Knutsford Rugby Club Match Reports 2011-2012

Wilmslow 3rd XV 16 v Knutsford 2nd XV 12

• 2nd XV | Saturday Feb 18th 2012.
Knutsford travelled to a Wilmslow side that is top of the league on a blustery but pleasant Saturday afternoon, a strong team fielded from a good turnout meant that Knutsford started well and on the front foot. The forwards were exceptional, winning almost 90% of set pieces and providing Frazer Crawford with some very good ball which was fed to the backs in good time.

Knutsford backs had pace and unlike the Wilmslow side, passed it through the hands at every occasion, after 35 minutes of deadlock with both sides defending very well, the ball was fed from a 2nd phase ruck to Cook, who dummied and missed the switch to inside centre Lockett and sent a miss pass across the front of Ritchie and into the hands of the oncoming Malcolm who was able to touch down in the corner, the kick was missed and Knutsford went into half time 5-0 up.

2nd half started again strongly for Knutsford but Wilmslow were sensing some tiredness from Knutsford and came on strong, they had sustained periods of forward play which resulted in their only try of the game under the posts from their No.8.

Knutsford rallied again, but some silly mistakes from offsides and hands in rucks resulted in 3 penalties given away and Wilmslow kicked them all.

Knutsford then had a period of 10 minutes of the best play this season, some excellent rucking from Dunkerley, Rhino, Page and Robertson gave a solid platform in their 22, the ball came back inside to Rhino on the 5 metre line and he powered over to score.

The points were added by Malcolm but it was too little too late at this point, Knutsford outscored Wilmslow on tries which has to be seen as a positive, but mistakes ultimately cost us the victory.

Man of the match - Dave Owen (Rhino).



[Posted by Howard Dunkerley, 2nd XV Captain; Feb 18th 2012]

1st XV 53 v Linley 12

• 1st XV | Saturday Jan 28th 2012.
Knutsford travelled to a rather unpredictable encounter away at Helsby, whilst rooted to the bottom of the league, Helsby have had some notable wins and meant they could not be taken lightly.

The game started in perfect rugby conditions Knutsford immediately started on the front foot, a good catch from flanker Steve Higgins fed to brother Adam led to a breakaway run, Knutsford got inside Helsbys 22 and through several phases it was fed to the wings, another great ruck was won by Knutsfords strong pack and Nick Webb fed Cook who broke through to score under the posts, Knutsford were 7-0 up inside 5 minutes after James added the conversion.

Again from the restart Knutsford didn't put a foot wrong, a great catch from Williams and another break led to a try from great rucking, 2 phases involving Baxter and Hamilton, and quick hands through the backs, Cook made another break, delaying the pass, and fed Lockett on the wing who scored in the corner.

More Knutsford pressure resulted in 2 more try's with James adding the pointsl but all this pressure meant Knutsford were getting tired, some rare Helsby pressure resulted in a score for them just before half time after a lost line out. Knutsford set pieces however, with Starkie hooking in the scrum supported by Hamilton and Robertson, and line outs secured by the Higgins brothers were executed perfectly.

The 2nd half started strongly again, Knutsfords line out was struggling against some tall Helsby competition so it was changed and we started stealing their all and winning ours, Nick Webb at scrum half had a fantastic game and comfortably made space for himself to pass out good quality ball and the backs were fed well, Knutsford chalked up 6 more tries without response from Humphries, Higgins, Cook for a brace and a superb hat trick from Lawrence James.

Knutsford conceded another try in the last minute as a pass was intercepted by a Helsby player, but it was consolation at best at that point.

Overall, a fantastic result for Knutsford who have halted a poor run in some style, they face Parkonians away and hope to build on the victory next week.

Final score knutsford 53-12 Helsby.

Man of the match, Will Humphries.



[Posted by Sam Cook, 1st XV Captain; Jan 28th 2012]

2nd XV 12 v Winnington Park 3rd XV 8

• 2nd XV | Saturday January 28th 2012.
It wasn't pretty, but a wins a win!!!!

Knutsford started the game strongly and were ahead within the first 10 minutes from a superb piece of forward play resulting in Dave Owen(Rhino) crashing over for a try in his usual style. The try was converted by Alex Malcolm making the score 7-0 to Knutsford. Almost straight from the KO, Knutsford put Winnington Park back under pressure, using their very mobile pack to its full advantage. All of this pressure eventually paid off as Winnington Park began to tire and it was that man Malcolm who popped up to score, adding yet another try to his ever increasing tally this season! The try was no converted and the score remained 12-0 to Knutsford.

