Knutsford Rugby Club Match Reports | 2009-2010 Season
If you are interested in playing for Knutsford Rugby Club please contact Club Captain Ollie Mooney (e-mail; 1stXVcaptain@knutsfordrugby.com)

Miller Homes League | 17th April | Didsbury 71 v Knutsford 2's 7
Match report by Robin Maxwell

Straight off the back of a strong win the week before, Knutsford travelled to Didsbury looking for their first consecutive win this season.

Some late promotions to the first team, and last minute injury call offs after this long season took its toll on the Knutsford squad, and the team kicked off without an available substitute.

From the off, the returning Perry weighed in with some strong runs and with the experience of McGuinness at outside half marshaling the back line Knutsford began the game well. Didsbury kept the ball tight in the forwards and exercised Knutsfords defense which held out until the 15 minute mark when they got their first score of the day.

Undeterred, Knutsford came back well and played some trademark expansive rugby lead by their talisman Ric Baxter up front. The score was leveled when Spinola's quick thinking picked up a wayward kick and set up Edmonds for a run in from his own half.

With the loss of Bartlett at full back due to injury Didsbury capitalised with a further two scores before half time.

Didsbury 21 - 7 Knutsford.

The second half was a scrappy and disjointed game for Knutsford and unfortunately the home team found their game and ran in several tries.

This did not wilt the team’s determination and Baxter and Bentham worked hard at slowing the Didsbury attack dramatically. In attack Rowsell and Webb were linking well to create some promising opportunities but to no avail. With some poor offloading by Edmonds there were some try scoring opportunities missed and whilst seeing out the game with three Didsburys players on 'loan' it wasn't to be Knutsfords day in the end with the score finishing 71 - 7 in Didsburys favour.

Albeit an unflattering score line Knutsford played with pride and heart that is unrivaled by any team in the league and look to see out the season with their remaining two fixtures this week; Thurs at 6.30pm home against Marple and the last game of a long season on Saturday away to Macclesfield.

Final Score Didsbury 71 Knutsford 7

Miller Homes League | 10th April | Knutsford 2's 41 Nantwich 26
Match report by Robin Maxwell

Knutsford's second team overcame a resilient Crewe and Nantwich outfit on Saturday in a thrilling encounter.

With the sunshine beaming down, the home side got off to the worst possible start when from the kick off, Crewe won back their kick, set the ball up for their backs and their outside centre danced around 3 tackles to score under the posts. It looked like it could be a long, hot day. However, this was the wake up call the Knutsford boys needed and they quickly got back on top, lead by their inspirational captain Edmonds. Straight from the restart, Edmonds was put through, and although he still had plenty to do he managed to score under the posts.

With fantastic service from Crawford at scrum half, the evergreen Kelly returning at 10 for a rare appearance started to dictate play like he had never been away. This provided Edmonds with the service he needed and he ran in another 2 tries in quick succession to put the home side in command. Up front, man of the match Baxter was an inspiration to the forwards, covering every blade of grass. Coupled with great defensive work from the whole team, Knutsford went in at half time with a 12 point lead.

The second half was end to end action. Knutsford initially picked up where they had left off with the ever cool Kelly slipping through a couple of tackles to touch down under the posts. Unfortunately, this was a catalyst for the away team to start playing again and Knutsford switched off. Crewe and Nantwich ran in two quick tries and suddenly the game hung in the balance again. After a stern word, and with substitute Warman inspiring the entire team, Knutsford kicked back into action. When the forwards won back the ball, it was shifted through the hands for Rowsell to finish superbly in the corner.

Knutsford regained their confidence and attacked again. Again, some great work from the forwards set up a ruck on the opposition 22.

Maxwell broke, and when he was stopped 8 metres out, the fantastic Crawford was there to collect the offload and score under the posts to put the game to bed.

Crewe and Nantwich rallied once more and scored a consolation try but Knutsford would have the last word when Maxwell took a quick penalty five metres out and squeezed through 2 tackles to go over the whitewash.

All in all terrific performance from the home side, and with a real mix of experience and youth, Knutsford will be looking to finish the season strongly. Next week they are away to Didsbury, kick off 3pm.

