it as a learning curve.” Teams : SALE: James 8 (Wootton 68, 5), Ene 9, J Bedlow 7, S Bedlow 5, Wills 6, Curtis (c) 8, Warr 6 (Wardle 50, 5); Onasanya 6 (McEachran 66, 5), McElroy 8 (Thompson 66, 5), Harper 7 (Raymont 60, 5), Roets 7 (Bamber, 53, 5), Burrow 5, Gilmore 5.5, Woodman 7 (Nkonge 60, 5), Birch 9 (Riley 68, 5) CALDY: Kilcourse 6, Royle 6 (Jones 63, 5), Wilkinson 6, Barlow 5 (Mitchell 58, 5), Cartmill 5, Rabbette 5, Murray 7 (Wynn 47, 6); Aigbokhae 7 (Weatherby 53, 5), Hearn 6 (Gallagher 50, 5), Rushton 7 (Higginson 53, 5), S Dickinson 5.5, Gerrard 4 (Sproston 14, 7), Olyott 7, Ridgway 6 (Parry 60, 5), JJ Dickinson (c) 7 Referee : Hamish Grant       Attendance : 4,627     The Rugby Paper, Star player: Rouban Birch – Sale Caldy 2nd xv result – Caldy 52 – 22 Fylde Hawks    Caldy extended their remarkable unbeaten run with a convincing home win to go top of the NOWIRUL Bathtime Premier League with 8 wins out of 8 games. In a high quality game both teams played excellent running rugby but Caldy’s defence, power & pace in counter attacking proved the difference.   Tries: Matthew Rabette x 2, Lucas Wiggins, Charlie Hyde x 2, Louis Beer x 2, Sam Rogers  Conversions: Sam Rogers Images – Barry Macdonald Caldy 3rd xv result – Ellesmere Port 36 – 10 Caldy Rav3rs Before the game Rav3rs coach Liam Devaney spoke to the Caldy Catch-Up – Liam puts their great start in the League down to “the lads, obviously they’ve fully bought into it, hard work, grit & determination. A lot of young lads, fit, fast, strong & the older lads providing that experience, a little bit of niggle – the team is doing well. It’s a good blend with the young lads doing our running & we’re doing their tackling. We could probably do with a few more older heads in some key positions, I think we’ve used 58 players so far in 7 matches which is testament to the club. When you think about any one weekend our 1st xv have 23 players, 2nd xv have 22 players & we’ve got between 18 – 20 players which for grassroots rugby that’s brilliant.” “It’s the first time the 3rd team have been here for 10 years, I would’nt say it was down to me but more Mark Wilson & Steve Bishop getting their Senior Colts lads to transition to Mens rugby, obviously I’ve been pinpointed as the loud, belligerent, pester to get the older lads together & whip up a bit of confidence. It’s been brilliant & I’ve got to say thankyou to the Mrs because it is a full week on the phone to get people out on the pitch on a Saturday.” This was a massive game, away from home against an unbeaten Ellesmere Port & a really good litmus test of where Caldy are as squad – the Rav3rs gave 110% & now sit 4th in very competitive Div 3 West.        u17s Cheshire Cup result – Caldy 55 – 6 New Brighton For the Junior Colts, the Cheshire Cup returned to centre stage with a 1st round home tie with a local derby against our old friends New Brighton. The Junior Colts turned in a fine display of running rugby scoring 9 tries in a 55-6 victory, in a performance full of pace, power and touches of individual brilliance ! The score line though didn’t quite reflect just how hard New Brighton pushed Caldy, battling for the whole game and competing well at the breakdown. Caldy conceded more penalties than we would have liked and only some superb defence from Caldy stopped New Brighton from converting pressure into more points. Highlights of the day were Sylvain Pennington’s length of the pitch run to score the second try, Louis Hayes-Green hatrick of tries at No 8 from both scrum and line-out, a debut try for Will Reynolds and a welcome return to Ruben Smith from ACL injury with 2 tries. Most pleasing though were the team tries when the ball moved speedily through the phases, from wing to wing, making all the use of the space that Paton Field has to offer. Back to Colts League A action next week with a home game vs Liverpool Collegiate which will be eagerly contested – please come along and cheer the lads on !

Images – Barry Macdonald

Rugby coming up : 

Caldy 2nd xv away at Hare Lane this Friday 15th November 
Chester v Caldy kick off 7.45pm

Caldy Rav3rs at Paton Field this Saturday 16th November
Caldy v Newton-le-Willows kick off 2.00pm

Caldy u18s away at Hare Lane this Sunday 17th November
Chester v Caldy kick off 2.00pm 

Caldy u17s at Paton Field this Sunday 17th November  
Caldy v Liverpool Collegiate kick off 12.30pm

Caldy 1st xv at Paton Field Saturday 23rd November
Caldy v Doncaster Knights kick off 2.00pm

Caldy 2nd xv at Paton Field Saturday 23rd November
Caldy v Rochdale