This served as a wake up call to Winnington Park, who started to pile the pressure on to the Knutsford defence. Knutsford's defence stood strong, with some brilliant defending from the pack and some good defensive tackles from Field, Dawson, and Joe Pugh. The score remained 12-0 at half time.

The second half continued with Winnington Park piling the pressure on to Knutsford, who again stood strong. Winnington Park's pressure eventually paid off 15 minutes before the end of the game when Knutsford conceded a penalty that was scored to make it 12-3. Knutsford were obviously tiring and cracks were starting to appear in the defence. Winnington Park broke through with 5 minutes remaining to make it 12-8 and this is how it finished.

It was a very hard fought battle that ended in victory for Knutsford.

Everybody had a great game and it was hard to pick a man of the match, but it went to full back Joe Pugh for making many a last ditch tackle and some good kicking as well.

Well done lads! Another great show of passion and pride for KRFC.



[Posted by Howard Dunkerley, 2nd XV Captain; Jan 28th 2012]

2nd XV 16 v Crewe & Nantwich 3rd XV 15

• 2nd XV | Saturday November 19th 2011.
As both teams were at home this weekend, the 2nd XV match was played at Knutsford High School. This did not dampen the spirits of the team, who were on a high and full of confidence and looking at the team Captain Dunkerley had to choose from there was good reason to be confident.

Crewe & Nantwich won the toss and opted to play down the slight slope, hoping to keep Knutsford under pressure and test the defence to the limit. To begin with, this was not the case as Knutsford put their opposition under pressure from the Knutsford KO and forced mistakes. For the first 10 minutes of the game Knutsford played most of the attacking rugby in Crewe's half, but were unable to convert it into points. Knutsford's best opportunity to score came from a penalty, taken by Richard Walker, but unfortunately it didn't have the legs and fell just short and under the bar.

The score remained 0-0, but the near miss by Knutsford served as a kick start for Crewe, who immediately put Knutsford on the back foot and pinned in their 22 looking to break through the wall of Knutsford players in front of them. This wall stood firm for most of the remaining 30 minutes of the half. With some great defensive tackles from Walton, Holah, Dawson, Dunkerley, Warman and Starkie up front along with some fantastic, last ditch tackles in the backs from Price, Walker, Rocket and Jimbo, Crewe were only able to squeeze through on two occasions before half time. A great defensive display meant that Crewe & Nantwich were 10 points adrift at half time.

At half time Knutsford still felt that this game was theirs for the taking and were fired up from the very start. Captain Dunkerley led the charge from the KO as he collected the ball from Crewe's kick and charged 40 metres back towards the Crewe 22, breaking through a couple of tackles along the way. With good support from his pack, Knutsford secured the ball and started made couple more phases before the ball was passed out to the backs and taken in by Price. It was from this breakdown that Knutsford got their first opportunity to score as Crewe conceded a penalty inside their 22. This kick was converted by young Alex Malcolm, who has been having a fantastic debut season so far! The score was now 10-3 in Crewe's favour as Knutsford once again charged the KO straight back at Crewe, putting them under pressure. This pressure paid off again as Crewe conceded another penalty, which Malcolm converted making it 10-6 to Crewe with 30 minutes still left to play.

The last 30 minutes remained all Knutsford and Crewe were tiring, choosing to kick the ball away at every opportunity. It was from one of these kicks however that they managed to scrape another try as the Will Turner collected the ball and lost it in the tackle, making an easy finish for the chasing Crewe player. This made the score 15-6 in Crewe's favour with 20 minutes left to play. Knutsford put Crewe straight back on the defensive with some brilliant work from the pack to retain the ball from the KO. After several phases, Frazer Crawford, who was also having a great game, passed the ball out Walker, who passed to Price on his outside, who in turn fed Malcolm out of the tackle, who finished the move, over the line to make it 15-11 and 10 minutes left to play.

The last ten minutes were a gruelling test of stamina and spirit for Knutsford who again with fantastic work up front before Crawford fed the ball to Walker, who popped it to the oncoming Rocket for a crash ball. After securing the ball, it was quickly played out from the ruck to Malcolm, who passed to Jimbo who smashed over for the winning try and probably the best worked try of the match!

Overall it was a great game and it was the spirit of the Knutsford boys that prevailed. Everyone had a great game and Captain Caveman said he was proud to be part of team full of such spirit and pride!

A big thanks to all of the support that came to the high school to watch, as without such support we would be half the club that we are! So we hope to see you all again this coming Saturday when Knutsford Kasuals take on Crewe & Nantwich 3rd XV in the cup.

