Round 5 of Toc H 3s vs Aldwinians 3s

Threes come out on top on costa del Didsbury

Toc H Threes recorded their fifth straight victory against Aldwinians threes on Saturday, in conditions far removed from that murky december day in 2015 where they assured us that we weren't good enough for the league. Two years, and two consecutive promotions later, the Threes still had a point to prove.

In conditions more suited to cricket or volleyball rather than Rugby, the warm up left a lot to be desired, as the off season pies and pints took hold. Toc kicked off and Winnies returned the ball with their strong and powerful backs, who made good yards throughout the game, followed by sustained pressure on the Toc 22 led to a try for the visitors, who couldn't convert it. From the restart, Toc drove forward, and were stopped illegally, with captain James Brooks slotted the penalty. A period of middle-field action then ensued but lots of excellent defense from Toc against strong forward rumbles from Winnies - seemingly desperate to get to the shade afforded under our posts, but the Toc defense held firm, turning the ball over and allowing field position for Aled Brassington to score a quick thinking try that Rhys Webb would have been proud, that was unconverted. A score of 10-5 recorded at half time.
Water taken onboard and advice given, Toc were given a stroke of luck when the Winnies 10 elected to kick to his backs, but the ball fell straight to Paul O'Conell-alike Rob Eatough, who scythed through the Winnies back line to score under the sticks, his first of a brace. From this start, Toc came to life, with some strong running from George wilkinson and Paul Petrie in the centres, who supplied Rob Eatough and Rus Oakley with good ball and space out wide to exploit, with George Williams beating seemingly the whole Winnies team to score under the sticks on the 60th minute.

After a series of small gains from the forwards as they advanced to the Winnies 22, Joe Arthur forgot he was a prop and stormed through a gap, showing considerable acceleration, selling a Winnies defender a dummy that I think he's still paying for now, to go over for another Toc Try. Winnies were not to be cowed and should be commended for fighting right to the end, when a spot of confusion at the back of the scrum with time up gave them a scrum under Toc posts, which they converted to points, leaving the score 36-19 at the final whistle.