Ruskin Park 10 – 17 Didsbury Toc H

Toc H named a mixed side, partly due to unavailability during the bank holiday weekend and giving an opportunity to other players to put down an early marker for the coming season. Veteran prop Steve McDonough started in an unaccustomed role of flanker, and Bahamian 7s international Perkins Joseph made his first start for the club on the wing.

The match was played in fine conditions apart from the very strong wind, which was to prove to be a vital element of the game. Ruskin Park started with the use of the wind in the first half and bombarded the visitors with some early pressure. The home side used their runners to good effect and Didsbury needed to defend manfully to keep out an early score. Didsbury stuck to their plan of having to run the ball from all areas of the park, due to clearance kicks not being an option. The home side, buoyed by a healthy bank holiday crowd, continued to pressurise the Didsbury defence and when a the ball was turned over by Park in Toc H territory they scored the first try. The conversion was missed. Didsbury started to get a foothold in the match and started to make ground into the Ruskin Park half. Several Didsbury attacking lineouts were thwarted by the home sides stubborn defence, and Ruskin Park doubled their try tally with a break away from their own half. Again the conversion was missed. The score remained 10-0 until the halftime whistle.

Didsbury knew they now had use of the wind and started to up their game, with clever tactical kicking from Gaz Oakley and fullback Joe Bradbury stretching the home team’s defence. The visiting pack was now taking the ball on and sucking in the defence, recycling the ball for scrum half Oakley to orchestrate play. Early in the second half a series of forward drives sucked in defenders and when Didsbury moved the ball right pacey second row Phil Cooper forced his way over to touch down. Bradbury expertly slotted the conversion, and the comeback had started 10-7. Perkins Joseph made his presence felt with some excellent breaks down the touchline, and from one such break he scored his debut try racing in to score. Bradbury missed the tricky kick, but Didsbury had taken the lead 10-12. The home side mustered a limited number of attacks in the second period, but resolute tackling from Hyde, McDonough, Williams and Bradbury kept the line intact. Didsbury again drove up the middle of the home side’s defence, creating space out wide for Tom Rooney to score the decisive winning try. Ruskin Park piled forward and were close to scoring, but Didsbury’s impressive defence held out for a deserved three-tries-to-two victory.

Both teams will take a lot from the encounter and use the game as a springboard into the start of the league campaign. Didsbury visit De La Salle next Saturday, a tie which sees both promoted teams from the last campaign face each other in the higher league of North Lancs & Cumbria.