Some fantastic displays from all of the boys on Saturday, but the Man of the Match went to Jimbo for his great defensive display and fantastic try to take the victory!





[Posted by Howard Dunkerley, 2nd XV Captain; Nov 19th 2011]

Whitchurch XV 29 v 2nd XV 17

• 2nd XV | Saturday October 15th 2011.
Knutsford 2nd XV made the trip to Whitchurch on Saturday 15th October. A coach had been organised for the trip and all those on board were in good spirit as the banter flowed, but not the beer as it was thought best to save that for the trip back.

Knutsford found themselves with a full team plus some subs. This was an exciting prospect and Knutsford were hoping to use this to their advantage as other teams had done to them in previous away fixtures. However, this was not to be the case as within the first 10 minutes there were injuries to both Sam Cook and Boon and they were reduced to one sub.

Whitchurch opened the scoring within 5 minutes of the KO due to some sloppy defending by Knutsford. The try was converted to make it 7-0. Knutsford hardly got going again, before the ball was lost and Whitchurch found themselves back in Knutsford 22 with ball in hand. Quick hands and numbers gave Whitchurch another easy try to make it 12-0. A couple of substitutions due to injury and Knutsford seemed to step up the intensity of their game. Giles from the No.8 position made some good pickups from the back of the scrum and rucks as Knutsford gained territory and forced Whitchurch back into their own 22. It was from a breakdown during this bout of pressure that Knutsford got the ball out to the backs and young Alex Malcolm made a great solo run to score for Knutsford.

At 12-5, Knutsford were right back in the game and playing well. This try made Whitchurch change tactics as they decided to take the ball in to the breakdown, rather than use quick hands. This worked as not long after Knutsford had scored, Whitchurch had forced themselves all the way back to Knutsford's 5 metre line and over for a try, which was converted to make it 19-5. This did not dampen Knutsford's spirits as again, with good work up front and good running with ball from Giles, Higgy and Dunkerley saw Knutsford on the opposition 22. With the ball secured it was spun out to Alex Malcolm, who again saw a gap and found his way through to score in the corner. He converted his try to make it 19-12 to Whitchurch at half time.

The second half unfortunately started in much the same way as the first with Knutsford conceding two sloppy tries within the first 10 minutes. This made the score 29-12 with 30 minutes still to play. Again Knutsford stepped it up a gear and continued to force Whitchurch back with quick ball from Frazer Crawford off penalties and good running from the forwards kept Whitchurch pinned back for most of the remaining 30 minutes. It wasn't until 10 minutes before the end that quick ball from a penalty paid off with a great crash ball from Giles saw him off-load to Dunkerley, who heard the shouts to get the ball out wide where Knutsford had numbers. The ball was off loaded to Malcolm, who passed to Jimbo on the wing, who under pressure off-loaded to Dawson who scored in the corner. This made the score 29-17, which it remained until the end. Knutsford did have one more chance to close the gap when Clawson caught the ball in his own 22 and was looking like scoring easily in the corner, but opted to pass to Jimbo who was in support even though he was almost certain to score himself(as we have seen him score from this situation, many time before). This pass put Jimbo under pressure and he tried to pass back to Clawson, but it was forward. Clawson was duly awarded DOD. He said afterwards that he just didn't have the confidence to finish it off! It will come Nick. A few more DOD awards and you will learn your lesson!

Overall there were quite a few positives taken from the match, but still more work to be done on keeping a defensive line and making those tackles count. These things can all be worked on at training on Thursdays.

MOM: Alex Malcolm

A big thanks to all who came along to spectate and a special thanks to Gav's lads for doing a superb job as water boys! A great day was had by all, despite the result and I'm sure there will be a few stories to be told by those that stayed out. Let's take this spirit into our forthcoming games and the pub golf this weekend and beyond!



[Posted by Howard Dunkerley, 2nd XV Captain; Oct 18th 2011]

Winnington Park 3rd XV 76 v 2nd XV 5

• 2nd XV | Saturday Oct 8th 2011.
Saturday October 8th saw Knutsford 2nd XV take on Winnington Park 3rd XV at Winnington Park. Knutsford were looking like they would only have 12 men before the start of the game, but by the start, after a few (begging) phone calls we managed to get a full team out!