Miller Homes League | 5th April | Stockport 19 Knutsford 2's 12
Match report by Robin Maxwell

After the heavy defeat at the hands of Anselmians the week prior, Knutsford travelled to second in the league Stockport with hopes of returning to winning ways.

Considering it was a Bank Holiday Monday, a strong team was fielded, and the improved back line impressed from the onset with senior and junior Crawford showing some good passing play. The Knutsford pack held firm against strong Stockport forwards who kept their play tight and recycled ball well. However, a brief lapse in Knutsfords defense led to the first score of the game for Stockport . Knutsford reacted well and played the phases with strong running from Dunkerley and Lee ensuring Knutsford didnt leave Stockports 22 without a score. A quick break and a good turn of pace saw Joe Layzell break the line and beat the last man for a comfortable score under the posts, but the unsighted ref did not see the grounding. The first half came to a close with two more Stockport scores leaving it 19-0 and Knutsford having to play uphill.

The second half started with some strong running rugby from the away side which finished with a trademark Jones try powering through 3 tackles to put the ball down under the posts. Stockport didnt let up and the forwards battle continued to be hard fought. However, some great defence stopped Stockport ’s strong runners making ground and this gave the young Knutty backline the room to play some flowing rugby. Two passages of play finished with Walker and Danny Layzell making touchdowns but yet again inexplicably these were disallowed. Knutsford kept the pressure on with a further held up ball over the tryline and finally came through with a James score in the dying minutes. It proved little too late as the final whistle went at 19 - 12 in Stockports favour.

Over all a disappointing result, but a promising performance with which the Knutsford seconds will look to carry forward into this Saturdays home match against Crewe & Nantwich.

Miller Homes League | 20th March | Knutsford 2nd XV 10 v Didsbury TocH
Match report by Robin Maxwell

Knutsford’s second team came up against a strong Didsbury outfit on Saturday at Egerton. The young Knutsford team, brimming with confidence after their solid victory the week before, started brightly with strong running from Blake and Johnson. Up front Baxter was winning lots of ball in the line against the head and the early signs were good. However, Didsbury had an experienced team. With the veteran Didsbury captain at outhalf controlling the game for them in attack, as soon as Knutsford made a mistake, Didsbury capitalised resulting in two tries in quick succession for the away team. Knutsford continued to enjoy much of the first half possession and territory, but could not convert their dominance into points and once again Didsbury punished the home side with two further tries and a penalty. After some half time analysis, Knutsford came firing out of the blocks for the second half, lead by their influential captain Edmonds. After yet another infringement from the Didsbury pack, Knutsford pinned the opposition onto their line. With more pressure in the line from Bentham and Baxter, Didsbury made an error and Edmonds was there to touch down. Knutsford kicked on, and after Maxwell put a kick up, Edmonds was off chasing again and narrowly missed out on a second try, the result which saw both men involved withdrawn after a collision with the post. This impacted the Knutsford team, and saw Didsbury craft another score. However, Knutsford came back again and after great work from the pack, Blake collected from the impressive Crawford, and the outhalf timed his pass perfectly to Maxwell who went over for Knutsford’s second try. From there Knutsford failed to kick on, and indeed Didsbury would add another try before the game was out. Knutsford however came away with some positives, with another great performance from both Lee and Fuller in the back row and a solid performance from the half back combination of Crawford and Blake. Full Time Knutsford 10 Didsbury TOC 37 Next week Knutsford have a tough fixture away to Anselmians.

Miller Homes League | 13th March | Congleton 2nd XV 20 v KNUTSFORD 52
Match report by Robin Maxwell

