The strength of the wolf is the pack

Liverpool University arrived at Congleton with several good wins under their belt and given Congleton’s poor showing the previous week this was a big test for the home side. The first 20 minutes were gripping as both teams looked to play open rugby. The Liverpool students showed their strength early by stealing Congleton’s ball at the breakdown but it was Congleton who took the first points when Ridgeway exploited a gap created by Willis to run powerfully under the posts. Midway through the first half there was a point that highlighted Congleton’s growing spirit and passion for excellence. Having won the ball in their 22, a Liverpool winger sprinted up the field expecting to score and he would have done so if it wasn’t for Davies who tracked him down and nailed him from the far side of the pitch. Over half the home team also scrambled back to regain possession and clear their lines. Truly uplifting and inspiring and clearly deflated the away side.
Congleton then took control, particularly at scrum time when the demons from the previous week were firmly put to rest. They simply demolished Liverpool like a heavy roller on a hedgehog and gave No. 8 Somers and scrum half Wills a joy ride. Somers had a fine game with his destructive running and great positional play but to do so one must give credit to the front five led superbly by Reardon. In the games when Congleton have played well they have made excellent tactical decisions and this match was the same. Ridgeway at 10 had a fine match, distributing well to the backline whilst keeping his opposite number and the back row honest with his incisive runs. Somers did the same and was rewarded when he tapped a quick penalty 5m out to crash over for Congleton’s second try.
At half time, the game still far from won, the home team refined their support lines paying particular attention to attacking rucks by ensuring the support was closer and quicker. This nullified the student’s strengths in the back row, gave Congleton quick ball thereby preventing Liverpool’s defence from realigning quick enough to stop Williams from giving a masterclass in creating space for his outside backs. In defence both he and Wood smashed any student that came their way. Congleton’s defensive shape was excellent most of the time although they will need to ensure the guards and body guards jam the 10 channel once the ball leaves the breakdown, particularly when they come up against more potent attacking sides. That said, there were few missed tackles and when someone did slip through, Broderick was on hand to take them down. He is not only an effective attacker but he is also becoming a real rock in the Congleton defence.
The match was sealed with two fine tries in the second half, the first of which by Wood after some excellent build up play, several offloads and top notch continuity down the left. On receiving the ball on the right, Wood simply had to beat four defenders! Somers bagged his second from close range for Congleton’s bonus point with 20 minutes to go and the students were probably wishing they could leap forward an hour to the boat race (which they won). Congleton hammered home their dominance by bringing on all their substitutes who each played well. The students had fought well and deserved their consolation try on the final whistle. Make no mistake; these opponents were a decent side who will be hard to beat on their home turf. But this is Hankinson’s field and this is a new Congleton team – a team that will look critically at this performance and address some of key areas such as the restarts. There were some great performances in particular from the front 5 with Dalton and Beck forming a good partnership in the second row. An observer on the touchline summed up his thoughts on the team by quoting Rudyard Kipling: “For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.” Bootiful.