The first half saw Knutsford start strong and immediately put Winnington on the defensive! This was not to last as Knutsford lost the ball in the breakdown and Winnington took the ball straight back in to Knutsford's half and scored. Knutsford looked good when they had ball in hand, but as soon as they lost the ball, their defensive frailties began to show. Winnington scored again through a lack of concentration by Knutsford. The score was now 12 - 0 in Winnington's favour. Knutsford were not for giving up and through some good work up front managed to get the ball into the opposition 22. The ball was fed out from the breakdown by debutant Will Smith to Walker, who took the run on himself, perhaps a little too far!! Fortunately, after Walker failed to crash through two WP players, twice his size he recycled well and Bear, who had been screaming for a pass from Walker, but to no avail, picked up the ball and scored behind the posts. The first half finished 17 - 5.

Knutsford were very confident at the break and felt that the game was theirs for the taking, but as the second half began WP came out guns blazing and caught Knutsford with their trousers down and scored almost immediately from the KO. Not to worry, Knutsford were still in the game. Until from the KO, WP scored again in a similar fashion. From that point, despite some fantastic performances from Bear and the returning Lee Williams at full-back, Knutsford failed to find a rhythm and continued to leak tries. The game finished Winnington Park 76 - Knutsford 5.

Although it wasn't the best of games for a debutant to play in, there were great performances from James Hamilton, Jonny Reissing, Will Smith and Kieran. I hope all of these guys will return to fight another day and help KRFC 2nd XV get that much needed away victory!!

MOM - Bear No. 8



[Posted by Howard Dunkerley, 2nd XV Captain; Oct 13th 2011]

2nd XV 17 v Northwich 4th XV 10

• 2nd XV | Saturday Sept 24th 2011.
Saturday 24th September saw Knutsford 2nd XV take on Northwich 4th XV at Egerton. The day started with Knutsford wondering if they even had a full team, but by KO they ended up with 18 players.

IFrom the off Knutsford played with purpose and intent and found themselves camped inside the opposition half for almost 30 minutes. Although Northwich 4th XV were not making it easy for Knutsford to turn possession into points. It wasn't until the 28th minute that Knutsford scored through a quickly taken penalty by Steve McGuiness who fed Rhino and after a couple of what looked like sidesteps, scored to make it 5 - 0. Olly Mooney converted to take Knutsford to 7 - 0. Just five minutes after this, a penalty in almost the same place as the first saw the exact same move executed by McGuiness and Rhino, with Rhino crashing through 3 defenders to make it 12 - 0. The score remained 12 - 0 at the break and Knutsford were on a high.

The second half saw Knutsford start brightly and within a minute were on the score sheet again with a wonderfully worked ball from the back of a ruck by McGuiness, who was having a storming game. The ball came out to Mooney, who drew the man, off loaded nicely to Wayne who again drew the man and passed the ball young Alex Malcolm who finished emphatically in the corner making it 17 - 0 to Knutsford. This seemed to be the kick start that Northwich needed and they began to push Knutsford back and put their defensive line under pressure. This resulted in a penalty being awarded for hands in the ruck, which was scored making it 17 - 3 with just under 30 minutes left to play. Northwich continued to pressure Knutsford and push them back and were able to convert some of that pressure into points when after a few attempts at crashing the ball through Knutsford's defensive line failed, they decided to pass out to the wing, who scored. The try was converted to make it 17 - 10 with over 20 minutes left to play.

Northwich kept the pressure on and Knutsford were penalised again for handling on the ground. This was one offense too many for the Referee, who sent Rhino to the bin. Rhino who had been having a brilliant game in both attack and defence until the ref decided enough was enough and put Knutsford under tremendous pressure! This again fired up Northwich and saw them almost score two more tries, but Knutsford's defence stood strong with Man of the Match Charlie Wakefield showing what he is capable of and making some brilliant tackles to ensure there was no breakthrough. Knutsford did not concede whilst Rhino was in the bin, despite being under constant pressure. Everybody stepped up their game and fought hard to keep Northwich at bay!

Some great debuts from Steve Boonham, Dave Armstrong and Wayne. Also a big thanks to Kasuals Steve McGuiness, Paul Ritchie, Ian Dawson, Rhino, Nick Webb and Whiskey who all had great games in contributing to Knutsford's victory.

The game finished 17 - 10. Another victory for Knutsford 2nd XV, which they can hopefully build on next Saturday 1st October when they travel to top of the table Trafford MV!



[Posted by Howard Dunkerley, 2nd XV Captain; Sept 25th 2011]

1st XV 55 v Linley 24

• 1st XV | Saturday Sept 3rd 2011.
It was the start of the new season for a new look side to the one that ended last season on a high for Knutsford. A few players had decided to move on and during a good pre-season, Knutsford had attracted some new signings to push forward into the 2011/2012 season and the first test was against a seasoned Linley side at home.