After being beaten earlier in the season by Congleton 2's the Knutsford second team knew it wasn't going to be an easy encounter, but off the back of a heavy defeat last weekend they were determined to get a win. Other than bolstering the front row with 2 debutants and the returning Maxwell slotting into the backs, the side remained the same. From the kick off the team utilised last weeks tackling practice on the Congleton pack whose route one game plan was obvious from the off. The first ten minutes saw a more positive Knutsford show a return to form, with some strong running up front and some good backs handling ending with a Clawson try under the posts. Up front Bentham and Baxter did not falter with a succession of strong runs up the field, and with great support from Lee and Fuller they set a great platform. This allowed out-half Blake to break the line with one of his many strong runs of the game and he duly offloaded to Edmonds for another score under the posts. The first half continued with similar solid defensive work, only cracking once for a Congleton score. Before the half was out the Knutsford attack proved too strong again twice. Firstly, an impressive Angus Crawford got a try under the posts after linking well with Maxwell. Then the half ended with another try to Knutsford after Edmonds sprinted the length of the pitch to run in his second. Half Time Congleton 10 Knutsford 24 The second half continued with more Knutsford pressure, particularly from the experienced players of Siwek, McGuinness and Rowsell. Congleton didn't tire and their strong runners tested the Knutsford line but Spinola and Foord closed them down well and Blake put in some huge hits which are already becoming a trademark of his game. The Knutsford set piece was improved massively with the new front rowers dominating the scrum and Irvine and Baxter controlling the lineout well. The improved lineout set up Edmonds for his third of the day and Clawson and Crawford continued their outstanding performances with great individual tries putting the Knutsford score to 52 points, 25 of these belonging to Clawson! Knutsford got over excited with the scoreline and let their guards down with the last 5 minutes seeing Congleton get 2 scores albeit not affecting the outcome, with the final whistle ending Congletong 20 - 52 Knutsford. With two hat tricks of tries and most of the team playing their best individual games so far this year Man of the Match was awarded to Angus Crawford and Tommy Blake for orchestrating the backs attack with special mentions to Fuller who played his first 80 at flank and of course Clawson with a remarkable 25 points. With the same team available for next week Knutsford 2's will look to carry on this turn in form at home to Didsbury 4. All support is welcome.

Miller Homes League | 6th March | Knutsford 2nd XV 0 v Alt Kersal 4 68
Match report by Robin Maxwell

Knutsford 2s attempt to get back to winning ways took a blow at Egerton this Saturday against a much more experienced Altrincham Kersal . With a number of positional changes, a couple of debutants and some returning old boys Knutsford were looking strong on paper but took too long to gel defensively. With much more experience and weight in the pack Kersal ran in 3 early tries. Although it became apparent that it wasn't going to be Knutsfords day everyone gritted their teeth and put in some great performances. With Barrie and Walton putting big hits in and Hill and Crawford guarding the fringes the onslaught was slowed, even more so when the Knutsford backs got the ball in hand looking dangerous through wingers Clawson and Johnson making great runs. Half time - Knutsford 0 - 49 Altrincham Kersal. Regardless of the score line Knutsford went into the second half holding their heads high and put the tiring Kersal under more pressure with some great loose play from debutant front row Williams and center Blake linking well with Selkirk to make some promising breaks in the back line. The second half was a much better performance from Knutsford and despite relentless defense Kersal didn't falter. The fInal whistle ended with Knutsford having not scored and Altrincham Kersal 68 points the better. Albeit an unflattering score line Knutsford played with pride and have learnt some valuable lessons (and some tackling practice!) from a team with experience. The KRFC seconds look to get that 'W' at next weeks encounter away at Congleton.

  Raging Bull Shield | 27th February | Knutsford (Kasuals) 17 v Kirby Lonsdale 15
Match report by Robin Maxwell

Knutsford RFC Kasuals’ Kontinued kup success The kasuals produced another impressive performance on Saturday defeating Kirby Lonsdale 17-15 in a bruising battle to go into the Quarter Finals of the Raging Bull Shield competition. The Kasuals were looking particularly smart, turning out in the new club kit thanks to sponors Valley Resource, Cartwright and Stirling Lloyd Although the Kasuals started off strongly, Kirby Lonsdale were first off the mark with a try under the posts following a series of penalties. However, the Kasuals responded quickly with their famous forward drives leading to the ever impressive Steve McGuiness diving over for a score. His steady boot converted the try to make it 7-7 at half time. In the second half Kirby Lonsdale capitalised on the slope (and tide!) and went over for another try which was swiftly followed by a penalty to increase their lead to 7-15 with 20 minutes to play. However, the Kasuals never lost hope and an inspirational try from the new “slim line” Rouge closed the gap to 3 points. Thereafter the Kasual pack piled on the pressure in a thrilling final quarter but were kept at bay by the formidable Kirby Lonsdale defence. Eventually however, despite having missed the chance to level the scores with a penalty, Steve McGuiness capped a true man of the match performance with a stunning second try in the final minute to secure a truly memorable and hard fought victory, much to the delight of the large home crowd. Steve Wilkinson was once again outstanding in the loose play and, despite carrying an ankle injury, Chris Sheppard gave a master class in line out jumping aided of course by the precision throwing in from the quietly spoken John Daley, back in his favoured position as hooker. The Quarter final will take place at Mereheath lane on Saturday 4th April when the Kasuals will take on Ruskin Park 2s.

