Under 13

Macclesfield 71 - Sandbach 0 Sun 23 September 2012 The U13's headed to a windy Macclesfield for their first junior rugby fixture with a strong squad. We would have loved to have won the toss and played with the wind against a traditionally strong Macclesfield outfit, but we lost that one. From the kick off, Macclesfield showed a greater level of competitive spirit and were able to get the ball wide to run the first of their tries around the Sandbach defence. Our task was made harder a few minutes later as our strong tackling number 8 was injured during his effort to prevent the Macclesfield second try. The pattern of scoring tries through strong recycling at the breakdown followed by neat passing to the organised backs resulted in 3 further Macclesfield tries in the first period. At the break we were able to reorganise and bring on fresh legs, which resulted in a more competitive second period, but we just weren't able to get over the whitewash. The agreed third period allowed both teams to ensure that all squad members experienced valuable pitch time at this early stage of season. Unfortunately for the Sandbach boys, we conceded a further 5 tries unopposed, but credit to the boys for playing to the end. Congratulations to Macclesfield for playing some excellent committed and organised rugby. We need to sharpen up our tackling and keep an organised shape in both attack and defence - this Is key to 15 man rugby. Thanks to Macclesfield for your excellent hospitality and your concern for our injured No 8, who left in an ambulance suffering no long term injury.