U14s make a SPLASH at Aldwinians Tournament

On the last day of the season the Under 14’s entered the Aldwinians’ Tournament in Audenshaw, Manchester in weather more appropriate to a mid season game. Ten hardy teams from across the area gathered in appalling conditions to provide a feast of rugby and a successful end to a season of highs and lows.
It was also good to once again meet up with friends from local rivals Bury and Sedgley Park as well as make some new friends with our first ever games against Sefton and Mold whilst renewing old acquaintances with Didsbury TOCH who we haven’t had the pleasure of seeing since playing as minis.
In the first encounter Bolton took on Sefton and from the first whistle the lads carried on from their good performance in similar conditions against Wigan the previous weekend. Half backs Josh Holmes and James Hind controlled the early encounters and strong runs from the Wills “twins” (McCambridge and Brindle) in the forwards had the lads from the Wirral on the back foot. It was great to see Danny Turner once again in a Bolton shirt after a long absence and his breathtaking acceleration had the Sefton midfield scrabbling on more than one occasion. With usual half back Joey Gore entering the fray at half time and James Hind taking a well earned breather it was the Bolton defence that earned the win as with Sefton unable to make ground Danny Turner relied on his soccer skills to fly hack the ball through and then race after his own kick to pressure the Sefton full back. Strong play had the 15 in trouble and Danny again pounced on the loose ball to toe it forward and touch down.
Unfortunately this was his final contribution to the tournament as he gained a nasty knock in a tackle late on and as a precaution spent the rest of the day in Tameside hospital suffering from concussion. Thankfully, he was back on his feet by the morning and is now well on the mend and looking forward to next season already.
With a win under their belts but now a player down Bolton immediately took on Duckinfield in Match Two and as the weather closed in even more struggled against the Manchester team who played the right tactics for the conditions. Duckinfield’s close driving and well drilled recycling as opposed to Bolton’s more expansive running game might have had a different result in better weather but in the morass and howling gale Duckinfield certainly had the edge and thoroughly deserved their 12-0 victory. Breakaways Max Lohan and Firth Lord were exemplary in defeat and Wills McCambridge showed his versatility standing in at Centre as the team lost Ryan McClusky to a blood injury that stretched the team’s resources to breaking point. The forwards hardly missed a tackle and the front row group of Elliott Morgan, Faraaz Mohammed, Jacob Walker and Joseph Partington toiled endlessly but the team collectively just couldn’t stop the opposing juggernaut!
A well earned break was next on the agenda with everyone returning to the club house to revive freezing hands and aching limbs with some sustenance and a well received change of kit as the squad prepared for the second half of the proceedings.
In Match Three the boys took on another new side to us in eventual competition winners Mold. It was great to welcome Ryan back from a thorough defrosting and the guys again played some good rugby with good breaks from backs Josh Holmes, Levi Walsh and Adam Kazmi and another brace of scintillating performances from Max Lohan and Firth Lord. Gregor Kirk also continued in his quiet destroyer mode and with Joey Gore tackling out of his skin around the fringes the boys put in a great shift despite going down 22-0.
As we approached the final group game news game through that other results had gone in our favour and so a victory in the last game would see us progress to the final stages. This fired up the lads and with cries of “let’s win it for Danny” ringing in the air the yellow and green quartered shirts of Didsbury TOCH were brought into the “cross hairs”. Having already defeated Sefton and drawn with Duckinfield TOCH were obviously not going to be a pushover but the team were by now firmly in “the zone” and to be fair TOCH never got a look in despite some strong runs by their Centre. I don’t think the lads ever noticed the weather again taking a turn for the worst and threw the ball around like it was a gloriously sunny day, the pitch bone dry and they had feeling in their fingers. The front row again shone with Jacob Walker perhaps having his finest game in a Bolton shirt whilst out wide Ryan McClusky seized the moment to really turn it on. In the first period it was all Bolton with any TOCH play quickly being snuffed out and the ball returned to Bolton possession. Holmes and Gore worked well at half back once again while Centres James Hind and Michael Latham probed and outmuscled and out thought their opposite numbers. Michael Latham made one 50m break through the mud and puddles with opposition players hanging off him like jackals but such is the camaraderie of the team that all he received for his efforts were good natured jibes that he didn’t score or carry more TOCH players along with him. On the flanks Levi Walsh again played with determination and fire and look dangerous on every possession whilst on the opposite wing Ryan McClusky raced a full 70m swatting away would be tacklers only to have what we thought was a well taken try chalked off.
