It was a steep learning curve for the Blues as they went down 3 – 52 to championship side Rotherham at Priory Park on Saturday.
The home side took the lead through a Mike Barlow penalty after the Titans midfield were caught offside in the opening exchanges, but that was to be the last time Macclesfield troubled the scorers.
For the rest of the game a young Blues side were challenged with some strong running, good offloading and relentless attacking rugby from the visitors. It may seem all doom and gloom for Macclesfield but there are always things to take from games like this.
The Blues’ latest signing, centre Barlow, look impressive all day and his partnership with Matt O’Regan in the midfield showed signs of developing in to something special this season.
When you play against a team that are two leagues above yours, then weaknesses are exploited and there for all to see. This game will have revealed some of the flaws in the Blues outfit, giving them enough time to rectify those flaws before the season starts.
It’s worth baring in mind that there were some very young players on the field, even some youth players, and this experience will have benefitted them no end. They now know where they stand as a team, and how much they need to improve, which is a great position to be in.
There were signs both out wide and in the forward pack that the team is on the road to playing some good, entertaining rugby and everybody at the club will be heading towards the season full of optimism.