  Miller Homes League | 13th January | Fylde 12 v Knutsford 2nd XV (aka Kasuals) 22
Match report by Robin Maxwell

With the 1st XV having a weekend off the Knutsford 2nd XV Home game became the main event this Saturday for KRFC. The morning started bright and early with a pitch inspection at 11.00 to see if the overnight frost was going to cause further problems for an already congested fixture list. However, with the sun coming out and the ground softening the referee decided that the pitch was playable and the already overworked Knutsford fixture secretary breathed a sigh of relief. Having been the victims of an 84 – 0 mauling at the hands of the visitors Broughton Park the last time they met, Chris Edmonds men started the game as the underdogs, but this encounter was to prove an entirely different prospect. Evidence of the change was immediately obvious with Selkirk’s kick off being recovered by the home side just over the 10m line, which put Knutsford on the front foot straight away. With the Knutsford pack showing what it’s capable of, the ball was forced up the field through strong running from Higgins and Edmonds, the home side were camped in front of the opposition’s posts 10 yards out. With quick ball looking likely and the pressure beginning to tell, the visitors decided that 3 was better than 7 and killed the ball with hands in the ruck. Selkirk duly converted the resulting penalty. From the restart a Knutsford wobble led to an attacking lineout on the 5m line for the visitors. The ball came in and Hopewell managed to get a hand to it but with the ball the wrong side of the try line and some confusion in the ranks, the Broughton park flanker managed to sneak through and touch it down before anybody knew what had happened. The conversion narrowly scraped over and the score was 7 – 3. With both sides showing some good play despite the muddy conditions the game was end to end stuff. As half time approached a break down in communication in the Knutsford back line resulted in an opportunistic try for the visitors and a more than flattering half time score line. 17- 3 With a rallying speech from the captain and some vocal support from the side line the homeside began to show some true grit. Higgins caught the restart and with a customarily titanic charge changed the tempo of the game. With some good running by the forwards, particularly new recruits Baxter and Page, the pack drove up the centre of the field. After some quality ball retention Knutsford found themselves on the oppositions five meter line and when quick ball came out to the backs Selkirk slipped a short pass inside to the charging Lockett who, after bursting through two tackles touched down under the posts. A momentarily lack of composure from the normally metronomic Selkirk resulted in a missed conversion There was none of the earlier confusion from the restart and Knutsford began to dominate. With several strong periods of play and new prospect Crawford working well at scrum half, the Knutsford backs showed some glimpse of what’s to come with good runs from young wingers Johnson and Hill. Finally the sustained pressure began to pay of with a series of infractions resulting in two converted penalties bringing the score line to a respectable 17-16. The front row was working well, backed up by good work in the engine room from Dunkerly and Baxter and so Knutsford began to push Broughton off the ball resulting in a delighted Dawson winning a few against the head. From a scrum five metres out the now dominant Knutsford got the shunt on which resulted in a push over try for Edmonds to put Knutsford in the lead at 19 – 17 unfortunately Selkirk was unable to convert from the touch line. Alas the fairy tale ending was not to be and two mistakes by Knutsford resulted in a brace of opportunistic tries for the Broughton winger and a flattering scoreline at the final whistle. On reflection there were some moments of brilliance from this Knutsford outfit and some promising displays from a young team. Knutsford have a lot of positives to take from the game and now look forward to the remainder of this season, with their next league game against Alti Kersal in a fortnights time. Next week the mighty Kasuals have a cup game at home against Kirby Lonsdale.

