December 13th 2014

Ramsey 18 Congleton 15

The one that got away
Having been comfortably beaten at home against Ramsey at the beginning of the season, Congleton travelled with a better organised and higher quality team this time round. Genuine self belief was oozing through the squad as they got on the short flight out of Manchester.

Ramsey's pitch is huge but with the quality of Congleton's backline and speed of the loose forwards there were high expectations to be creative out wide. The first ten minutes for Congleton were outstanding as they made the league leaders look pedestrian. From an attacking scrum Congleton's pattern created space out wide and only Ramsey's scrambling defence kept them out.
Unlike their first encounter it was at the breakdowns where Congleton excelled as Ramsey's intensity was more than matched by the feisty Congleton players who stole the ball on several occasions.

As they have proved in recent weeks, when their decision making is good, Congleton can score against anybody and it was one such decision and good communication that led to a try out wide for teenager Jimmy Lloyd. Ramsey replied with 3 points on their first foray into enemy territory. Midway through the half Ramsey took the lead when they exploited an overlap - although they were helped by Congleton's wide men shooting up and being outflanked with ease.

After the break Ramsey extended their lead to 15-5 and looked in control but when their discipline took a nosedive and they back chatted the referee they found themselves 2 men in the bin.
Congleton needed to get back on top of their game and they did just that with 20 minutes to go. Davenport stayed in a wide attack role and communicated the space that needed exciting brilliantly.
With a few minutes left on the clock, Lloyd finished off a searing move. From a scrum on the wide right they attacked the short side before the ball was recycled to the opposite touchline through several quick phases for Lloyd to scoot in for an excellent second. At 18-15 it was a tense last couple of minutes but Ramsey whacked the ball deep into Congleton's territory and forced them to kick to touch thus secure victory.

The Congleton players were very disappointed because they could have won. That said they will reflect on the trip and perhaps realise that the bonus point was well earned and represented a huge step forward in their development.
In truth, too many unforced errors were their undoing and the usually solid goal kicking wasn't quite their today which could have nudged the team to victory. That said, out-scoring the league leaders on their home patch 3 tries to 2 is testament to how far this team has come and a strong indicator that the group of committed players are building a reputation for high quality rugby.
Set piece wise, the scrums were excellent although the lineouts were poor. Players looked more at home getting the ball thrown to pods quickly rather than the seemingly complex dummy movements.
The forwards worked their hearts out for the full 80 minutes but had the backs received better ball from the lineouts they could have sliced theirs opponents apart. Fly half Tommy Kanauros attracted defenders like Bainbridge attracts kippers and was worthy to be nominated man of the match from the opposition. Congleton's own MotM went to Matt King who set the tone early for ball stealing and powerful running lines.

Congleton's fight back was as much about their attitude as it was their skills. To come back from 18-5 to nearly grab the victory shows a maturing side with a number of leaders sprinkled throughout. Add to that some real quality and the majority of players attending training, it won't be long before they playing in the next league above. Coach Les Burk said afterwards "if we can cut out the unforced errors and build a smart basic lineout we shall be a real force. What was great today is that we played with a much higher intensity so if we can keep that up we really will do some damage to some teams"