Sandbach 31 –  Macclesfield 43

By Phil Mason

Continuing their development journey, the Colts took to the field again in their fourth match as a combined team. Macclesfield started well, taking the ball to Sandbach and dominating the ruck from the off, and within 2 minutes Fin Arnold had scored; Macclesfield were 5 points up.

The restart saw Macclesfield continue to dominate, keeping the ball and looking very strong, pinning Sandbach into their own half and playing the phases, however a pass between the backs saw an interception from Sandbach, sprinting half the pitch to score under the sticks; Sandbach 7 –  Macclesfield 5.

After the restart Sandbach dominated play, winning a penalty but the following lineout saw Macclesfield regain the ball temporarily; Sandbach turning the ball over in the Macc 22 for a second try, Sandbach 14 – 5 ahead.

The restart saw Sandbach gather the ball and continue to pile on the pressure, keeping Macclesfield pinned down in their 22.  Macclesfield put up a great defence but failed to get their hands on the ball.  Struggling to get out of their half, it seemed it was only a matter of time;  Sandbach went over again and with another good conversion the hosts led 21 – 5 at half time.

Macclesfield regained some of their form in the first 10 minutes after the restart; playing through the phases, they camped firmly in the Sandbach red zone, allowing Sam Davies to break their line and some much-needed points under the sticks; Sandbach 21 – Macclesfield 12.

Sandbach were to score two quick tries in succession, first, exploiting a huge overlap on the wing, followed by Macclesfield missing several tackles, to take the score to 31 – 17.  It seemed a big hill to climb, and Sandbach were not for giving up.

Macclesfield piled on the pressure, forcing Sandbach to kick, to clear their lines, straight into the arms of Charlie Hogg, who ran 50m, and then drove another 6 through defenders towards the line,  amazing awareness as he popped the ball out the back, to the waiting Fin Arnold who scored for the bonus point try, 31 – 22.

Sandbach came back hard, threatening to score again, however Koby Wilkinson broke from his own 22 charging up-field, just as he was tackled, a smart offload saw Jim Parker go over for Macclesfield’s 5^th try 31 – 29.

With two points in it Macclesfield had their tails up.  Gathering the restart, the ball was shipped to Max Woods on the wing who piled-on-the-gas towards the line, bursting a tackle before being pushed into touch. Sandbach won the lineout and cleared their lines; however Macclesfield gathered cleanly and went over again to take the lead, Sandbach 31 – Macclesfield 36.

The last re-start didn’t go 10, so Macclesfield had possession from the scrum; a break from the mid-field, and Jim Parker got the final spoils of the game, successfully converted for a final score of Sandbach 31 – Macclesfield 43. It was a thrilling and evenly matched game. MOTM was hard to select, but Koby Wilkinson stood out: strong and direct in attack, and effective in defence.

Colts Man of the Match Koby Wilkinson