A young and inexperienced Rossall side travelled to Giggleswick to play their first competitive game of the season. Despite 7 players making their Senior debut, the team went into the game with a lot of confidence. This was strengthened by a glorious kick off leading to a Rossall scrum. Joel Moya cleverly picked up the ball and broke down the blind side, a few offloads led to Joey Warwick scoring Rossall’s first try of the afternoon.
Both the cohesion and morale of the team picked up through excellent defensive work. Rossall looked to exploit their pace on the wings which was unlocked through Lex Bilby and Max Boyd. The captain (Harrison Cardwell) stepped up and broke through the defensive line and scored in the corner. More good attacking led to another try being scored and converted to put Rossall 17 points up at the end of the first quarter.
Giggleswick had put a team out of similar make up to Rossall in order for the game to be competitive, but after a dominant first quarter, they introduced a few more experienced players, especially in the back line where Rossall had a lot of success. It took a few minutes for Rossall top adjust and in this time Giggleswick had pulled a try back. A turn over from the resulting kick-off gifted possession back to Rossall and the ball was quickly moved wide for Max Boyd to use his pace and score a debut try.
As the game went on, legs got weary which led to two tries being scored by Giggleswick. This put pressure on Rossall to score more tries. A rampant Joey Warwick produced some god-like footwork to get his second of the game. Lex Bilby displayed his athleticism to score two tries which were converted by Harrison Cardwell. Max Boyd once again showed his ability in this age group and went on an exquisite run from our 22. This allowed Rossall to claim their first victory of the season.
Despite the win and outstanding attacking performance, there will be a lot to work on defensively in training. Honourable mentions go to debutants Max Boyd for his superb tries and also Daniel Goma for his defensive work.
Man of the match was decided by the players and was awarded to Joey Warwick. Final Score, Rossall 43-21 Giggleswick.
Report written by Year 13 student, Benjamin Scammell (Spread Eagle)