  Miller Homes League | 6th January | Fylde 12 v Knutsford 2nd XV (aka Kasuals) 22
Match report by Robin Maxwell

The kasuals progressed to the third round of the Miller Homes Raging Bull Shield following an impressive 22-15 win away against Fylde Vandals, one of the tournament favourites. Despite the long trip the Kasuals started the stronger, with their heavy weight pack led by Dave Owen winning the early battles with the Fylde bruisers. This early forward pressure soon paid off with an easy try for John Parr. Despite the tight angle, Steve McGuiness cooly stroked over the conversion for a 7-0 lead. Kasuals’ new boy, Gareth Russell, a former captain of Fylde, was outstanding in the loose and soon crashed over for the second try. 12 – 0 at half time and the Kasuals looked comfortable. However, the Vandals turned up the heat at the start of the second half and their powerful forwards forced numerous infringements from the Kasuals, leading to a raft of penalties. Within 15 minutes of the second half the Kasuals had leaked two tries, one conversion and a penalty to trail 12 – 15. Seemingly down and out the kasuals then returned to their trademark forward power play and under careful orchestration by Steve “fingers” McGuiness, managed to power half way up the field in 8 phases of play before the ever busy Nick Webb was able to create space to dive over for a magnificent third try. Not surprisingly the Vandals came back even stronger and brought on some heavyweight replacements but the kasuals held their nerve, tackled anything that moved (with or without the ball) and amazingly kept the Vandals from crossing the line. With five minutes left to play, birthday boy Steve Wilkinson poached the ball from a Vandals’ line out and some fine handling from Paul Ritchie and Nick Barnes-Batty created space for the ever combative Sean Rowsell to seal the game with the killer fourth try. The third round will take place at Mereheath Lane on Saturday 27th February at 2.15pm when the Kasuals will entertain the Cumbrian strong men from Kirby Lonsdale.

Miller Homes League | 24th October | Knutsford 2nd XV 44 v Trafford Metrovik 3 24
Match report by Robin Maxwell

Return to form at home for 2nd XV
 
Knutsford 2s won 44 - 24 at home to Trafford Metrovik 3s on Saturday to maintain their unbeaten record on the new pitch at Egerton.
 
Starting with a number of debutants, as well as some boys playing in new positions Knutsford and Trafford exchanged kicks early on, until McGarrigle intercepted a pass and scored under the posts. Knutsford edged further ahead with Tom Thompson, playing on the flank for the first time, finishing well. Superb passing from the Knutsford backs saw young fullback Clawson rounding off a move from their own half. Trafford crept back into the game with a breakaway try due to poor tackling from Knutsford as they pressed on for more scores.

 

After half time Knutsford stepped up their effort and McGarrigle rounded off some good flyhalf work from Ellery to again go under the posts for his second. His third followed from some quick thinking by scrum half Webb to put Knutsford in at the corner. Clawson followed up his own kick with a superb tackle on the fullback and received the ball back to coast down the wing past the Trafford tacklers for his second. Ellery kicked well throughout the game and kept the score board ticking over with 2 penalties and 4 conversions. Poor defending at times and inexperience from Knutsford allowed Trafford to sneak in for a couple of scores to keep the game interesting. 

 

Next week Knutsford will be able to welcome back some more of their experienced players when they play Broughton Park away from home. McGarrigle and Thompson will be looking to extend their rich scoring vein as the vye for top spot in the scoring charts this season. 

  Miller Homes League | 17th October | CREWE and NANTWICH 37 v Knutsford 2nd XV 15
Match report by Robin Maxwell

Knutsford 2s slip up versus Crewe and Nantwich

Crewe and Nantwich 37 Knutsford 15

Knutsford 2’s have had a very positive start to the season however, on Saturday they failed to kick start the game against Crewe. In fits and starts they showed the style and power that has led them to 3 victories in 4 games this year so far. But all too often against Crewe they failed to step up to the mark when it counted. Although they scored some great tries, defensive errors repeatedly let in Crewe to keep the score board ticking over. On a positive note Knutsford continue to add new players to their squad which will allow greater flexibility and competition for places as the season progresses. Next week Knutsford play Trafford Metrovik at home, 3pm at Egerton Youth Club.