To give the lads great credit they never complained and just put their shoulder to the wheel determined to get the victory even against the howling gale in the second period. Three or four drives from Number 8 Wills Brindle kept TOCH back in defence and some excellent inter-passing by the half backs and back row almost secured Firth Lord a place in Bolton folk law only for him to be denied at the last. So as the clock ran down TOCH had a penalty 15m from their own line only needing to see out the game score-less to progress and send Bolton home. As TOCH prepared to tap the ball the Bolton lads’ mantra of hold-hold-hold-hold sang around the pitch as they prepared themselves. You could almost see the black shirts Bolton boys grow in stature while the yellow and green quarters shrank. The ball was tapped the hold-hold-hold turned to a bellowed PRESS and like a pack of wolves the Bolton defenders snapped up the runners, immediately turned over the ball and Ryan McClusky flew from the wing like a proverbial Exocet Missile to break two tackles and ground the ball under the black dot. As the crowd went wild Adam Kazmi calmly stroked the drop kick over to end the game 7-0 and secure second place in the group and the Plate final.
All the boys showed brilliant sportsmanship as they clapped off their opponents and shook their hand and wished them well as both teams “swam” back to the clubhouse. A moment to catch their breath and take on some well deserved fluids and the team was back on the pitch to take on Rochdale, a side two divisions above us in the Blacksticks League, in the plate final.
Tired legs and bruised bodies girded themselves for a last effort and with the weather relenting for a short while the boys put everything into the final flurry of the day. Again Bolton started well and had the Rochdale side under pressure early on. From a Rochdale kick out of defence Ryan McClusky gathered the loose ball and turned smartly to beat the kick chaser. You could see Ryan start to wind himself up over the next 10m of open ground and by the time he approached the next phase of Rochdale defence he was going at full pace and like a hot knife through butter or a sprinting rugby player through cold defenders he scythed through the line, jinxed around the full back and sprinted away from the remaining defenders to score his second try of the event and put Bolton 5-0 up against all the odds. Rochdale seemed more than a little taken aback but to their great credit defended stoutly for the next few plays and ground down the Bolton onslaught. Had a second try come quickly I think the Rochdale player’s resolve may have waned, however, it wasn’t to be and it was Rochdale who scored next to turn around 10-5 to the good. Again injuries and a small squad took their toll and despite another half of great play by all the 16 Bolton players Rochdale registered two further tries to make the final score 20-5.
Both sides had made the Plate final a game to remember and it was great to see all players from both sides shaking hands and offering congratulations for a well played game.
To round off, a day that will be long remembered by all those who were there. The guys had all acquitted themselves with great determination and fortitude throughout the day and it was excellent to see them all behaving impeccably as they received their medals and then applauded Plate winners Rochdale, runners-up Glossop and Tournament winners Mold.
The parents were adamant that their award for the day should be shared by everyone and so the winner of the Parent’s Player of the Tournament went to:
Joseph Partington, Elliott Morgan, Jacob Walker, Gregor Kirk, Wills McCambridge, Max Lohan, Firth Lord, Wills Brindle, Joey Gore, Josh Holmes, Levi Walsh, Michael Latham, Danny Turner, Ryan McClusky, Adam Kazmi, James Hind and Faraaz Mohammed. Team captain Tom Hill also got into the act and despite being injured deserves a mention for being their despite the cold and wet to cheer on his teammates and help whenever and wherever he could.
The Coaches’ Award was also shared with both Flankers Max Lohan and Firth Lord getting the nod for exceptional performances in each and every game.
Finally the Players’ Award was well received by Ryan McClusky while Wills Brindle also got a huge pat on the back from his pals for his performances too.
Everyone from number 1 to 17 played their part in the Tournament and without everyone’s skill and tenacity the guys couldn’t have done as well as they did. All in all a complete team performance.
The final word goes to Danny Turner who was thankfully sitting up in hospital and had been given the all clear as we called to deliver his medal after the event and it was great news to hear he’d been released from hospital the following morning with a clean bill of health and his memory flooding back. Our thanks goes to our first aider Cecilia Kazmi and team nurse Kay Brindle plus all the excellent staff at Tameside Hospital who looked after Danny so brilliantly.