The game started brightly, the forwards were looking sharp with new boy Alex Cartney at 8 making some strong runs, new pack leader Dafydd Williams. Leading by example, and, whilst overshadowed in size on occasions against a large and strong Linley pack, Knutsford held their own, quickly recycling the ball from the kick off. 2 or 3 phases later the ball was fed out wide to the backs, full back Lawrence James making a trademark break, offloading to the supporting Nic Clawson to score under the posts, James comfortably added the conversion and Knutsford were 7-0 up inside 4 minutes.

Similar pressure followed, forwards Snook and Kemp putting real pressure on the opposition off scrums and the front row including new boy Tom Starkie who had a great game, kept good possession. Within 20 minutes Knutsford had added tries through Clawson and James and new boy Alex Wilson, who joining late in the season gave a sterling display of what was to come scoring in the corner from superb mauling by all forwards, and great running rugby through the hands to the right winger.

Knutsford however were found lacking slightly in fitness and were guilty of creeping offside too many times, this resulted in far too many penalties and after a final offside, it resulted in the ref hinting that the next to concede a penalty would be in the bin. Linley took the quick penalty and ran straight at the new club captain Sam Cook, Cook tackled and was sent to the sin bin, just before half time after being found to not have retreated 10 metres in time.

Knutsford then allowed Linley back in, missed tackles and some good Linley forward play resulted in a try for them in the corner.

The 2nd half started much like the first half ended, Linley were taking their chances and Knutsford, reduced to 14, struggled to hold them off and conceded 2 additional tries.

Cook returned 7 minutes into the 2nd half, the ball was won at a lineout on Knutsfords 22, fed out superbly by Nick Webb who had a magnificent game at scrum half, out to Cook who broke the Linley line, beat the fullback and had his retreating opposite man to beat, Lawrence James was offering great support and Cook offloaded, drawing his man and James rounded off his hatrick superbly just inside Linleys corner flag.

This sparked Knutsfords second wind, both wingers Wilson and Clawson added 2 tries each to their first half tally's completing their hatricks and James consistently added the kicks. Knutsford piled on the pressure and Linley could not cope with the pace in the backs, Knutsford won comfortably, improvements will be made, but for a new team in a new season the display was positive. New Captain Cook said "It was great to see the commitment from the lads, the new boys played well, and to get all 3 of the back 3 to hat tricks was a reflection of the running rugby we like to play, we will get fitter and more disciplined but today was all about the 4 points".

The display was typical of what coach Ryan Acton wants from the young Knutsford side this season, and, with all of the back 3 scoring hat tricks, testament to the traditional way Knutsford play.

Man of the match was to Alex Winger for a hat trick on his debut and some good tackling in defence.



[Posted by Sam Cook, 1st XV Captain; Sept 3rd 2011]

Acton Nomads 68 v 2nd XV 3

• 2nd XV | Saturday Sept 3rd 2011.
Knutsford's 2nd XV suffered a massive defeat at the hands of an experienced and well drilled Acton Nomads 1st XV. Acton were kind enough to lend Knutsford two props in order to make the scrum a contested one and to also make it fifteen a side. Shortly into the 1st half however one of the props got injured and Knutsford were reduced to fourteen and the scrum had to go un-contested.

In a game that was dominated by Acton Nomads there were quite a lot of positives to be taken from the game. Despite being under pressure for most of the game, Knutsford were pretty solid around the rucks and mauls and when they had the ball going forward, looked good. There were also some very good hits from number 10 Rick Walker, who probably made the tackle of the match on the opposition flanker, who stayed down for a couple of minutes afterwards whilst he got his breath back. Rick actually said "boom!" as he made the tackle and then said to the player "now that's a proper tackle!"

Although the score was a bit one sided, it could've been a lot worse had it not been for several last minute tackles from full-back Bob Hamilton and winger Jimbo on his debut. Frazer Crawford also had a good open age debut at 9 and managed to get the ball out to the backs despite being put under immediate pressure by Acton. Some good running from debutant centres Alex Malcolm and Miles Dobell getting good ball from number 10 Rick Walker who also scored Knutsford's only points of the day and made several big hits.

There were also good displays from Ted Cawson, Simon Warman and Charlie Wakefield who worked tirelessly to get to the breakdowns and set defensive lines. Sam Dawson had a great game at 8 for Knutsford and made some fantastic, trademark crash ball runs into the opposition defence.

Man of the match was Sam Dawson



[Posted by Howard Dunkerley, 2nd XV Captain; Sept 3rd 2011]