Miller Homes League | 26th September | KNUTSFORD 2nd XV 26 v Stockport 4 14
Match report by Robin Maxwell

Knutsford did enough against Didsbury
 
Knutsford 2s had an excellent win against Didsbury 3s on saturday at Mere Heath Lane. Although they scored within 15 seconds of the kick off through openside Mark Hopewell, they were forced to come from behind in the second half to secure a 47 - 33 win.
 
In a fairly even 1st half Didsbury managed to sneak down their right wing repeatedly to score four tries to Knutsfords two. Knutsford were missing a number of backs and were forced to put players in unfamiliar positions which Didsbury exploited.
 
The second half was a very different story. Knutsford made a few changes as some late comers arrived onto the bench which enabled them to dominate the remainder of the game. Dave Owen made an instant impact and again got on the score sheet after some powerful runs. Elliot Lee was enthusiastic and score two debut tries. Thompson eventually moved back to the wing and kept up his try a game ratio. Higgins playing his first game of the year was superb as always as part of an effective backrow with Branton and Hopewell. Canadian Rogers played well in his first game of the year at prop and half backs Webb and Selkirk made the difference as the game wore on. Jones from the bench scored an opportunist try as did Webb from 9, exploiting the gaps in the Didsbury defence. Knutsford forwards rucked and rucked and rucked some more for almost 80 minutes driving back and sucking in the Didsbury defence.
 
Overall Knutsford had a game plan, stuck to it and succeeded. They played a game that was fairly unusual to them, driving it mainly through the forwards and playing for territory where possible. With a number of players returning next week, Knutsford look forward to building on this outstanding result away to Crewe and Nantwich 3rds.

Knutsford 2s defeat top spot stock
  
The 2nd XV kept up there excellent start to the season by defeating league leading Stockport 4s at Mereheath Lane by 26 points to 14.
 
The team as always containing a mixture of youngsters and vets were under the cosh from the kick off as Stockport’s well drilled forwards dominated in the opening 10 minutes. They weathered a storm of attacks and did well to remain in the game at 7 - 0 down. They got more and more into the game and began to exploit the wide open spaces of the Mereheath pitch. Uri Maguinstein the wiley vet at 9 supplied Thompson to score in the corner. Lawrence James drop kicked the conversion from the touch line. The free scoring Thompson should have had another minutes later when he was bundled into touch as he crossed in the corner again. Outstanding this year so far and having scored at more than a try a game this season, Thompson looks like being a star at this level, especially if he learns how to finish!
 
McGarrigle came off the bench to replace Rowsell and had an immediate impact to score, which was converted. As the game went on Knutsford got more and more into the action and looked comfortable. They added more points through Thompson again. Selkirk continued to pin the Stockport team back with his excellent kicking and the pack tackled and rucked the hearts out to keep Stockport at bay. Knutsford's bench strength on the day made things a little more comfortable. Hamilton came on at fullback and showed his silky passing skills, Kenyon brought some front row relief towards then end and Andy Ford made a cameo in the last 15 minutes. The comment of the day came at the first scrum when Dave 'Rhino' Owen came on at hooker for Jordan Lyon. The Stockport flanker bemused asked Uri Maguinstein 'why do you call him Rhino?'. Maguinstein retorted with a smile, 'You'll find out!'.
 
Rhino strengthened the pack and even got onto the score sheet as he caught a kick 5 metres from the Port line, after great fringe work from Kenyon. Owen crabbed his way through the Stockport tackles and scored under the posts. With the result in the bag Knutsford ground out the remaining minutes and won the match 26 - 14. Again the youngsters were outstanding with Hamilton coming on well in the second half, Fuller and Barnes performing well in the pack and Lyon battling against exhaustion at hooker. Finn at second row was excellent as was man of the match Wayne 'sleepy' Trowbridge at 8. Trowbridge together with veteran crooner Jon Daley gave youngster Barnes a lesson on the day in the dark arts of the back row. Debutant Lee Williams looked very good at centre and one for the 1st team in the future.
 
The difference this week was that the seconds managed to put out a decent squad to face the league leaders, Stockport, who on the day were very accommodating in agreeing to kick off later than normal to allow for a double fixture booking at Edgerton. With some bigger names and exciting youngsters still to come back for the 2s it looks like being a good season if the team can continue to put in mature performances like this one.
 
Next week the seconds face Marple 3s away from home.